Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC)
@trecresearch
An applied and partnered health services research program that develops innovations and practical solutions that contribute to sustainable improvements in quality of care and quality of life in long-term care (LTC) homes.
Meet more of the TREC team: Oswin Fernandes joined TREC in June 2026. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (Honours) from Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is a Research Assistant with TREC, contributing to the trauma-informed care projects that support health care aides. Welcome, Oswin!
Meet more of TREC's team! Simranjeet Kaur Thind joined TREC as the Project Coordinator for the Manager Project. She brings 5+ years of dedicated continuing care leadership experience across long-term care, supportive living, assisted living, and adult day programs.
Meet some of our team! Matthew Berger joined TREC as a Postdoctoral Fellow in March 2026. He is a registered nurse specialising in communicable disease control, sexual and reproductive health, and immunization.
TREC presented internationally at IPA and IAGG 2026 TREC trainees and staff travelled to the Netherlands recently to present at the International Psychogeriatric Association 2026 congress in Leiden, as well as at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics conference in Amsterdam
Update: Trauma Research for Adverse Care Aide Experiences (TRACE Survey) Pilot testing for the TRACE survey will begin in June 2026. We will be testing three implementation approaches (online survey, paper survey, interviewer-assisted survey) to the TRACE survey to determine the best approach.
Update on the TREC Manager Resilience Project On May 21-22, Cohort 2 managers joined us in Edmonton for the second in-person workshop. Here, they wrapped up Year 1, which focused on socially intelligent leadership, and began developing their own hands-on quality improvement project for Year 2.
Are you at the #CAHSPR26 conference in lovely #Ottawa today? Join us for a TREC presentation! #ltc #longtermcare #healthpolicy
Celebrations of the TREC team: Our congratulations to Yasin Barbakh, who recently received an Al-Quds Award from the Al Rashid Education Foundation (AREF)! #longtermcare #ltc #research
What have some of our team been up to? TREC and ARC-LTC staff presented at the CAG2025 Conference (more below) You can get more updates like this by signing up for our enewsletter! trecresearch.ca/resources/ne... #ltc #longtermcare #eldercare #olderadults #cdnpse #healthresearch
The Current with Matt Galloway: Long-term care workers on strike in Nova Scotia; the future cost of air travel; and why we watch reality TV www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
Congratulations to TREC postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Tatiana Penconek who joined the @ualberta.bsky.social Faculty of Nursing as an Assistant Professor in January 2026!
Our congratulations to TREC Investigator, Yinfei Duan Dr. Yinfei Duan recently received a Project Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for a project entitled Harnessing Advice Networks for Innovation Diffusion and System-Level Transformation in Long-Term Care (the Network Project).
Update: Trauma‑Informed Care Resource Kit We are actively developing the engagement process for the Trauma Informed Care Resource Kit, with a current focus on identifying ways of meaningfully involving frontline staff, managers, leadership teams and families.
Celebrating all the women in our lives today
TREC welcomes new members to our International Scientific Advisory Committee -Hilde Verbeek, Prof of LTC Environments, Maastricht U -Sharon Straus, Prof/Tier 1 Canada Research Chair Inst of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, UT -Annette Trimbee, President and Vice-Chancellor of MacEwan U
This toolkit was developed by the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) research program. We did a breathing study with care staff in Long-Term Care (LTC) homes during COVID that showed positive results, including: -Lower Stress -Less Anxiety -Improved Sleep -Improved Self-care
We developed a toolkit with resources for learning about Coherent Breathing, a simple stress management technique.
Do you sometimes feel stressed? One way to help with stress is through a type of breathing called Coherent Breathing. Coherent breathing is deliberate and focused – it balances the nervous system and promotes relaxation. It can reduce stress and improve sleep and self-care.
Register: choosingwiselycanada.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
We hope everyone enjoys a restful break with their loved ones.
Meet more of the TREC team! Mehtab Rai joined TREC in 2025. He holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from the University of Alberta.
Meet more of the TREC team! Madeleine Wong joined TREC in September 2025 as a Research Assistant on the Manager Project. She recently completed her Master of Science in Public Health at McGill University, where she developed strong skills in research, data management, and stakeholder communication.
Today is a day for reflection and remembrance
Team meeting: In June the ARC LTC team came together in Halifax to review study findings, share ideas and identify priority areas for future analysis and dissemination.
The Atlantic Research Collaboration on Long-Term Care (ARC LTC) team has been busy sharing research findings from the first ever wave of data collection in the Atlantic Region. Here is what they have been up to:
Congratulations! Honourary degree received by TREC partner, Heather Cook Long-time TREC partner, Heather Cook, was recognized with an honourary Doctor of Laws (LLD) from the @uvic.ca in June 2025. (1/3)
TREC Research Assistant, Hadiya Huijer, presented a poster entitled #Trauma and continuing care homes: understanding current context and developing a framework for implementing trauma-informed care at the Canadian Association on #Gerontology conference in Montreal, October 23-25. #longtermcare