Thank you to our witnesses.
It's been pretty remarkable for our committee to listen to the wide range of subjective experiences with dementia, either from clinical practice or personal familial relationships of other people who have gone through the disease. Sometimes, it's been both. We've had clinicians who are experts in dementia and who have a close family member living with it.
Dr. Wiebe, I'd like to start with you. You were talking in your opening statement about the research you've done, and surveying people's attitudes and support for advance requests and some of the reasons behind that. You mentioned a fear of the loss of dignity, the loss of freedom, the loss of memory, the inability to recognize close personal familial relationships.
Certainly the theme of stigma with dementia has been common for this committee. I know that just saying the word “dementia” for many people conjures up a lot of negative emotions.
When people were expressing their thoughts about dementia and their support for advance requests, did your research uncover any currents about what's informing people's attitudes toward dementia? Some people may not have a very good knowledge of the disease, but others have incredibly close relationships and they've been informed by that.
Do you have any other thoughts to share on that theme?