Dear INTERDEM Academy members, here is the first PRIDE newsletter to keep you updated on our work. Work Package 5 relates to the INTERDEM Academy. PRIDE Newsletter, First Edition Welcome to the first edition of what will become a regular bulletin from the team at PRIDE. We are in the first stages of the programme, and are pleased that the website at ucl.ac.uk/psychiatry/pride is live and now features further information about the programme. The ethics application is well underway and will be submitted shortly, and we are pleased to bring you updates from the teams delivering work packages 1 and 2, as well as some great news from Interdem on Work Package 5. If you would like to feature anything in the next edition please contact me at [email protected]. In the meantime, thank you for taking the time to read this and we look forward to bringing you the next edition as quickly as we can. Work Package 1 The overarching aim of Work Package 1 is to determine the impact of changes across different financial, social, and lifestyle domains on the rate and pattern of cognitive decline, and the development of dementia, among older people in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and related ageing cohorts in the USA, continental Europe, and Brazil. This Work Package also aims to investigate the impact of cognitive decline and impairment on family financial status and loss of productivity, and to develop an economic model that looks at how changes in lifestyle and social factors impact on the costs of dementia. Progress is currently being made in three important areas. First, discussions have started concerning how available data on cognitive test performance in ELSA may be appropriately used for determining cognitive impairment and assigning dementia status. Second, there is an on-going discussion of some preliminary research plans that outline specific hypotheses and data analyses linking lifestyle factors and psychosocial activities to cognitive decline and dementia in ELSA and other cohorts. Third, we are critically appraising previous economic models of dementia care, which will inform the development of our economic model. Work Package 2 This will use a variety of qualitative interview and observational methods to explore the lived experience of cognitive change in the ELSA cohort and in a newly-recruited sample of people with early stage dementia to assess social impact over time. The findings from this will help in identifying what components of a social intervention may be relevant to supporting the continuing participation of people with early stage dementia in activities that they value and find meaningful in their everyday lives. Prof Paul Higgs, Dr Georgina Charlesworth and Prof Fiona Poland are leading this area work. We welcome the appointment from Sept 2014 of Dr Linda Birt to the team as the Senior RA who will be developing and supervising this area of work, based with Fiona at UEA, bringing expertise in qualitative research with carers, family support. We also welcome links to James Sinclairs PhD studies with Georgina and Paul which will provide relevant linked findings about social and cultural contexts for fears of dementia. Work Package 5 The team will develop an INTERDEM Academy for the career development and capacity building of researchers in the area of psychosocial interventions and timely diagnosis in people with dementia, and to support the pathway to senior academic posts in the field. The INTERDEM Academy is led by prof. Frans Verhey, associate prof. Marjolein de Vugt, and post-doctoral fellow Inge Klinkenberg from Maastricht University/ Alzheimer Center Limburg, the Netherlands. Our progress regarding WP5 is being focused on four vital areas. First, a contact database for the Academy is being set up, consisting of junior researchers whose names have been forwarded by INTERDEM members. For your interest, here are some statistics on the 88 Academy members whom have been collected so far: • 60% of Academy members is PhD student, whereas 18% is post-doc, and 22% has an other profession. • 75% of Academy members is female, whereas 25% is male. • 57% of Academy members is UK resident, 23% is from the Netherlands, whereas the remaining 20% lives in other European countries. We are hoping to attract more members from all European countries. In addition to the Academy contact database, an INTERDEM Academy Facebook page has been launched. Secondly, the INTERDEM Academy has enabled fellowships for PhD students and post-doc researchers allowing them to spend 3-6 months in another PRIDE/ INTERDEM research center. In total, two INTERDEM Academy Fellowships can be granted per year, for a period of four years. Applications for 2014 are now open. The closing date is October 31st, 2014. Thirdly, the very first INTERDEM Academy Masterclass “Raising the standard: better evaluations of psychosocial interventions in dementia care through improved methodology” will be held on October 21st in Glasgow during the 2014 edition of Alzheimer Europe. Response to the Masterclass has been great, so unfortunately we had to put some people on the waiting list. The intention is to repeat the Masterclass again at a later time point. Fourthly, we are very excited to announce an upcoming INTERDEM Academy Masterclass in the Netherlands, and a Summer school for 2015. Details will follow soon. More information regarding INTERDEM and the INTERDEM Academy can be found via: interdem.org, Yammer (to join, simply e-mail Kim Morgan: [email protected]) or via Facebook: facebook/InterdemAcademy. Diary September 16th & 17th PRIDE work package meetings September 17th PRIDE update meeting October 21st – 23rd Alzheimer Europe Conference, Glasgow October 21st INTERDEM Academy workshop (at Alzheimer Europe Conference, Glasgow)
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 08:24:20 +0000
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