This theme focuses on dementia and mental health in old age and is led by Professor Carol Brayne. It aims to characterise the mental health of older people and to improve preventative and treatment interventions. The programme of work is carried out in collaboration with a range of NHS bodies, but also with charities such as the Alzheimer’s Society. The theme is based in the Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, and at Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
The theme has a wide portfolio of projects including population based studies and therapeutic trials. Examples of inter-agency working include the scoping of a Dementia Register, which would facilitate service planning for those with this condition; service evaluation projects spanning primary and secondary care; and a collaborative project with the Engineering Design Centre looking at service redesign. Establishing a senior appointment in old age psychiatry aims to further research and training in this region. Evidence synthesis and research dissemination are important elements of our translational work.
Our main projects:
Read an information leaflet for patients and the public on our research into dementia.
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PPI workshop on Population screening for dementia: Public Attitudes and Preferences in the UK (Cambridgeshire)
36 members of the general public from across Cambridgeshire and eight Alzheimer’s Society Research Network volunteers attended a workship with the study team reviewing international research on the public’s opinion of population screening for dementia.
The team are interested in exploring whether people would be willing to be screened for dementia. After a general introduction of what population screening is, attendees discussed in small groups their general attitudes, preferences, and reasons behind their views towards dementia screening. They were then asked to react to key findings from the review of international research and engaged in a healthy closing discussion on whether screening for dementia is a good idea.
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Eighty seven people attended the Dementia Research: Knowledge Into Care Event on 26 September 2011 at the Trinity Centre in Cambridge, including healthcare practitioners, commissioners, researchers, members of the public and NHS and care home managers.
The event was organised jointly by the CLAHRC CP and DenDRoN, the Dementias & Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network, bringing people from different disciplines and backgrounds together to discuss how knowledge from research can improve practice in hospital, care homes and the community.