When Line Beaudet talks about the patients and caregivers who she supports through the programs set up by her and her team, it’s always with plenty of emotion. As a neuroscientist, a passion that she passes on as an associate professor at Université de Montréal, and an outstanding researcher, Beaudet has acquired a great deal of empathy during her nursing practice, which allows her to pilot projects that are deeply rooted in the lived experiences of her patients. 

Her exceptional contributions were celebrated last April with the presentation of the 2024 Prix reconnaissance by members of the Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonian syndromes research group at Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Medicine. In 2019, she also received an award in the category Excellence in care from the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec, highlighting the quality of her contributions, which combine clinical work, research and teaching.

Living better with Parkinson’s

Over the past year, in conjunction with Parkinson Québec, Line Beaudet has continued to roll out a bilingual program called EMPATIC, which includes three types of web-based interventions aimed at making life easier for people living with this disease and their caregivers.

Also produced in collaboration with José Côté and members of the Research Chair on new nursing practices, EMPATIC includes inspiring testimonials shared by people living with Parkinson’s and their caregivers, who address different themes from different points in their journeys with the disease; expert advice from health professionals to address the challenges related to the disease; and TAVIE™ in motion, a platform currently composed of 11 interactive sessions led by a virtual nurse, whose goal is to communicate personalized information and resources to patients in order to increase their quality of life with Parkinson’s.

A testament to EMPATIC’s relevance: as of December 31, 2023, the videos had exceeded 100,000 views, with more than 20,000 recurring users! “This allows people from all regions of Quebec and across 92 countries to have access to high-quality care while avoiding significant costs,” Beaudet says.

An engine for recovery from an ischemic stroke

Beaudet has also co-created another project, the parcours Locomotive, with Dr. Céline Odier, Marie-Andrée Desjardins, patient partners and the CHUM Centre de littératie en santé. It explains exercises, information and strategies through posters accessible in person and online to promote recovery after a stroke, whether in the hospital, at home or in a rehabilitation centre.

The posters have been specifically designed to account for patients’ physical, visual and cognitive changes. The course has been improved over the years with audio guides, web exercise capsules and stimulation notebooks. So far, six other health facilities in Quebec have adopted the parcours Locomotive.

For a smooth transition

Additionally, in collaboration with colleagues Dominic Chartrand and Dr. Anne Lortie from CHU Sainte-Justine, Vanessa Léger and Dr. Mark Keezer from CHUM, Sylvie Le May from Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Nursing, young people living with epilepsy and caregiver partners, Beaudet helped implement a project to help these young people with the transition from a pediatric facility to an adult facility.

Building on this team experience, Dr. Mark Keezer and Dr. Philippe Major (CHU de Sainte-Justine) designed Université de Montréal’s Transition en épilepsie complexe (TÉCUM) program, which aims to establish a new model of care for young people struggling with this condition and other comorbidities.

Giving back hope

Beaudet’s multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of neuroscience, caregiving, methodology, pedagogy and nursing makes her an invaluable research resource.  

This portrait is taken from our 2023-2024 Activity Report