Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging

Inclusivity

Working with compassion, integrity, and humility to promote an age-positive and age-inclusive culture guided by the needs and interests of diverse older adults.

Collaboration

Establishing intergenerational, interdisciplinary, and cross-sectoral partnerships to build capacity in research and education in the field of aging.

Innovation

Developing and translating evidence on age-inclusive technologies, environments, practices, and policies to improve the health and well-being of older adults, in a sustainable manner.

Leadership

Being recognized as a valuable hub within our institution, our community, and beyond for catalyzing connections and advancing innovations to better serve the older adult population.

Compassion is essential to high-quality healthcare, yet many providers struggle to sustain it amid growing workloads, emotional demands, and organizational pressures. Dr. Shane Sinclair and his research team have spent more than a decade examining compassion from the perspectives of patients, clinicians, and health system leaders. Their work led to the development of the EnACT Compassion Training Program, a validated, evidence-based approach now being adopted across care settings in Canada.

Key findings:

Clear evidence base: Studies across acute care and long-term care settings identified specific behaviours, relational skills, and organizational enablers that reliably shape patient experiences of compassion.
Benefits for providers: EnACT has been shown to increase compassion competence, reduce burnout, and strengthen clinicians’ confidence in addressing suffering and providing compassion.
Benefits for patients: Patients cared for by EnACT-trained providers report higher ratings of compassion, improved communication, and stronger therapeutic relationships.

The EnACT program is accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. It can be completed online or in-person. It integrates theory, clinical practice, experiential learning, and self-care strategies. Participants earn CME/CPD credits, receive a comprehensive workbook, and achieve recognition as Certified Compassionate Care Providers.