Abstract
Background: Dementia affects more than 55 million people globally and disproportionately impacts Black populations due to inequities in healthcare access. In Canada, Black communities face higher dementia risk and greater barriers to timely, culturally aligned care. In the Greater Toronto Area, Black caregivers carry major responsibilities while navigating fragmented services shaped by race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Although social support reduces caregiver burden, little is known about how Black caregivers access and use support within intersecting social and structural constraints.
Purpose: This study will examine how Black adult caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area construct, access, and mobilize social support while navigating dementia care shaped by cultural and structural inequities. Social support will be explored across emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal dimensions informed by House’s typology. The aim is to generate a grounded theory that reflects caregiving experiences within wider social and structural contexts.
Methods: Guided by Critical Theory and an Intersectionality lens, this qualitative study will use Straussian Grounded Theory to explore the experiences of Black adults providing unpaid dementia care. Purposive and snowball sampling will recruit twenty to thirty caregivers from community organizations and dementia support networks. Data collection will include semi-structured interviews and two focus groups. Analysis will involve open, axial, and selective coding using constant comparison, memo-writing, and NVivo. Rigour will be supported through reflexivity and Lincoln and Guba’s criteria.
Preliminary Findings: Anticipated findings include the centrality of relational caregiving, reliance on faith and community networks, and challenges tied to stigma, gendered expectations, delayed diagnosis, and limited culturally aligned services. The study is expected to show how intersecting identities shape access to different forms of social support and how systemic barriers influence caregivers’ ability to sustain care.
Implications for Nursing: This study will strengthen equitable dementia care by clarifying culturally grounded support systems and identifying structural factors shaping caregiving in Black families. Findings will inform culturally safe nursing practice, caregiver-focused programming, and policies that enhance support for Black dementia caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area.
Notes
Extensive reference list available in separate attached file.
Sigma Membership
Lambda Pi at-Large
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
DEI/BIPOC, Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Theory, Race, Dementia, Caregivers, Burden of Care, Social Support
Recommended Citation
Black, Deanna Marie, "Examining Social Support Among Black Dementia Caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 123.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/posters_2026/123
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-26
Examining Social Support Among Black Dementia Caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Dementia affects more than 55 million people globally and disproportionately impacts Black populations due to inequities in healthcare access. In Canada, Black communities face higher dementia risk and greater barriers to timely, culturally aligned care. In the Greater Toronto Area, Black caregivers carry major responsibilities while navigating fragmented services shaped by race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Although social support reduces caregiver burden, little is known about how Black caregivers access and use support within intersecting social and structural constraints.
Purpose: This study will examine how Black adult caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area construct, access, and mobilize social support while navigating dementia care shaped by cultural and structural inequities. Social support will be explored across emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal dimensions informed by House’s typology. The aim is to generate a grounded theory that reflects caregiving experiences within wider social and structural contexts.
Methods: Guided by Critical Theory and an Intersectionality lens, this qualitative study will use Straussian Grounded Theory to explore the experiences of Black adults providing unpaid dementia care. Purposive and snowball sampling will recruit twenty to thirty caregivers from community organizations and dementia support networks. Data collection will include semi-structured interviews and two focus groups. Analysis will involve open, axial, and selective coding using constant comparison, memo-writing, and NVivo. Rigour will be supported through reflexivity and Lincoln and Guba’s criteria.
Preliminary Findings: Anticipated findings include the centrality of relational caregiving, reliance on faith and community networks, and challenges tied to stigma, gendered expectations, delayed diagnosis, and limited culturally aligned services. The study is expected to show how intersecting identities shape access to different forms of social support and how systemic barriers influence caregivers’ ability to sustain care.
Implications for Nursing: This study will strengthen equitable dementia care by clarifying culturally grounded support systems and identifying structural factors shaping caregiving in Black families. Findings will inform culturally safe nursing practice, caregiver-focused programming, and policies that enhance support for Black dementia caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area.
Description
This study explores how Black caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area experience and use social support while providing dementia care. Through interviews and focus groups, it examines emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support within the context of social and structural inequities. Findings will help inform culturally safe nursing practice and guide policies that strengthen support for Black dementia caregivers in the GTA.