Case Studies

Evidence of practice change, in context.

Institutional case studies anchored in the MCDC programme's Impact Case Study narrative — sustained practice change, widened national access, earlier clinical intervention, and public engagement. Individual case studies (of people living with dementia) will be added separately, only with explicit consent and appropriate anonymisation.

Sustained practice change at Pendine Park

2019 – present

Pendine Park care organisation, Wrexham, North Wales — a 70-resident specialist dementia-care organisation

Claim

Song-Task Association (STA), the methodology established in the foundational 2019 paper (Cunningham, Brill, Whalley, Read, Anderson, Edwards, Picking & Zollo, 2019), has been embedded continuously in daily care practice at Pendine Park from 2019 to the present. Professional caregivers systematically use music linked to daily tasks — washing, dressing, mealtimes — shifting care from ad-hoc music use to a structured, research-informed model.

Reach

A single specialist dementia-care organisation, 70 residents, six continuous years.

Significance

Demonstrates that research-derived methodology can be sustained within routine practice over six years — proof-of-concept for wider implementation. The organisation's continuity through the 2019 pilot into the forthcoming MCDC framework pilot is what makes that claim verifiable.

Evidence

Cunningham et al. (2019), *Journal of Healthcare Engineering* — the foundational STA study [published]
[PLACEHOLDER — testimonial to be secured] Pendine Park management letter confirming sustained implementation 2019–present and describing changes in care practice
[PLACEHOLDER — to be secured] Pendine Park staff interviews or feedback surveys on sustained STA use 2020–2025

Open questions for Harry (3)

Testimonial from Pendine Park management confirming Claim 1 (letter, quote we can reproduce, named contact willing to be cited)
Exact figure for how many staff have received MCDC induction at Pendine Park across 2019–2025
Any resident-level outcome measures Pendine Park tracks that we can surface, even aggregated

Widened national access to Cognitive Stimulation Therapy

2023 – present

COGS app, co-developed with Memory Matters (Plymouth); user base across England

Claim

The COGS app, co-developed with Memory Matters (a Plymouth-based dementia-support charity and CST specialists), directly addresses the implementation barriers in NICE guidance. By digitising the 14-session CST programme, COGS eliminates the two-day facilitator-training requirement, removes the need for group settings of 5–8 participants, and enables individual delivery in people's own homes. Since completion in 2023, approximately 200+ family and professional carers across England have used COGS to deliver evidence-based cognitive stimulation.

Reach

National — beyond the Plymouth region where the app was co-designed. Approximately 200+ carers.

Significance

Creates an equitable access route to NICE-recommended therapy for people unable to attend group sessions — whether because of geography, mobility, or preference for home-based care. Changes the population for whom NICE guidance is actually reachable, not just recommended.

Evidence

Innovate UK Healthy Ageing Programme — COGS final project report (2023)
NICE Guideline NG97 (2018) — contextualises the significance of the access pathway COGS enables
[PLACEHOLDER — to be secured] Memory Matters partnership letter from Kate Smith (CEO) confirming the co-design partnership, describing the removal of CST training barriers, and providing user-reach data
[PLACEHOLDER — to be secured] COGS analytics / survey data showing distribution across England and carer testimonials

Open questions for Harry (3)

Kate Smith testimonial for Memory Matters
Analytics dump or partner-organisation records to verify the 200+ figure
Geographic distribution / user stories that are cleared for public use

Earlier identification of deterioration at Lifecare

2023 (24-week trial)

Lifecare dementia club, Edinburgh

Claim

The ACT tool — developed 2023–2024 with UKRI Zinc Catalyst funding (£60,000) — was trialled over 24 weeks at the Lifecare dementia club in Edinburgh with 16 participants. ACT's prediction algorithm identified concerning patterns in two participants, generating alerts that care staff escalated to GP referral and clinical assessment. Each case represents a point where deterioration was flagged earlier than standard care pathways would have, enabling timely intervention.

Reach

Currently limited to trial participants (n = 16) at a single site.

Significance

Proof-of-concept that structured, algorithm-supported observation by non-clinical staff can detect subtle change requiring clinical attention. Establishes viability for wider implementation across community dementia services, and is the empirical test the [ACT manuscript](/papers/act-manuscript) documents.

Evidence

Brill & Whalley, Development of a Digital Anticipatory Care Tool for People Living with Dementia — under review
[PLACEHOLDER — anonymised records to be secured] Lifecare documentation of the two GP referrals triggered by ACT alerts during the 24-week trial
UKRI Zinc Catalyst award documentation (£60,000, 2023–2024)

Open questions for Harry (3)

Anonymised trial records from Lifecare confirming the two GP referrals and their clinical context
Statement from Lifecare leadership confirming the trial and clinical outcomes
Whether the 2023 Lifecare ACT trial (n = 16) is the same cohort as the Comparative Effects cohort (n = 12) — or distinct

Public understanding of dementia and memory at Kings Place

27 May 2023

Kings Place, London

Claim

The research team translated complex neuroscience and the lived experience of dementia to non-specialist audiences through the world premiere of 'On Memory' at Kings Place, London — a collaboration between composer and academic Harry Whalley, neurologist Professor Adam Zeman, and author Alexander McCall Smith, with discussion chaired by Professor Catherine Loveday. The performance integrated research insights with accessible artistic presentation; 380 people attended.

Reach

380 attendees at a national venue; subsequent coverage in UK music press.

Significance

Contribution to public health literacy on dementia, and an addressing of stigma through creative engagement. A concrete demonstration that the MCDC research can be translated into forms that reach beyond the academic and clinical audiences who have access to the papers.

Evidence

[Kings Place event page ↗](https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/classical/on-memory/) — confirms venue, performers, date
[Recording on YouTube ↗](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CI-Qu0UvsQ) — Audio Research UCA channel
[PLACEHOLDER — to be secured] UK music-press reviews and articles from the performance
[PLACEHOLDER — to be secured] Audience feedback / evaluation from the 'On Memory' performance showing enhanced understanding

Open questions for Harry (3)

Music-press URLs to cite
Audience-feedback evaluation data that is cleared to publish
Catherine Loveday's affiliation on the billing (likely University of Westminster)

Each case study carries open placeholders where testimonials and anonymised records still need to be secured. The process for preparing case studies — including consent, capacity assessment, and the right of withdrawal — is described on the Ethics & Consent page.