Dr Emily Fisher
BSc, MSc, PhD
School of Medicine and Population Health
Research Associate


+44 114 215 9680
Full contact details
School of Medicine and Population Health
Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN)
385a Glossop Road
Sheffield
S10 2HQ
- Profile
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I am a Research Associate specialising in qualitative and mixed-methods research. My work focuses on the experiences and quality of life of people living with dementia, motor neuron disease (MND), and other neurodegenerative conditions.
I work on various projects within the Better Outcomes in MND team, funded by Chris McDermott’s NIHR Professorship. These include evaluating a digital healthcare service called Telehealth in MND (TiM) and conducting a process evaluation of the DENIM implementation trial of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) support to people living with MND.
My work focuses on palliative care, bereavement, and preparing for the end of life. I am currently a Research Associate on the Marie Curie and Alzheimer’s Society-funded project titled "Starting Early, Talking Together." This project aims to improve access, timing, and the quality of palliative support for individuals with young-onset, non-memory-led, and inherited dementias, as well as their caregivers. Previously, I served as a Research Associate on the NIHR-funded project "Equitable Bereavement Care for All," which explored ways to enhance the bereavement experiences of people from ethnically diverse communities.
Before joining the University of Sheffield, I was the lead Research Fellow on several projects at University College London (UCL), where I also completed my PhD part-time. These projects included the MRC-funded “CST-International”, which focused on implementing cognitive stimulation therapy for dementia in various global contexts, and the NIHR-funded “iSupport for South Asian Dementia Carers”, which involved culturally adapting the WHO iSupport intervention for South Asian carers in the UK.
Prior to pursuing my PhD, I worked in dementia and ageing charities, developing public awareness and information programmes.
- Qualifications
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BSc Human Sciences, UCL
MSc Dementia: Causes, Treatments and Research (Mental Health), UCL
PhD Applied Psychology, UCL
- Research interests
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Qualitative methods
Health services research
Care home research
Implementation science
Dementia
Motor neuron disease
Neurodegenerative diseases
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing Cognitive Stimulation and Reminiscence Therapy for Dementia in Care Homes: Systematic Review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 40(7).
- How dementia inclusive are public health‐care policies for older adults in India? A systematic review. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging, 1(3).
- International implementation of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy in Brazil, India and Tanzania: Findings from the CST‐International study. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 19(S19).
- Virtual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy for dementia: The development, feasibility and initial outcomes of a global framework. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 19(S19).
- iSupport for South Asian carers in the UK. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 19(S19).
- Patient and caregiver experiences of living with dementia in Tanzania. Dementia, 22(8), 1900-1920. View this article in WRRO
- Exploring how family carers of a person with dementia manage pre‐death grief: a mixed methods study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 38(3). View this article in WRRO
- Prevalence of sleep disturbances in people with dementia living in the community: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Research Reviews, 83, 101782-101782.
- How do factors of sociodemographic, health literacy and dementia experience influence carers’ knowledge of dementia?. Dementia, 21(4), 1270-1288.
- Delivering cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) virtually: developing and field-testing a new framework. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 17, 97-116. View this article in WRRO
- Practical and emotional preparation for death: A mixed methods study investigating experiences of family carers of people with dementia. Dementia, 21(3), 934-956.
- Interventions promoting family involvement with care homes following placement of a relative with dementia: A systematic review. Dementia, 21(2), 618-647.
- Development and acceptability of a brief, evidence-based Dementia Awareness for Caregivers course in low- and middle-income countries. Dementia, 21(2), 598-617.
GP2 : The Global Parkinson's Genetics Program. Movement Disorders, 36(4), 842-851.- Feasibility and Acceptability of a Virtual “Dementia Awareness for Caregivers” Course in Brazil and India. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders.
- Implementing Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) for Dementia in a Low-Resource Setting: A Case Study in Tanzania Exploring Barriers, Facilitators, and Recommendations for Practice. Global Implementation Research and Applications.
- Adaptación cultural de una terapia de estimulación cognitiva. Vertex Revista Argentina de Psiquiatría, 35(166), 47-55.
- Care needs of people with dementia in Tanzania and associated impact on carers: A cross-sectional, observational study. Dementia.
- Virtual group Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (vCST) for dementia: mixed methods feasibility randomised controlled trial. The Gerontologist.
- Online Cognitive Stimulation Therapy for dementia in Brazil and India: Acceptability, Feasibility and Lessons for Implementation (Preprint). JMIR Aging.
- Older adults’ experience of neuropsychological assessments for dementia screening in South India: a qualitative study. Wellcome Open Research, 8, 421-421.
- Experiences of cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) in Brazil: a qualitative study of people with dementia and their caregivers. Aging & Mental Health, 1-6.
- Is Virtual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy the Future for People with Dementia? An Audit of UK NHS Memory Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 8(4), 360-367.
Reports
Preprints
- Strategies to support safe wandering in care homes for older adults – what works, for whom, and in which circumstances?: A realist synthesis, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Online Cognitive Stimulation Therapy for Dementia in Brazil and India: Acceptability, Feasibility and Lessons for Implementation (Preprint), JMIR Publications Inc..
- Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing Cognitive Stimulation and Reminiscence Therapy for Dementia in Care Homes: Systematic Review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 40(7).
- Grants
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Co-applicant on Starting early, talking together – improving understanding of and support for the palliative care needs of people with rare dementias. Marie Curie and Alzheimer’s Society
- Teaching activities
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I co-supervise DClinPsy research projects and am available to supervise MSc projects.