Researcher Collaborators from Australia visit RaDAR Team

At the beginning of July, the RaDAR Team had the pleasure of hosting two international researcher partners who share an interest in dementia care for individuals living in rural and remote areas.

Dr. Irene Blackberry, Associate Professor at La Trobe University in Wadonga, Australia, and Dr. Jane Farmer, Professor at Swinburne University, Melbourne, spent almost a week in Saskatoon meeting with RaDAR Team members and other researchers at the University of Saskatchewan. Both researchers have an interest in rural health care and using technology such as telehealth and online tools to facilitate access to care in rural areas. Learn more about the research undertaken by Dr. Blackberry and Dr. Farmer.

During their visit to the University of Saskatchewan Drs. Blackberry and Farmer co-led a RaDAR Rounds presentation on their respective research programs which was attended by RaDAR team members, CCHSA faculty, and shared online via WebEx.

The two researchers also met with other University of Saskatchewan researchers on campus who share their interest in using teletechnologies to support health care in rural and remote areas. They also had the opportunity to go off-campus to meet RaDAR community-based research partners.

Dr. Farmer and Dr. Blackberry and the RaDAR team have collaborated on a number of research projects over the past couple years. Most recently, RaDAR team members Dr. Debra Morgan and Dr. Megan O’Connell are among the Co-investigators on a $1.7 AUD grant awarded to Dr. Blackberry to implement a Virtual Dementia Friendly Rural Community (VERILY) project.

It was wonderful to host our research partners in Saskatoon and be able to learn more about our complementary research interests during a sunny July in Saskatchewan!