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Research for Alzheimer’s Society: understanding dementia training in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Introduction
Alzheimer’s Society has commissioned the Centre for Dementia Research at Leeds Beckett University in partnership with IFF Research to conduct research to better understand the dementia training and education currently being delivered across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The aim of the study is to produce important evidence on the current training landscape and to support Alzheimer’s Society in their mission to ensure the social care workforce is fully equipped to provide high quality person-centred care for people living with dementia.What will the research aim to find out?
This survey is part of a wider study aiming to build a detailed picture of dementia training offer, delivery, and its effectiveness to help ensure the workforce is equipped to deliver high-quality, person-centred care for people living with dementia.- What dementia training is being delivered in England, Wales and Northern Ireland?
- What is the quality of dementia training content and delivery methods? What has been factored in to ensure culturally appropriate care is delivered?
- What are social care staff attitudes and knowledge towards dementia?
- What is recommended for local authorities and Health and Care Trusts and care providers to take realistic and practical steps to successfully achieving high quality dementia training for the care workforce? What would be the cost implications of this?
- A national audit of care providers in the form of an online survey
- Six provider case studies that will involve qualitative interviews with staff and people living with dementia
- An online survey for adult social care staff
Staff survey
What will the survey cover?
The survey with adult social care staff aims to explore staff experiences of dementia training. To achieve this, the survey will gather information on:- Whether social care staff across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving dementia training
- What the training looks like and what content it covers
- The impact of the training for social care staff
How will my responses be stored?
All data will be held securely within IFF Research’s secure drives. Your personal details will be retained by IFF for 3 months after the end of the research study (the study is due to end in December 2025) and then securely destroyed.Your anonymised responses will be transferred securely to Leeds Beckett University, who are the data controllers for this project, and stored in compliance with their data storage regulations for 10 years after the end of the study. Please see their privacy notice here: Privacy - Your rights and freedoms | Leeds Beckett University.
Who will see my survey responses?
The project teams at IFF Research and the Centre for Dementia Research working on this research will see your individual survey responses and these will be used for research and analysis purposes only.Survey responses will be linked to the provider you are affiliated to.
No information that will identify you as an individual will be shared in the public domain, with Alzheimer’s Society or with anyone outside the project team.
Under GDPR, you have the right to have a copy of your data. You can stop completing the survey at any time, but any data that you have submitted to that point may be retained and used in the final report.
How will my responses be used?
The project team will use responses for research and analysis purposes only.Responses from all individuals taking part in the study will be looked at together and compiled in a series of research and policy reports. Your responses to questions are presented in a way that means they will not directly identify you.
Do I have to take part?
You do not have to complete the survey if you do not wish to participate in the study, without providing a reason. You can stop completing the survey at any time, but any data that you have submitted to that point may be retained and used in the final report.What are the risks and benefits of taking part?
The risks related to completing a survey are minimal. However participating in the study has a number of benefits. By completing the survey about your training, you are ensuring that your training package is considered as a potential package to be followed up later in the study to assess how effective it is. Sites that are approached to take part in the later case studies will have an opportunity to be named in relation to good practice. However, we can only conduct further study into those training providers/packages that complete this survey.Has this research been approved by an ethics committee?
All research is looked at by an independent group of people, called a research ethics committee to protect your interests. This research project was given a favourable opinion by Leeds Beckett University Research Ethics committee on the 4th August 2025.If you have any further questions, please contact the research team at: trainingindementia@iffresearch.com