SURE Student Placement With AcTo Dementia

Ella Davenport, an undergraduate Psychology student at The University of Sheffield, recently completed a summer vacation scholarship working on the AcTo Dementia project.

This scholarship was organised by Think Ahead SURE (Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience) and funded by the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council). In this article, Ella discusses her experience joining the research team and working on this project.
 After reaching my second year of university, and still unsure as to what career path I wanted to pursue, the Think Ahead SURE scheme offered me the opportunity to gain valuable research experience. Following an application process, I was lucky enough to be selected to work with Phil Joddrell on the AcTo dementia project. The project includes a website, which suggests apps that are accessible for people with dementia and which they may enjoy playing. In order to identify such apps, a review criteria has been developed to evaluate the appropriateness of the apps, based on their customisation options and presence of advertisements among others things.

 The objective of my placement was to identify at least 20 apps using this review criteria and write reviews for each of these, to be published on the AcTo Dementia website. These apps included both classic games, such as Chess and Hangman (pictured), as well as novel games including 1010 (pictured) and Stack Box. When writing the reviews, I included the pros and cons of each app and the recommended settings; for example, whether the user would be able to change the background colour and if this would improve the contrast and clarity of the game. In addition to identifying games people may enjoy, I also looked into other types of downloadable apps, such as those focused on music and cookery, to provide more variety for people visiting the website.

Alongside using the review criteria, I have also been evaluating its reliability. I have looked at the inter-rater reliability between the many people who have used these criteria, generally finding values of above 0.8, which are considered very respectable.  The end of the scheme is marked by a conference style, academic presentation for other students on the Think Ahead SURE scheme. This will be good experience, as I feel this summer has furthered my interest in postgraduate study, which would require me to deliver presentations in this style, and answer questions on the spot.

I have enjoyed my time spent working within CATCH and alongside Phil, and have found it to be very valuable, teaching me more about life as a researcher and as a PhD student. In addition, I would highly recommend the Think Ahead SURE scheme, especially to students who are unsure as to what they want to go on to do. The scheme has allowed me to better my understanding of how research is conducted, including applications for funding and ethics. Finally, I would like to thank Phil and CATCH for a great 8 weeks, and making me feel so welcome.

TA SURE Scheme Summer Placement working with IN-LIFE

I applied to the TA SURE Scheme in November due to recommendation from an older

Emily Preston-Jones

student that it was extremely good experience. The scheme offered around 30 projects from related departments within the faculty of science, each of which had a short video explaining their aim. One of particular interest to me was the IN-LIFE (Independent Living Support Functions for the Elderly) project led by Sarah Smith from CATCH. IN-LIFE is a multidisciplinary European project working to prolong and support independent living for people with cognitive impairments using technology, with Sheffield being the only UK base. I was lucky enough to be matched with Sarah from my interview panel and began working with her in June. The project involves working with people with dementia to improve their wellbeing through a series of group sessions using a system called CIRCA (Computer Interactive Reminiscence and Conversation Aid). CIRCA is a fantastic system, operated using a touchscreen, that presents old photographs, videos and music within different themes (such as Childhood) in order to stimulate reminiscence and discussion. It has been shown that meaningful interactions and conversation are two of the most frequently reported unmet needs by people living with dementia, and in the absence of a cure, it is essential that research focuses on the social and psychological aspects of dementia.

I am currently half way through my placement and have accompanied Sarah to many of the group sessions within Sheffcare residential homes. Sheffcare is the leading provider of dementia care in Sheffield. Additionally I have shadowed Sarah taking the pre and post intervention questionnaires that will allow us to measure the effects of CIRCA on cognition, Quality of Life and Health for each participant.

The focus of my placement, however, is not the group sessions. I have conducted my own case study research using CIRCA in a one to one context with an elderly gentleman who is confined to his room due to the effects of Pneumonia. There were 4 sessions in total, each lasting around an hour, in which we explored the media that CIRCA had to offer and see what conversation it prompted. Each session was video recorded so that any emerging themes could be identified without the distraction of explicit note taking by the researcher. The sessions were incredibly successful and stimulated much conversation, laughter and enjoyment from both myself and the participant.

I am now in the process of analysing the data and highlighting any emergent themes within each, and all, of the sessions. I will hopefully be conducting a further case study with another gentleman and his wife, to explore dyadic participation using CIRCA, and whether the same or different themes emerge. Once the data has been analysed I aim to write an academic paper based on the research that I have conducted, with the hope of it being published in a relevant journal next year.

To learn more about this projects please visit the links below:

http://www.catch.org.uk/current-project/inlife/

http://www.inlife-project.eu/

Written by Emily Preston-Jones, BSc Psychology Undergraduate