When dementia occurs, so do the many stigmatizing labels that society sometimes uses to describe the person living with this condition.<\/p>\n
Alisa Grigorovich is passionate about challenging this disparaging narrative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most harmful assumption is that cognitive impairment leads to a total a loss of self, a loss of connection, a loss of the ability to engage with others,\u201d says the Brock University Assistant Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen someone is diagnosed with dementia, their life is not over; they can still live well, express themselves and have relationships with their family and with their community,\u201d she says. \u201cThey are still human.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grigorovich is a member of an Ontario-wide research team focusing on challenging negative stereotypes about dementia and inspiring alternative ways of understanding and supporting people to live well with dementia.<\/p>\n
For their efforts, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Aging<\/a> has awarded Grigorovich and her team the 2022 CIHR Institute of Aging\u2019s Betty Havens Prize for Knowledge Mobilization in Aging<\/a>.<\/p>\n The prize recognizes an individual, team or organization that has advanced the mobilization of research in aging at a local or regional level.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s community-based research is led by researchers from KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, Brock University, and York University, and includes people living with dementia, their family members, and health and social service providers.<\/p>\n Members of the team produced a research-based theatre production and film Cracked: new light on dementia<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>which has effectively shifted negative attitudes and practices about dementia and contributed to culture change in home care and long-term care settings,<\/em> says Grigorovich.<\/p>\n