Research
Improving the quality of life of people living with dementia
My main research interest in conducting applied research to improve the quality of life for people with dementia. This includes evaluation of complex interventions, in large scale randomised controlled trials in care homes, and smaller in-depth ethnographic studies in hospital settings. I am a mixed-methods researcher and am particularly interested in understanding why interventions do or do not work using process evaluations, as well as whether they work.
My current research aims to understand how people with dementia experience psychotherapeutic interventions such as counselling and systemic (family) therapy. This will help us to ensure that services are offered to people at the most appropriate point and provide the support needed for outcomes that matter to them. I am also involved in studies exploring interventions to improve care for people living with dementia in care homes.
Outcome measure development & psychometric evaluation
As people with dementia may experience communication difficulties that make participating in research challenging, I am interested in ways that we can ensure research is inclusive. This has included adapting existing measures and scales to be more appropriate for people with dementia, as well as developing new measures to help us understand how much people know about dementia.
I am interested in psychometric evaluation of measures in new populations, as well as developing understanding of the most appropriate ways to collect data with people with dementia.
Research grants
Effective communication of pharmaceutical treatment uncertainty in Memory Assessment Services; exploring how treatment uncertainty communication influences patient decision making, optimising communication and intervention priorities: COUNTED NIHR201560
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE (UK)
April 2021 - June 2022