Objectives: This evaluation study was designed to examine the factors that contribute the promotion of social connectedness among people with dementia and their caregivers through social recreational programs; develop an understanding of volunteer's impact on program success; and identify the barriers and facilitators to improve the volunteer-based programs to promote social connectedness. Method: A qualitative descriptive research design was used to explore the study participants' lived experiences of social recreational programs from Alzheimer's Society of Durham Region (ASDR) in Ontario, Canada. A final sample of 31 participants was recruited including people with dementia, informal caregivers, and community volunteers. Qualitative data was collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Emerging themes were derived from the qualitative descriptive data using thematic analysis. Results: The qualitative interviews highlighted the impact of social recreational programs on people with dementia, caregivers and volunteers in the promotion of social connectedness, as well as the examination of barriers and facilitators to identify opportunities for the future improvement of ASDR programs that would benefit the dementia populations. The study findings revealed that the project 'Living Well with Dementia' has been able to successfully foster social connectedness through its volunteer-led social recreational programs by promoting the physical and mental well-being of people with dementia and their caregivers. Conclusion:Our study findings underscored the critical roles of volunteers who contributed to the success of community-based programs. Future research is needed to identify the opportunities to address current gaps in services and to strengthen the social recreational programs using evidencebased practices and client-centered approaches.

Canada is working on improving the diagnosis and treatment of Canadians with cognitive impairment and promoting living well with dementia. Despite the availability of support network, Canadians living with dementia are identified to commonly experience social isolation and exclusion. This issue is particularly significant among migrants and refugees, for whom access to dementia care and support programs are found to be significantly less than the non-migrated Canadians. The purpose of this critical analysis is to examine the existing literature related to the sociocultural factors that contribute to the access of dementia care and support programs by persons with dementia. Specifically, a literature review was conducted to examine the barriers and facilitating factors that influence equitable access to dementia care and support programs among migrants and refugees. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify the following four major themes: (1) stigma, (2) culturally preferred coping strategies, (3) misconceptions regarding aging and dementia, and (4) language barriers.. This review identifies the need for future research to explore the key barriers faced by migrants and refugees with dementia in accessing timely and appropriate dementia care and support programs, as well as developing equitable programs and culturally sensitive services that adequately address their needs.