Confident Conversations: Talking about research with Alzheimer Scotland staff

 

Recently, the SDRC had the pleasure of joining a Confident Conversations training session, delivered to Alzheimer Scotland staff who work directly with people living with dementia. The aim of the session was to build confidence and knowledge around research opportunities so that staff can feel equipped to have meaningful conversations about participation in dementia research.

Confident Conversations is a collaborative initiative between the Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network (NDN) and Alzheimer Scotland. It’s designed to empower staff, who often have the closest, most trusted relationships with people living with a dementia diagnosis and their families, to talk about research when the time is right.

We believe that the people best placed to have these conversations are those already offering care and support. This training gives practitioners the tools, confidence and understanding to start the conversation and explore research participation in an appropriate and timely way.

The session explored the different ways individuals can get involved in research. These include registering with Join Dementia Research or signing up to NDN’s Permission to Contact register. If people living with dementia or their loved ones would prefer not to take part in a study directly, there is also the opportunity to join Partners in Research which supports researchers shape and refine their research. For those diagnosed with dementia, there’s also the opportunity to contribute to future research by donating brain tissue to the Alzheimer Scotland Brain Tissue Bank after death.

Participants learned about the different types of research taking place, how studies are carried out, and how treatments are developed. The training also addressed common concerns around clinical research and highlighted the crucial role that volunteers play in making research possible. Hearing real-life stories and testimonials from those with lived experience, including past research participants, brought these messages home.

The session itself was informal, supportive, and discussion-led—creating a safe space for questions and reflections. It was led by the Strategic Manager Dr Emma Law and Jacqui Kerr, Network Manager, both of the NDN.

To measure impact, attendees were asked to rate their confidence in speaking about research at both the beginning and end of the session. It was incredibly encouraging to see that, by the end of the day, every participant not only felt more knowledgeable and confident, but also committed to putting what they’d learned into everyday practice.

A big thank you to Emma and Jacqui for inviting SDRC to be part of this interesting and informative training!

To find out more about the Network, visit the NDN’s website

 

Read more SDRC Blogs

International Researcher: Ariel Frame

Today, the SDRC goes international! This guest blog is form Ariel K. Frame, PhD Candidate from the neuroscience graduate program at Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. Ariel tells us about research and a desire to work in Scotland.     I am a neurobiologist...

Early Career Researcher Profiles

These Early Career Researcher profiles are some of the researchers that featured in the SDRC Annual Report 2022/23. We will share the rest of these profiles tomorrow, but you can read all profiles, and the rest of the SDRC report here  Lisa Davison  I am a...

Early Career Researchers: Martha Pollard

We hope you are enjoying our blog series which is celebrating our next generation of researchers, featuring those that were in the SDRC Annual Report 2019/20.  Our final blog is by Martha Pollard, from the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Resource Centre. Read about...

A Bicycle Built for Two…or More: Collaboration in Research

A Bicycle Built for Two….or More: Collaboration in Research In the second blog of our new series we hear from Dr Margaret Brown, Senior Lecturer and Depute Director of the Alzheimer Centre for Policy and Practice at University of the West of Scotland. Read Margaret's...

Alzheimer Scotland Student Research Programme announces first MRes student

The Alzheimer Scotland Student Research Programme is excited to announce our first ever MRes student: Kelly Kelly. Kelly’s studentship is hosted by the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice at the University of the West of Scotland. She is supervised by Dr...

Early Career Researchers: Jennifer Waymont

Recently as part of the launch of the SDRC Annual Report 2019/20, we have been sharing the work early career researchers by publishing a series of blogs from the ECRs that feature in the report. Today, we are featuring Jennifer Waymont, a PhD student from the...

Research involvement blog: Margaret Hence

The SDRC's Research Involvement blog series, features all types of research from across Scotland. This blog series shares experiences of different perspectives of research as well as tips and lessons for researchers. Our latest blog in this series is from Margaret...

I Got Involved and then it was Radio Silence

In today's Research Involvement blog, we are featuring Marion Ritchie, member of the National Dementia Carers Action Network (NDCAN) who has been involved in research for many years. Marion is just one of many people we have been speaking to their experiences of...

COVID Impact on Research: Principal Investigator Blog- Dr Terry Quinn

Following on from the success of our SDRC Early Career Researcher guest blogs, we wanted to represent our more established researchers as well. We are delighted to share a blog from Dr Terry Quinn, Clinical Senior Lecturer from the University of Glasgow and SDRC...

Early Career Researchers: Stina Saunders

Throughout August, the SDRC are publishing a series of blogs from PhD Students/ Early Career Researchers in dementia and brain health.   For the first week, we are featuring those that were in the SDRC Impact Report 2019.  Read about Stina Saunders' research as a PhD...