Faculty and Research Associates

Dr. Canning teaches gerontology and supervises students in clinical practice in long-term care (LTC) homes. She completed her PhD in the School of Nursing at UBC and her nursing practice background includes acute oncology at BC Cancer and community health in the Fraser Valley. She is an advocate for aged care that incorporates person-centred approaches, and supports people living with dementia as social citizens.

An applied health researcher, Dr. Canning draws on interpretive description and has explored and employed a range of methods to support including people living with dementia as participants and hearing their individual subjective experiences. Her broad scholarship aims involve improving quality of life for older adults including those living with dementia through addressing negative attitudes based on dementia-ism exploring the benefits of arts-based programming. Past projects include a community engaged study involving school-aged children and people living in LTC in a ballet programme.  Her current research interests involve exploring the integration of ageing education in elementary school curriculum.

Shelley has been a faculty member at UFV since 2006 and has served on multiple institutional committees. In addition to membership as a research associate at the Hub she is also the coordinator of UFV’s Centre for Education and Research on Ageing (CERA).