UNB Research

In February, we announced the five UNB projects funded by the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project (HSPP). UNB researchers received nearly $6 million in provincial and federal funding for research to support healthy aging for seniors in their homes, communities and care facilities.

We've been working with the research teams to help tell their stories and share insight into their research.

Learn more about each of these funded projects:

• Dr. Tracey Rickards, faculty of nursing, received more than $1.5 million in funding towards the Mobile Seniors’ Wellness Network: Reaching Rural New Brunswickers research project. This innovative project aims to contribute to the ability of seniors to age-in-place, with a multidisciplinary team including nurses and social workers making home visits to monitor the health and safety needs of seniors and assess and augment foot care. 
• Dr. Chris McGibbon, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, received $2,697,913 in funding for the project, The New Brunswick Brain Health Initiative: Preventing Alzheimer’s by Lessening Modifiable Risk (NB-PALM). This research project will help to identify people at risk of dementia and inform future programming to address modifiable risk factors that may postpone or prevent dementia.

• Dr. Danielle Bouchard, faculty of kinesiology, is expanding the Zoomers on the Go fall prevention exercise program across the province. Focusing on the improvement of physical function and maintenance of independence for seniors, Zoomers for All received $622, 044 in funding.

• Dr. Martin Sénéchal, faculty of kinesiology, is exploring how the combination of exercise using elastic bands, diet and education will affect the functionality among adults aged 65 and above living with diabetes and frailty. The Band-Frail Study: A Provincial Intervention to Outweigh Diabetes and Frailty in New Brunswick research project was awarded $469,645.

• Dr. Shelley Doucet, department of nursing and health sciences, is examining the improvement of how primary care providers diagnose and support persons with dementia. The research project, Co-designing Dementia Care in New Brunswick: Building the Future Together, received funding of $495,259.

About the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project

The Healthy Seniors Pilot Project is a $75-million, three-year agreement between the Government of New Brunswick and the Public Health Agency of Canada jointly led by the Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Social Development and the Department of Health through the Aging Secretariat.

The Healthy Seniors Pilot Project will support a range of applied research initiatives to examine how governments, in partnership with the community and private sectors, can better support seniors in their homes, communities and care facilities. This project will help us better understand the gendered impacts of an aging population, improve the quality of life for our senior citizens and help us lay the groundwork for the dissemination of evidenced-based best practices in supporting healthy aging for all Canadians.