Areas of Expertise

Aging in Place

Ontario has an aging population, and many older adults are choosing to age in their own homes. Aging at Home aims to support seniors to age in place, while maintaining independence and remaining connected to the community. CERAH works to network with community partners to achieve this goal.

Dementia and Seniors’ Mental Health

Dementia and Seniors’ Mental Health is guided by the values of courage, compassion, capacity building, collaboration, and creativity. Working directly with people living with dementia and seniors with mental health conditions, their families, supports, and system partners, we aim to: a) conduct research that tells people’s stories in ways that challenge traditional discourses of aging, dementia, and mental health; and b) enhance community capacity through partnerships, knowledge translation, and innovation to better support and care for those with lived experience of dementia and to support seniors’ mental health.   

Indigenous Health

The need for culturally relevant research, education and health care services for Indigenous people in Canada is increasing due to an aging population and a high burden of chronic and terminal disease amongst this population.  

Indigenous people are the fastest growing segment of the Canadian population. According to Statistics Canada, Thunder Bay has the highest proportion of Indigenous people in Canada (12.7 percent of the population), and 78 percent of First Nation communities in Ontario are located in Northern Ontario. Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, asthma, and cancer have been identified as primary health concerns of Indigenous people living in Northwestern Ontario.  Some identified gaps in programs and services for Indigenous people in the Northwest include chronic disease diagnosis and management, acute diseases /accidents and injuries, continuity of care/provision of essential services and specialized care and seniors programs and services.

Palliative Care

CERAH has been centrally coordinating and delivering interprofessional palliative care education in Northwestern Ontario since 1993. CERAH provides a number of palliative care educational events throughout the year. These events are organized for health care personnel throughout Northwestern Ontario with a particular focus on providers working in the community or in long-term care. Events are organized and delivered based on identified local needs and costs are subsidized in whole, or in part, by funding provided by the Ministry of Health. Education planning is done in conjunction with the North West Regional Palliative Care Program and Palliative Care Education Collaborative. CERAH also works with other organizations to deliver additional courses and events on a partnership and/or cost recovery basis.