In December last year, Dina Roggero (a first-year PhD student), Professor Anna Whittaker, and Dr Simone Tomaz from the University of Stirling invited members of the Stirling 1000 Elders network to provide guidance on Dina’s research. Her work seeks to understand the availability of physical activity opportunities for people with dementia across Scotland.  

The Stirling 1000 Elders were invited to provide written feedback on a range of recruitment materials, including a role description, flyer, and consultation questions for the subsequent stages of this research. Eight members offered feedback and comments on how to ensure these materials were understandable, engaging and accessible for people living with dementia and current or former carers of people with dementia.  

The recruitment materials developed with support from the network will be used to advertise an involvement opportunity in the next stage of the research, recruiting an advisory group to provide feedback on the research design. This group will involve those most directly affected by the research, including people with dementia, current or former carers, physical activity providers, policy-makers and researchers with an interest in physical activity. 

The feedback on the recruitment materials that has been implemented include:  

• Clarifying the inclusion criteria, role expectations, and time commitment associated with joining the advisory group 

• Simplifying the language used 

• Updating the layout of documents 

• Condensing the volume of information  

Suggestions were also given on future research ideas, including exploring people with dementia’s views on available physical activity opportunities in Scotland, which we aim to explore in the next stage of our research. 

Members also expressed that the research outcomes would be particularly valuable, helping us understand the issues that are important to people with lived experience of dementia. 

As a result of working with the Stirling 1000 Elders, we gained an understanding of the key considerations for planning feasible, appropriate and inclusive public involvement activities. The feedback received has helped us understand how to ask people with dementia and their carers the right questions in the right way.  

The support given by the network will widen participation in this research as it will allow underrepresented groups to learn about involvement opportunities in our research. It will also support people with dementia and carers in making an informed decision on whether they would like to get involved in our research. 

Thank you to the members of the network who supported us with this project and for sharing their insights and enthusiasm for research which promotes healthy ageing. 

If you are interested in being involved in the next stage of our research, more details about this involvement opportunity can be found in the flyer attached, which has been developed with support from members of the Stirling 1000 Elders network.