In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team has started a sub-project at the Projet Laurent which aims to study, from April to October 2020, the effect of having a pet on:

 

• Healthy lifestyle habits (physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep)

• Various mental health indicators (stress, psychological distress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, Positive and negative emotions and resilience)

 

in immunosuppressed individuals and their entourage, in the specific context of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on data collected in weekly virtual focus groups and a longitudinal observational survey of more than 125 immunosuppressed patients and their entourage. 

 

With the help of key partners such as the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP), Wellness Together Canada (WTC), Canadian Transplant Association (CTA), Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFoC), the Canadian Association for Mental Health (CAMH), TRF British Columbia (TRFBC), Qualaxia, Cystic Fibrosis Canada (CFC) and Health Canada (HC), this ambitious project aims to develop effective, real-time and adapted interventions to support immunosuppressed patients in their physical and mental health management during a global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.  Thus, this sub-project of the Projet Laurent will provide new scientific knowledge and evidence-based tools to adequately support immunosuppressed populations and their relatives in stressful contexts such as the COVID-19 pandemic and will also successfully integrate mental health assessment and management as an integral part of the care of immunosuppressed patients.