MEET THE TEAM

Debbie is the Alzheimer Scotland Professor of Dementia and is an internationally recognised nurse leader, educator and researcher.

She has a particular interest in applied research that deepens understanding about advanced dementia and innovations in care that support the individual and enable family caring. She leads the Living with Dementia Research Theme as an Executive Member of the Scottish Dementia Research Consortium.

Louise is a Reader with a research focus within the Centre. Her research interests include dementia in the workplace, housing and psychosocial interventions for people living with dementia. She is currently leading the Dementia Inclusive Choir Network Evaluation and research activity on dementia in the workplace within the Centre.

Rhoda takes a lead role in enterprise and research activities within the Centre. Her research interests include dementia in secure settings and dementia education. She is currently leading a research study into referral, diagnostic and post diagnostic care pathways for people living with dementia in prison and an Institutional Seedcorn Fund designed to support early career researchers and those new to dementia research to undertake applied dementia care research. She teaches on two masters programmes, CPD programmes and is the divisional coordinator for the postgraduate research students.

Anna leads on educational focussed activities in the team including Scotland’s National Dementia Champions programme. Her academic interest is research into the quality of educational strategies to support change and development of care practices when working in partnership with people with Dementia. Anna teaches into the undergraduate nursing programmes, the MSc in Gerontology with Dementia care and the BA (Hons) Integrated Health and Social Care programme.

Eileen is a psychologist who has expertise working in practice and research within the area of health improvement, mental health, and wellbeing. Eileen has an interest in psychological trauma and how trauma-informed approaches can mitigate risk of re-traumatisation for carers and people with dementia. Eileen is currently leading a multi-centre research project working with leading experts in the field of trauma and dementia that explores the experiences of carers and people with dementia through a trauma-informed lens. Eileen has expertise in medical statistics and data analysis, she teaches on the BA (Hons) Integrated Health and Social Care programme and supervises several postgraduate students.

As part of her ASDNC role, Susan has a defined teaching and research remit with the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice. She has particular interests in dementia care within general hospital settings and post diagnostic support. Susan teaches on the Dementia Champions programme and works in collaboration with the ASCPP to strengthen links between research, policy and practice.

Laura is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow and is supporting the Alzheimer’s Society action research project which is co-producing careers guidance intervention for people living with dementia. Laura’s background is in the third sector where she has worked for social care organisations supporting both adults and children. Her research focus has been about driving improvements to the quality of care in social care services and she is particularly interested in integrating person-centred approaches to research.

Iva is an Associate Professor and CEO of the Centre for Gerontology, Praha 8. She is also the Chairperson of Alzheimer Europe. Iva is our visiting Professor at the Centre and a Palliare partner and currently supporting International Student Networking Conversations.

Graham recently retired from his role as Professor in the Centre and was appointed Emeritus Professor. He continues his involvement in research related to people with dementia in prison populations and supervision of PhD students.

Supervisory Team: Dr Margaret Brown, Dr Rhoda Macrae and Dr Angela Beggan

Full time. Recipient of the Erskine / Alzheimer Scotland / UWS Studentship

Date Commenced: 27th August 2019

Thesis Overview: Angela’s study aims to explore how meaning can be understood in activities and interactions with people living with advanced dementia. The main objective is to increase understanding of how meaning in this context can be created and supported. Action Research and creative methods will actively involve people with advanced dementia in a care home setting, their families and care home staff. Possible creative methods include exploring objects with people with advanced dementia, creating diaries with family members, and using a confidential ‘App’ with staff. Expected outcomes include guidance around creating meaning with people with advanced dementia, and a creative display of the research journey and findings.

3MT SUCCESS

In Summer 2022, Angela Gregory won the ‘People’s Choice’ award for her Three Minute Thesis® (3MT) presentation, ‘The Thing’. Angela is an Artist and Occupational Therapist by background, and her PhD study aims to understand meaning in activities and interactions with people living with advanced dementia using an action-orientated, creative approach in one Scottish care home. In her 3MT presentation, Angela uses a mixed-media sculpture to tell a story about her study. The sculpture, aka ‘The Thing’, was inspired by Robert Stake (2010) and created by Angela to document her learning and illustrate her research process. The 3MT is still available to view here: https://youtu.be/NKFK5DmK1us

Angela was presented the 3MT award at the UWS Research Festival on Thursday 23rd June 2022 by Stephanie Zihms, Lecturer in Researcher Development at UWS.

Angela’s supervisors are Dr Margaret Brown, Dr Rhoda Macrae and Dr Angela Beggan and she is funded by UWS, Erskine and Alzheimer Scotland. Additional funds were awarded to Angela in June 2020 from the Scottish Dementia Research Consortium (SDRC) to support her research during the pandemic.

Supervisory Team: Dr Louise Ritchie, Dr Margaret Brown, Professor Debbie Tolson.

Full Time: Recipient of the Abbeyfield Research Foundation Studentship

Date Commenced: November 2019. 

Thesis Overview: Michael’s research focusses on living with a diagnosis of dementia in supported housing. The research aims to explore various models of supported housing in Scotland and how these affect the social, psychological, and physical wellbeing of people living with dementia. To address this, a systematic review highlighting gaps in research exploring the needs and experiences of people living with dementia in supported housing was carried out. The second phase of the research will conduct in-depth case studies involving people living with dementia living in supported housing, their family members, supported and health and social care professionals. It is expected that this research will provide new and important insights into best practice for supporting people living with dementia in supported housing.

Supervisory Team: Dr Louise Ritchie, Dr Kathryn Burnett, Dr Margaret Brown

Part-time.

Date Commenced: October 2020

Thesis Overview: This research project focuses on the narratives of carers of people with young onset dementia, exploring the experience of being an unpaid carer through songwriting practice. It will specifically look at understanding how they manage the complexities of being a carer for a younger person with dementia, the particular challenges that this presents and how they support their own health and wellbeing, particularly in relation to how they retain their own lives and identities.

As this is a creative project and is practice based, the methods adopt a practice as research approach (PAR) reflected in the creative practice of the student (song-writing), this will sit alongside Narrative Inquiry which will frame the ‘story-telling’ nature of the research.

Part-time funded by Holmes care group

Thesis Overview: Yvonne’s PHD will explore the understanding of partnership working with families of people with dementia in nursing homes from the perspective of staff. It will look to understand what staff consider to be the influence of partnerships on their practice including how they plan, deliver and evaluate care. Yvonne aims to draw on the theoretical insights arising from the study to make recommendations for practice to promote partnership working in care between staff and families.

Supervisory Team: Dr Louise Ritchie, Dr Emma Bolger, Professor Debbie Tolson

Full-time.

Date Commenced: October 2021

Rachel's PhD will explore young onset dementia and career development, in particular the connections between career, work, identity and young onset dementia. The study will use a qualitative methodology and may take a creative study design approach.

Supervisory Team: Dr Constantina Papadopoulou, Dr Rhoda MacRae, Professor Debbie Tolson

Full-time.

Date Commenced: October 2021

This study will explore the cancer care experience for people living with a dual dementia-cancer diagnosis. I will conduct a scoping review of the experiences of people living with dementia and cancer. Then, using mixed methods including observation, interviews, mapping and surveys the study will gain an understanding of the dementia cancer care experience in Scotland. The findings from this research aims to provide insight to support the development of an integrated dementia-cancer pathway with stakeholders which reflects and supports the needs of this patient population.

Supervisory Team: Professor Debbie Tolson, Dr Bryan Mitchell, Dr Margaret Brown

Full-time.

Date Commenced: October 2021

The aim of Connor's thesis is to understand the current experiences of family visitors of people living with dementia in care homes and to explore the potential benefits of family-led reminiscence during visits. This will be a collaborative action research study working collaboratively with family visitors to create and test a family-led intervention based on the principles of individualised reminiscence. Following this we will create a resource based on the study findings to support the delivery of family led, individualised reminiscence.

CONTACT DETAILS

Alzheimer Scotland,160 Dundee street, Edinburgh, EH11 1DQ
Email:hsimmons@alzscot.org | Phone:  +44 131 243 1453 

Expertise

Henry Simmons joined Alzheimer Scotland as Chief Executive in August 2008. He is a registered Social Worker, RMN and has an MBA.

Henry has over twenty years’ experience in the health and social care sector and has spent the majority of his career in the voluntary sector, primarily involved in developing new community-based person-centred services.

Henry has worked in both the learning disability and mental health fields. He was a Board Member of Alzheimer Europe for several years and is a General Member of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland. He is also chair of the NHS NES/SSSC Dementia Programme Board and currently a member of the Fair Work Convention.

Recently, Henry has been fortunate to be awarded Honorary Doctorates from both Queen Margaret University and Glasgow Caledonian University.

CONTACT DETAILS

Alzheimer Scotland, 81 Oxford Street, Glasgow, G5 9EP.
Email: jpearson@alzscot.org | Phone: +44 7931148478

EXPERTISE

MBA

Jim is Alzheimer Scotland’s Director of Policy & Research. He leads the organisation’s public policy development, campaigning activities and engagement in dementia research. He is responsible for working with key stakeholders to ensure that the commitments of Scotland’s National Dementia Strategies are delivered at local and individual level. Jim is also responsible for Alzheimer Scotland’s national and local involvement networks which ensure that people with dementia and carers have an effective voice to inform the work of Alzheimer Scotland and to influence dementia policy, practice and research nationally and locally. Jim is also a member of the Alzheimer Europe Board of Directors.

CONTACT DETAILS

Alzheimer Scotland, Kilmarnock Dementia Resource Centre, 8-12 College Wynd, Kilmarnock, KA1 1HN
Email: jgray@alzscot.org | Phone: +44 141 410 1065 | Mobile: +44 7899 951 616

EXPERTISE

Joyce joined Alzheimer Scotland in January 2010 as Deputy Director of Development and leads on major projects that have attracted international interest e.g. Dementia Dog. Joyce has a BA in Business and Enterprise and CIPD Diploma in Training Management, in addition to over 30 years’ experience in the health and social care sector.

She started her career as a Psychiatric Nurse but had the opportunity to join the voluntary sector in the early nineties and has since worked with young people excluded from main stream education, managed Carers Centres where she developed one of the first young carers services in the Scotland. Also, before joining Alzheimer Scotland she worked on developing new and innovative services for people with learning disabilities.

In her current role she drives the design innovation programme at Alzheimer Scotland pioneering the use of creativity to help build collaborative user driven service innovation.

CONTACT DETAILS

Alzheimer Scotland, 160 Dundee street, Edinburgh, EH11 1DQ.
Email: ehunter@alzscot.org  | Phone: +44 131 243 1499  | Mobile: +44 7765 565 853

CONTACT DETAILS

Alzheimer Scotland, 160 Dundee street, Edinburgh, EH11 1DQ.
Email: amckean@alzscot.org  | Phone: +44 131 243 1453

EXPERTISE

BSc.

Alison graduated in Occupational Therapy in 2000. She has over 18 years of experience working in the field of dementia and mental health in the National Health Service, she was Dementia Lead within her Service for many years.
Alison’s national leadership role with Alzheimer Scotland focuses on enhancing access to the skills of the Allied Health Professionals in the post diagnostic period (as per Ambition One of Scotland’s AHP dementia policy, Connecting People, Connecting Support).
Alison is passionate about improvements in dementia care and is a graduate of the Scottish Quality and Safety Fellowship (cohort 9).

Missing Content

EXPERTISE

PhD, PG Cert. Research Methods, B.A. (Hons) Lit, RN, RSCN, Lecturer/Practice Educator.

Barbara was a nurse and nurse teacher within the NHS for 18yrs, specialising in the care of older people prior to joining Alzheimer Scotland in 1990, where she has held a range of practice, policy and development roles. She has worked in close collaboration with the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice (ASCPP) at UWS since its inception and is part of the National Dementia Champions teaching team. Barbara works closely with the national network of Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Nurse Consultants across all Scottish Health Boards. Her key research interest is in the role of stress in dementia. Barbara is currently leading on the partnership development between Alzheimer Scotland and ASCPP of an International Centre for Dementia Practice and Technology.

EXPERTISE

Professor Peacock's previous clinical practice and current research interests are focused on supporting persons with dementia and their family caregivers, particularly at the end of life and into bereavement.

Her master of nursing degree (University of Saskatchewan, 2003) was a systematic review of interventions to support family caregivers to persons with dementia, and her PhD (University of Alberta, 2011) research was a phenomenology on the experience of providing end-of-life care to a relative with advanced dementia.

She actively participates in several research projects with colleagues from Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, and Scotland. She has received a Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation Establishment Grant (2014 - 2018) to adapt a self-administered bereavement tool to the dementia-context. Recent interests have expanded to explore the delivery of dementia care in correctional settings. Shelley teaches fundamental assessment and clinical skills in undergraduate courses in the BSN and PDBSN programs of the college. Also, Shelley supervises and is a committee member for many graduate students in nursing and psychology.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Dementia
• Family caregiving
• Older adults

EXPERTISE

Dr Wood is a music therapist, music therapy supervisor and researcher. He has 20 years' experience as a music therapist in a wide variety of settings, and a growing track record of doctoral supervision, research methods teaching and music therapy input. He presents frequently in national and international contexts, on music therapy and aspects of medical humanities. His research interests focus on aesthetics of care, using innovative methods from musicology and drama to explore everyday life situations.

He has a creative and innovative approach to providing music therapy within healthcare, education and social care, and provides a wide range of music therapy and Arts in Health services, including music therapy, consultancy, expert reports, supervision and corporate masterclasses / workshops. His training programme, Aeriel, was launched in August 2018.

In 2017 he was awarded an MBE for services to music therapy and care.

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Supervisory Team: Professor Debbie Tolson, Professor John Connelly (Political Sciences), Dr Anna Jack-Waugh. 

Full time. Recipient of the Bangabandhu Overseas Scholarship Program at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Date Commenced: December 2019.

Thesis Overview: A mixed method study, which aims to investigate and analyse Scottish dementia care policies and workforce development approaches to determine their utility for application within Bangladesh. Data collection approaches will involve Documentary Policy Analysis (desk based), Stakeholder Interviews (Key informants from Scotland), A Policy Delphi (online with experts from Bangladesh and Scotland) and Nominal Group Technique (on site in Bangladesh). Theoretical influences include rights based approaches and policy learning.