Inclusive Dementia Research Priorities Research Project

Key Aims:

It is known that certain ethnic minority groups are more at risk of developing dementia and that it is harder for these communities to access appropriate care and treatment. The key aims of the project were for researchers to work with a local Somali community organisation to determine priority research areas for brain health and dementia. Three workshops were conducted to help identify, discuss and develop the research priorities further.

The first workshop was an initial consultation with 34 Somali community members to discuss areas of dementia and brain health where there are gaps in knowledge and research. In the second workshop, 17 knowledge gaps were discussed further with 15 participants who were asked to rank some of these as their top ten research priorities. These priorities were subsequently discussed in a final workshop to outline next steps to investigate these further via research.

Impact: 

This project has demonstrated the importance of involving minority community groups in planning and performing research that is inclusive and equitable. This is an improvement on what was previously reported in the 2015 national James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership (JLA PSP) which showed little involvement of ethnic minority groups in dementia research. In collaboration with the Somali community, the project has also identified key areas of research that have been disseminated externally via publications and communications. The project team is seeking further funding to support inclusive research that addresses these gaps in dementia research and care.

Project Team and Funding:

The project was led by Dr Becky Field at the University of Sheffield in collaboration with Israac, a local Somali community organisation. The project was also supported by the NIHR HRC in Long-Term Conditions (Devices for Dignity) and collaborators at the University of Bristol and University of York. The project was funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research, Three Schools for Dementia Research Programme. (https://www.sscr.nihr.ac.uk/dementia-research-programme/).

The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

More Links:

Please look at the project website for more information (Inclusive Dementia Research Priorities Project) or contact Dr Becky Field (Lead Researcher; b.field@sheffield.ac.uk) with any queries.

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