TY - JOUR
AU - J. Parmar
AU - V. Ewa
AU - A. Karesa
AU - A. Grewal
AU - L. Charles
AU - L. Powell
AU - J. Amelio
AU - G. Bitzer
AU - S. Saunders
AU - D. Schindel
AU - K. Shapkin
AU - C. Pooler
AU - F. Ross
AU - L. Sonnema
AU - S. Jowhari
AU - M. N. Grinman
AU - C. Cameron
AU - A. Huhn
AU - P. Murphy
AU - J. Lowther
AU - C. Sim
AU - S. Brémault-Phillips
AU - S. Anderson
A1 - 
AB - Family caregivers provide up to 90% of care in Alberta's communities and play an essential role in sustaining the province's health and social care systems, yet they remain under-recognized and insufficiently supported. To address this gap, we co-designed the Alberta Family Caregiver Strategy and Action Plan (2024-2025), a provincial framework developed through participatory research and collective impact methods. Guided by principles of co-production, equity, and lived experience, the project engaged over 500 stakeholders, including caregivers, healthcare providers, educators, employers, and policymakers, through Phase 1 interviews (health/community leaders, n = 44; Family and Community Support Services (FCSS), n = 47; navigation experts, n = 9), Phase 2 co-design team consultations, and Phase 3 sector roundtables (n = 52). Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identified four foundational caregiver strategies, Recognition, Partnership, Needs Assessment, and Navigation, and four enabling conditions: Education, Workplace Supports, Policy and Research and Data Infrastructure. These elements were synthesized into an eight-priority Alberta Caregiver Strategy and Action Plan Framework, a practical way to connect validated priorities with coordinated, measurable implementation across settings. Participants emphasized four key enablers essential to making caregiver inclusion more feasible and sustainable: education, workplace supports, policy infrastructure, and research and evaluation. Findings highlight strong cross-sector consensus that caregiver inclusion must be embedded into routine practice, supported by consistent policy, and reinforced through provincial coordination with local adaptation. The Alberta Family Caregiver Strategy provides a practical, evidence-informed plan for transforming fragmented supports into a coherent, caregiver-inclusive ecosystem that strengthens both caregiver well-being and system sustainability.
AD - Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2T4, Canada.; Department of Family Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada.; blueBell Village Ltd., Edmonton, AB T6W 5B4, Canada.; Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada.; Imagine Citizens Network, Calgary, AB T2P 4K9, Canada.; Family Caregiver, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2T4, Canada.; Assisted Living Alberta, Edmonton, AB T5J 3E4, Canada.; DarleneSchindel.Com, Spruce Grove, AB T7X 3S4, Canada.; Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.; FAR Strategic, Edmonton, AB T5R 2C7, Canada.; Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada.; Canadian Virtual Hospice, Winnipeg, MB R3L 2P4, Canada.; Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, Edmonton, AB T6H 1M4, Canada.; Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB T5J 3E4, Canada.; Caregivers Alberta, Edmonton, AB T5B 1R1, Canada.; Team CarePal, Edmonton, AB T5J 1W8, Canada.; Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2T4, Canada.
AN - 41595929
BT - Int J Environ Res Public Health
C5 - Healthcare Disparities; Education & Workforce
CP - 1
DA - Jan 22
DO - 10.3390/ijerph23010137
DP - NLM
ET - 20260122
IS - 1
JF - Int J Environ Res Public Health
LA - eng
N2 - Family caregivers provide up to 90% of care in Alberta's communities and play an essential role in sustaining the province's health and social care systems, yet they remain under-recognized and insufficiently supported. To address this gap, we co-designed the Alberta Family Caregiver Strategy and Action Plan (2024-2025), a provincial framework developed through participatory research and collective impact methods. Guided by principles of co-production, equity, and lived experience, the project engaged over 500 stakeholders, including caregivers, healthcare providers, educators, employers, and policymakers, through Phase 1 interviews (health/community leaders, n = 44; Family and Community Support Services (FCSS), n = 47; navigation experts, n = 9), Phase 2 co-design team consultations, and Phase 3 sector roundtables (n = 52). Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identified four foundational caregiver strategies, Recognition, Partnership, Needs Assessment, and Navigation, and four enabling conditions: Education, Workplace Supports, Policy and Research and Data Infrastructure. These elements were synthesized into an eight-priority Alberta Caregiver Strategy and Action Plan Framework, a practical way to connect validated priorities with coordinated, measurable implementation across settings. Participants emphasized four key enablers essential to making caregiver inclusion more feasible and sustainable: education, workplace supports, policy infrastructure, and research and evaluation. Findings highlight strong cross-sector consensus that caregiver inclusion must be embedded into routine practice, supported by consistent policy, and reinforced through provincial coordination with local adaptation. The Alberta Family Caregiver Strategy provides a practical, evidence-informed plan for transforming fragmented supports into a coherent, caregiver-inclusive ecosystem that strengthens both caregiver well-being and system sustainability.
PY - 2026
SN - 1661-7827 (Print); 1660-4601
ST - Alberta Family Caregiver Strategy and Action Plan: Enhancing Integration Across Health and Social Care Systems
T1 - Alberta Family Caregiver Strategy and Action Plan: Enhancing Integration Across Health and Social Care Systems
T2 - Int J Environ Res Public Health
TI - Alberta Family Caregiver Strategy and Action Plan: Enhancing Integration Across Health and Social Care Systems
U1 - Healthcare Disparities; Education & Workforce
U3 - 10.3390/ijerph23010137
VL - 23
VO - 1661-7827 (Print); 1660-4601
Y1 - 2026
ER -