Professor Heather Wilkinson
Director of Edinburgh Centre for Research on the Experience of Dementia (ECRED); Deputy Director of the Advanced Care Research Centre (ACRC) Academy

Contact details
- Email: h.wilkinson@ed.ac.uk
Address
- Street
-
Advanced Care Research Centre Academy (ACRC Academy)
Bio Cube 1
13 Little France Road
Edinburgh Bioquarter
EH16 4UX - City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH16 4UX
Qualifications
MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy, Newman University, 2021 (Distinction)
Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling, Northern Guild, Newcastle, 2020 (Distinction)
Post Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Studies (Merit), Northern Guild, Newcastle, 2019.
Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy, University of Edinburgh, 2017 (Distinction)
PhD, Lancaster University, 1997. ESRC studentship 1994-1997
Post Graduate Certificate in Education (Secondary), Manchester Metropolitan University, 1991
BA (Hons) Geography, Northumbria University, 1984 – 1987
Research summary
My research focuses on working with people living with dementia to develop better understandings of methodological and personal perspectives of people with dementia, and for people with learning disabilities and dementia. This aim has underpinned my research career since 1996, and particularly from when I joined the University of Edinburgh in 2000. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, I work across the fields of gerontology, health, nursing, sociology, practice development and social policy with strong knowledge exchange and practice development components. My roles in the ACRC have allowed me to extend my interdisciplinarity across wider fields through collaborations with engineering, AI, architecture, design and informatics. Much of my work has been methodologically innovative to ensure that the research participants/collaborators with dementia and/or learning disability (previously totally excluded) are included in research and dissemination. Several of the projects have had a direct influence on policy and practice (see for example, the work for the Scottish Government on the Adults with Incapacity legislation; night time care project; toilets and design for accessibility; the ECREDibles, involving people living with dementia in research). I have a strong commitment to ensuring effective knowledge exchange and public engagement including at an international level with my partnerships in India, Europe, Australia and Taiwan. My work has contributed to service development in Scotland and I was co-founder of the Scottish Dementia Working Group. More recently I have qualified as a psychotherapist and I work in private practice in the north-east of England.
Current research interests
Coproduction and participatory research Social relationships and friendships, peer support, emotions and counselling Living and dying with dementia Dementia and design Marginalised groups with dementia (including people with intellectual disabilities) Working with people who have dementia to understand their experience and possible approaches to impact policy, practice and societyAffiliated research centres
-
Experiences of people with intellectual disability and dementia: A systematic review
(18 pages)
In:
Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, pp. 1-18
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.13063
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Describing transitions in residential status over 10 years in the very old: Results from the Newcastle 85+ Study
(5 pages)
In:
Age and Ageing, vol. 51
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afac056
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
‘Guid times wi the bad times’: The meanings and experiences of befriending for people living alone with dementia
(20 pages)
In:
Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14713012211024488
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Relationships matter!: Utilising ethics of care to understand transitions in the lives of adults with severe intellectual disabilities
(12 pages)
In:
British Journal of Learning Disabilities
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12380
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
A public inconvenience: Better toilets for inclusive travel
In:
Disability and Society
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2020.1867508
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Relational care and co-operative endeavour: Reshaping dementia care through participatory secondary data analysis
(22 pages)
In:
Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, vol. 19, pp. 1151-1172
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301218795353
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Tackling dementia globally: the Global Dementia Prevention Program (GloDePP) collaboration
In:
Journal of Global Health, vol. 9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.09.020103
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Editorial (Published) -
Developing evaluation of signage for people with dementia
In:
Housing, Care and Support
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/HCS-12-2018-0035
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Safe and inclusive research practices for qualitative research involving people with dementia: A review of key issues and strategies
In:
Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, vol. 18, pp. 1042-1059
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301217701274
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
How practitioner-led research could have greater impact: The importance of considering knowledge mobilisation holistically
In:
Evidence and Policy, vol. 14, pp. 641-663
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/174426417X14987303892424
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)