​Home Focus - an evaluation (2014-16) 
 I have worked on this project with my OU colleague Dr Chris Kubiak and colleagues from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). Professor Josie Tetley at MMU is the Principal Investigator, along with Dr Jennie Fisher, Dr Emma-Reetta Koivunen and Dr Robin Hadley. It was an evaluation of another Alzheimers Society initiative for people living with dementia at home in their communities. 
 Hospital Liaison Service - an evaluation​ (2013-14)
2013-14  I was lead investigator on an independent evaluation for the Alzheimers Society of two pilot projects which were developing an in-hospital liaison service to provide information and contacts for people with a diagnosis of dementia, and their family carers. Dr Jeane Katz, Dr Judith Dorrell and I submitted our final report to the society in 2014.

What happens to people with dementia after discharge from general hospital?


I was part of a multidisciplinary group working on this 33-month project funded by the Alzheimers Society, aiming:
  • To investigate the range of outcomes for people with dementia after general hospital.
  • To estimate family and societal costs of care for people with dementia after general hospital.
  • To identify the key predictors of better outcomes for people with dementia after hospital.
  • For those people with dementia discharged from general hospital to a care home, to explore their personal experience of the transition.
The Principal Investigator for this project was Dr Bart Sheehan, Associate Clinical Professor at Warwick Medical School. The co-investigators were Dr Heather Gage, Surrey University; Dr Jeanne Katz, Open University; Dr Nwe Thein and Dr Ranjit Lall, Warwick Medical School; and myself. The researchers were Dr Chris Stinton and Kathryn Mitchell.

The research was in two phases:
The first part of the study involved over 100 people who had been diagnosed with dementia, with assessments 6 months and 12 months after discharge.

The second part of the study looked in more detail at a smaller sub-sample of around 15 family carers and people with dementia who had been discharged from general hospital to a new care home placement.

Publications from this study include:

Sheehan, B.D., Lall, R., Stinton, C., Mitchell, K., Gage, H., Holland, C., Katz, J. (2012). Patient and proxy measurement of quality of life among general hospital in-patients with dementia. Aging and Mental Health  16(5):603-7. Epub 2012 Feb 24.