Dr. Susan Braedley’s research on Canadian long-term care in Canada has been profiled by Carleton University’s Newsroom.
Canada’s long-term care system faces a growing crisis, with the senior population expected to surpass 11 million by 2043, far outstripping the number of care beds available – which sat at under 200,000 in 2021.
Burdened by outdated infrastructure, underfunding, and staffing shortages, Susan Braedley, a researcher in Carleton University’s School of Social Work, is committed to improving Canada’s long-term care system from the inside out. Collaborating with international research teams and Carleton colleagues, she studies care homes worldwide to identify practices that could enhance infrastructure, care quality and working conditions in Canada.
“My objective is to translate research into practical solutions,” she explains. “As long as we continue to undervalue care, we undermine the dignity of both those who provide it and those who rely on it.”