Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Brain health, community support and public engagement
Community engagement and support lie at the heart of improving brain health and dementia risk reduction and in supporting people and their family and friends following a dementia diagnosis.
Maintaining brain health is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, as few other issues will have a similar level of effect on human longevity.
Widening the diversity of patients and members of the public in community engagement and involvement in brain health research is both a national and local priority but is historically difficult to achieve and maintain. We work collaboratively with brain health researchers, academics, advocates and policy makers in the UK and internationally on projects related to brain health.
Receiving a dementia diagnosis is life-changing for the person and their family and friends. Services and support provided by the wider community, including the voluntary sector and charities plays a vital role in helping people to cope with dementia, to feel supported and to lead active and fulfilling lives post-diagnosis. Our work in this area includes research and evaluation around community-based support for people affected by dementia, with a particular interest in theatre and the arts.
People living with a diagnosis of dementia and those who support them, including friends and family members have a wealth of expertise. We work in partnership with people affected by dementia to develop and conduct research which is relevant to their needs, inclusive and accessible.
Current and recent funded research and evaluation:
This co-production project has been designed by people living with dementia who are part of the Leeds Dementia Engagement and Empowerment Project (DEEP), as part of the Dementia Enquirers project’s commitment to put people with dementia in the driving seat of research. The research element of the project is a survey of people diagnosed with dementia in Yorkshire to understand the new opportunities people have experienced after diagnosis, and what barriers and facilitators effect people taking up new opportunities. The survey design, data collection and analysis is supported by members of the Centre for Dementia Research team.
Chief Investigator: Dr Nicky Taylor
Leeds Beckett Investigators: Prof. Claire Surr and Dr Laura Booi
Funder: Dementia Enquirers, The National Lottery Community Fund
Funding amount: Partnership project with Leeds Up and Go DEEP group
Funded by a Global Brain Health Leader Award from the Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Association and the Global Brain Health Institute. This project is working in conjunction with a large-scale, multi-centre study, the PREVENT Study, which aims to establish novel and clinically applicable early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease, this project will identify the motives, facilitators, and barriers to participation in dementia prevention/risk-reduction research in healthy middle-aged adults who are under-represented in research.
Chief Investigator: Dr Laura Booi
Leeds Beckett Investigators: Prof. Claire Surr and Dr Leanne Greene
Funder: Global Brain Health Institute, Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Society
Funding amount: $25,000 (USD)
This Pilot Award for Global Brain Health Leaders addresses the first stage of an ambitious plan to create a research centre focused on theatre and dementia. This feasibility study asks specifically: how can people with dementia be successfully involved in the co-production of a research centre for theatre and dementia? A practical process of creative co-production will engage people with dementia as creative equals to determine the focus and ambition of the centre’s initial plan, and as ongoing collaborators as it is realised. This pilot will draw on knowledge, experience and opinions of people with dementia, artists and researchers, to co-produce a model for the centre, giving equal weight to theatre practice and the scientific study of that practice.
Chief Investigator: Dr Nicky Taylor
Funder: Global Brain Health Institute, Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Society
Funding amount: $25,000
Funded by the Yorkshire and Humber Clinical Research Network, the aim of this project is to develop the Yorkshire and Humber Brain Health Research Network (YH-BHRN) and establish a set of inclusive guidelines for brain health researchers working with Third Sector organizations that support seldom-heard from voices in the Yorkshire and Humber region.
Chief Investigator: Dr Laura Booi
Leeds Beckett Investigators: Drs Sarah Smith and Nicky Taylor
Funder: Yorkshire and Humber Clinical Research Network
Funding amount: £19,915.71
This international project aims to create a central hub for emerging professionals in the diplomacy space to learn about Brain Health Diplomacy focused ventures. Building on the recent model for Brain Health Diplomacy, this innovative approach, which seeks to directly connect brain health science with the concept of diplomacy, is essential to advance greater equity in brain health outcomes for an aging population. This is particularly imperative for marginalized and seldom heard communities worldwide, where traditional policy paradigms, programs, and approaches to research need this support most.
Chief Investigator: Dr Laura Booi
Funder: Global Brain Health Institute
Funding amount: €5,000
Funded by a Seed Grant from BrainLat, the aim of this project is to develop regional capacity in Latin America, for brain health diplomacy. Working in partnership with BrainLat, ReDLat, and the Global Brain Health Institute, our team will refine, test the feasibility, and disseminate a Brain Health Diplomats’ Toolkit to advance brain health diplomacy. The need to apply this framework is salient and increasing in Latin America as the cumulative burdens of brain health disorders in Latin America are the highest in the world.
Chief Investigator: Dr Walter Dawson, Oregon Health and Science University
Leeds Beckett Investigators: Dr Laura Booi
Funder: BrainLat Institute
Funding amount: £19,915.71
