Research

Priority Setting Using Nominal Group Technique

This project, led by Dr. Eileen Harkess-Murphy with Dr. Rachel Allen (now McHendry), involved seven focus groups in the autumn of 2025 (two for those living with a dementia diagnosis, two for those with experience of caring for someone with a diagnosis, one for employers, one for policy professionals and one for academics and researchers). The groups focused on what needed to happen to improve the work-related experiences of people living with dementia and family carers. A project summary is now available below. A video explaining the focus group methodology, ‘nominal group technique’, can also be found below:

Download – Project Summary

Download – Video about nominal group technique

Following this project and reflections on their approach, Eileen and Rachel published a short article online with Times Higher Education about pseudonym use in research. You can access the article by clicking the button below:

Six questions researchers should ask before assigning pseudonyms

Rapid Evidence Reviews

This project, led by Prof. Carol Holland with Dr. Kiera Kenny, involves conducting four to five rapid evidence reviews to add to the field of employment and dementia. The reviews will be focused on workplace supports for employees living with dementia, the economic impacts of young-onset dementia, labour market barriers and facilitators for informal caregivers and brain health in the workplace. Further information and resources will be available as the project progresses.

Dementia in the Workplace: A Comparative Doctrinal and Empirical Analysis of Employment Tribunal Judgments in the UK, Canada and Australia

This project, led by Dr. Lyndsey Bengtsson with Dr. Connor McDonald, aims to analyse employment tribunal judgments relating to dementia across the UK, Canada, and Australia, and to understand how legislation is applied in workplace contexts. This research will provide pertinent learning outcomes for both employers and employees in this area, and may also offer recommendations for legal reform. An accessible summary of findings from this study will soon be available.

In June 2026, Connor presented a summary of the study to date at the Faculty of the Psychology of Older People conference via a recording, which is available via the link below:

Employment Tribunal Judgements: Short Presentation