CityStudio Durham Success Stories

Summer 2024
Dementia is a growing public health concern, with an increasing need for well-trained healthcare workers (HCWs) who provide care and recreational support to People with Dementia (PWD). Despite available dementia education programs, challenges remain in the uptake and application of knowledge in practice.

Fall 2024

The objective of this study is to assess the usability, feasibility, and effectiveness of Virtual Reality Reminiscence Therapy (VRRT) in dementia care. This projects seeks to integrate VRRT into the Alzheimer’s Society Behavioural Support Lending program, gather empirical data, reduce caregiver burden, and improve the quality of life for individuals living with dementia through non-pharmacological methods.

Winter 2025

Through CityStudio Durham and the Region of Durham’s Children’s Services Division, students from Ontario Tech University have wrapped up another successful partnership to improve the developmental outcomes of children in Durham Region. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a tool used in Durham Region to stay informed about children’s development and helps determine their readiness for school.

Fall 2024

This project examined Aerial Cable Cars as a mass transit solution for Durham. It assessed their social, economic, environmental, and operational impacts in that capacity and examined the challenges associated with implementing them.

Similarly to other municipalities, the Region of Durham encounters challenges and limitations, largely due to its heavy reliance on property taxes as a primary revenue source. In collaboration with Trent University, this project examines the hypothesis: as in-person visits increase, the non-residential value increases relative to residential value.

Fall 2024

This project focused on researching and compiling comprehensive information on business grants and funding opportunities available at municipal, provincial, and federal levels. The aim was to provide the business development team at the Region of Durham with a centralized resource/ database to help define what funding and grant opportunities are available to support business growth, expansion, and development here in Durham Region.

Winter 2024

This project involved enhancing social media presence as it is important for effective online engagement and visibility. To optimize the social media presence, first, we focused on tailoring strategies to better connect with residents in the Durham region.

Fall 2023

The goal of this project was to explore how differing workplace factors influence staffing stability planning in Long-Term Care, and to co-develop a workplace retention framework to inform the development of staff retention programs for building workforce capacity.

Fall 2022/2023

Voices in Durham worked to allow students a hands-on opportunity to report on the diverse region of Durham, play leadership roles, practice publish speaking skills, and craft stories that are not actively being told in the local news scene. One of the goals of a journalist is to be the “voice of the people” and this stands an example of why it’s important to listen and tell the stories that are not being heard in news today.