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“Recreation and Leisure Studies at ��ݮ��Ƶ is so unique ... There are so many experts here; it’s important to just slow down and take the time to embrace the different types of knowledge that they have to offer.”

Armed with an undergraduate degree but unsure how to proceed, Erica MacTavish applied to a recreation-based long-term care position and began working in a role that was a “rollercoaster of an experience.”

That experience many years ago has led MacTavish to a PhD in Aging, Health and Well-being at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ. Inspired by the relationships she built with her co-workers and the residents of the home, she felt as though there was more that needed to be done to improve quality of care.

She began researching the structural issues in long-term care without a clear goal in mind, but with a newly lit passion to make things better.

Finding a supervisor that clicks

“The name Sherry Dupuis kept coming up everywhere, so I just sent her an email to see if we could chat more about what she was doing,” MacTavish says. “We had so much in common. We both grew up with siblings who have disabilities, and knew we wanted to pursue a career in care based on our experiences.”

That simple first contact opened the door to many more conversations and sharing of ideas around how leisure and long-term care either supports or undermines the personhood and citizenship of people living with dementia. Motivated to pursue further education through a master’s program, MacTavish enrolled in the Master of Arts in Recreation and Leisure Studies (thesis option).

Her thesis, Exploring Social Citizenship in the Context of Leisure in Residential Care Settings, explored the stigmatized viewpoint of people living with dementia as people whose behaviours need to be mitigated and subdued, rather than recognizing their individual desires and aspirations.

The thesis explored how leisure in long-term care can support the social and relational citizenship of residents by prioritizing their interdependence, relationships and individuality through a relational approach to care.

“Admittedly, I went into my master’s a little bit naive, with the enthusiasm of changing the whole world,” MacTavish says. “Dr. Dupuis had to remind me that long-term care institutions have deep, long histories and many people have been pursuing these issues for years and we’re still not where we want to be.”

MacTavish completed her master’s in 2025 and began her PhD in Aging, Health and Well-being. Working off her master’s thesis, she continues to explore the idea of turning away from Canada’s existing long-term care system and taking a smaller-home approach common in other parts of the world.

Social citizenship and different ways of telling stories

With the help of Dupuis, Dr. Aly Bailey and her PhD supervisor, Dr. Kim Lopez, MacTavish now digs into the problem that people living with dementia and other disabilities often don’t have their voices heard in research.

Her research focuses on non-verbal ways in which those with dementia may communicate and tell stories, including facial expressions, body language, film and art.

By examining the bodily expressions of people living with dementia in long-term care, MacTavish believes people can understand the important aspects of their lived experiences, and the features that limit how they are able to communicate.

Making the most of your graduate studies

MacTavish emphasizes the importance of remaining open-minded and slowing down to appreciate the diversity around you.

“Recreation and Leisure Studies at ��ݮ��Ƶ is so unique – everyone here is doing such different work, but with the common grounds of a social-justice lens,” she says. “There are so many experts here and it’s important to just slow down and take the time to embrace the different types of knowledge that they have to offer.”

By building strong connections within the Recreation and Leisure Studies department, MacTavish was given the opportunity to explore research assistantships, such as a project led by Dupuis, which uses documentary film to reimagine and promote compassionate end-of-life care for people living with dementia.

The research project includes hundreds of interviews with people living with dementia, their family members, bereaved family members and long-term care staff. MacTavish and the team are working to develop a more relational framework for end-of-life care for people living with dementia through documentary and digital stories, or short-form video.

“You don’t know what kind of opportunities are out there until you reach out, have conversations and start asking questions.”