Aging, Community and Health Research Group (ACHRU)

McMaster University

Aging, Community and Health Research Unit

    Our vision: Working together with older adults with multiple chronic conditions and their family caregivers to promote optimal aging at home.

    The Aging, Community and Health Research Unit (ACHRU) designs, evaluates and translates innovative community-based interventions to improve access to health care, health-related quality of life, and health outcomes for people 65 years and older with more than one chronic condition.

    Our research focuses on chronic conditions such as dementia, depression, diabetes and stroke. The research program includes our valued patient and caregiver research partners, more than 40 investigators and decision-makers, staff and trainees.

    ACHRU was created with funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Community-Based Primary Health Care Signature Initiative and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Health System Research Fund Program Award. ACHRU continues to build on this research program with funding from the Max Bell Foundation, Ontario SPOR Support Unit (OSSU), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): Catalyst Fund and Pan-Canadian SPOR Network in Primary and Integrated Health Care Innovations (PIHCI), Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative, Labarge Foundation, McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), and Diabetes Action Canada.

    Click here to learn more about our research studies.

    Scientific Directors

    • Maureen Markle-Reid Maureen Markle-Reid, RN, PhD
      Canada Research Chair in Person-Centred Interventions for Older Adults with Multimorbidity and their Caregivers,
      Professor, McMaster University School of Nursing,
      Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI)
    • Jenny Ploeg Jenny Ploeg, RN, PhD
      Professor,
      McMaster University School of Nursing,
      Department of Health, Aging and Society
    • Ruta Valaitis Ruta Valaitis, BScN, MHSc, PhD
      Dorothy C. Hall Chair in Primary Health Care Nursing,
      Professor, McMaster University School of Nursing,
      Associate Member, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University,

    Learn more

    New Provincial Research Centre Brings Expertise in Healthy Aging

    The Aging, Community and Health Research Unit and the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) have formed the newest research centre in the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit (OSSU) network.

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    Celebrating Our Trainee’s Accomplishments

    Congratulations to graduate student trainees Patricia Julian, Melissa Northwood, Carly Whitmore, and Marie-Lee Yous for receiving McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Programs Excellence Award.

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    New Series of Brochures on Patient and Public Engagement

    If you’re a patient, caregiver, or community member who would like to get involved as a research partner, here’s what you need to know to get started.

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