Dementia doctoral training
Dementia doctoral training
We have a proud history of PhD students in the Association for Dementia Studies (ADS) and welcome anyone who is interested in undertaking research towards MPhil and PhD degrees in Dementia Studies. There are many different options regarding how you could study with us, such as full-time, part-time, self-funding etc. As a research student you will join a vibrant student community in the Research School and become part of our dynamic research environment.
Current areas of interest
The research being undertaken by our current PhD students aligns with four main areas of interest:
- Care settings - There is a range of living and care options available to people living with dementia. In the UK 70% of care home residents and 23% of housing with care/extra care housing residents are living with dementia and this proportion is likely to increase due to an ageing population and increased early diagnosis rates. Research is needed to understand how best to support people living with dementia in different accommodation and care settings. Current ADS PhD projects within the field of housing, care and dementia are: exploring dementia related stigma in extra care housing; development and evaluation of a best housing assessment tool for people living with dementia extra care housing; understanding trauma informed dementia care within a residential/nursing home setting. Areas that need further research include the impact of intergenerational practice, the impact of pet assisted therapy, pain management for people living with dementia in long-term care settings, the impact of community hubs and the experiences of ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ residents.
- Community-based initiatives - Research by ADS in the area of community-based initiatives (CBIs) started in 2014 with the international MeetingDem project around Meeting Centres (MCs). These provide an innovative way of supporting people with mild to moderate dementia and their families through an evidence-based, person-centred approach. This research extended to other forms of CBIs with our SCI-DEM project (2019 to 2020) about what makes a community intervention for people affected by dementia sustainable: in what circumstances and why. The Get Real project (2021to 2023) focused on the sustainability of MCs. Food Glorious Food (2024 to 2025) sees a return to the wider CBI context investigating the use of food in community groups that support people living with dementia. A recently completed PhD project investigated the social return on investment of MCs. Current PhD projects include CBIs and sustainability and understanding the experiences of people engaging in mark making in MCs. CBIs are crucial to providing post-diagnostic support to people living with dementia and care partners. However, availability is patchy and many third sector providers struggle to keep going. The situation is worsening with rising costs and lack of funding opportunities. Further research in this arena is urgently needed to better understand the wider systems (including those related to prevention, diagnosis and other long-term conditions) around CBIs, cost-effectiveness and the role of technology.
- Relationships - A dementia diagnosis does not change the desire to connect. However, dementia creates barriers to social interaction and impacts on the quality and nature of relationships with families, friends and local communities. Family and intimate relationships are complex and living with dementia increases this complexity. Relationships need to be revised and continuously adapted as dementia progresses. The process is unpredictable, everyone’s dementia journey is different and for each individual with dementia, their family and carer(s), the challenges experienced are different. Dementia impacts on the roles people hold within a relationship, emotional intimacy and sense of identity within a relationship. Reducing the experience of isolation, loss of connection, strain on relationships, and loss of self in dementia requires others to adapt to the changes experienced by the person living with dementia and to modify their attitudes, behaviour and communication to enable empathic understanding and emotional connection. Current ADS PhD projects related to these issues are: understanding of the benefits of person-centred counselling post-dementia diagnosis; understanding connectedness in interactions between people living with dementia and the researcher through the practice of Goethean Delicate Empiricism; understanding trauma informed dementia care within a residential/nursing home setting; dementia caregiving within later in life re-partnerships.
- Dementia education - We are a multidisciplinary team that provides teaching to a number of professional groups including care home staff, domiciliary workers, General Practitioners, hospital staff as well as many other health and social care professionals. Person-centred care is at the heart of all of our education, which aims to equip attendees with the necessary knowledge and skills and empower them to use their personal leadership to affect changes to how they live and work. People with dementia, their families and their carers inform our work at all stages. The ADS team has a long-standing commitment to the translation of research into knowledge exchange and thus into practice and policy. Understanding more about dementia education in different contexts and the impact of this is crucial to improving the lives of people affected by dementia. Current research includes identifying the gaps in dementia education provision in occupational therapy programmes across higher education institutions in the UK.
If you have an idea for a potential PhD research project see how you could apply, or you can also take a look at project ideas here.
Previous PhDs
Two areas that ADS has been involved with previously in terms of PhDs are:
If you would be interested in a PhD that builds on either of these areas, please consider applying.
A full list of our previous PhD students is also available:
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Swift, R. (2021) Flourishing through Music: Understanding, Promoting and Supporting Musical Activity Shared within the Caring Relationships of People with Dementia Living at Home. PhD thesis, University of Worcester: Studentship funded by the Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centre for The Arts and Dementia (TAnDem)
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Veale, A., (2021) How do arts practitioners engage the person with dementia living in a care home setting? PhD thesis, University of Worcester: Studentship funded by the Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centre for The Arts and Dementia (TAnDem)
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Gray, K. (2020) Unpicking the fabric of methodological challenge: Evaluating arts-based activities for people living with dementia. PhD thesis, University of Worcester: Studentship funded by the Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centre for The Arts and Dementia (TAnDem)
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Herz, M. (2018) And then there were three: A qualitative exploration of incorporating a live-in care-worker into the home of a couple where one spouse has dementia. PhD thesis, University of Worcester.
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Yemm, H. (2017) Cognitive Impairment in Later Life: Understanding Lay, Professional and Memory Service User Perspectives. PhD thesis, University of Worcester.