About this resource

Professor Brazil holds the appointment of Professor of Palliative Care in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast. Professor Brazil’s research focuses on the structure, process, and outcomes in service delivery of quality care for family members and patients as they near the end-of-life. This work assists in the development, evaluation and translation of new and innovative interventions to improve access, quality and outcomes in this population. More information here.

Gillian is a Lecturer in Chronic Illness in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast. Gillian has a BSc in Adult Nursing and currently has 14 years’ experience in healthcare research. She contributes to the teaching in undergraduate and post-graduate modules. Her field of research focuses on chronic illness, specifically on communication and decision-making for family members and the frail elders, in particular for individuals affected by dementia. She is also interested in enhancing the provision of support for family members focusing on the availability of peer support facilities and specifically online peer support interventions, developed through co-design. More information here.

Karen has over 45 years’ experience in nursing, most of those being in dementia care in a variety of settings and contexts. For the past 15 years she has worked with Dementia UK and is now the Head of Research and Publications. More information here.

Christine is Professor of Nursing (Education) at Queens University Belfast with an international reputation in care homes and dementia research. As a Registered Nurse, Christine has many years of experience working in care homes caring for older people, including those with dementia. In her research, Christine uses participatory methods such as co-design, enabling the voice of residents, families and staff to be heard. She has led the development of several digital resources for staff in care homes. More information here.

Violet is a Registered Mental Health Nurse with 40 years of experience; she has worked with residents living with dementia for most of her career. As a Registered Home Manager, Violet has many years of experience managing homes for residents living with dementia. Violet has also been involved in research projects with Queen’s University Belfast: training as an advance care plan nurse facilitator, providing input into a training programme to train nurses to hold family care conferences, and supporting online resources with filmed content.

Silvia Gonella is a Registered Nurse and has worked as a clinical nurse in oncological and medical settings. She is currently responsible for research activities at the City Hospital of Health and Science of Turin (Italy). She has lectured in research methodology, evidence-based nursing, and palliative care nursing at the University of Turin as well as at the University of Verona. Her main research areas are end-of-life communication in nursing homes, symptom management in cancer patients, and improving nursing students’ clinical learning experiences. More information here.

Catherine Buckley is a Practice Development Lecturer at Northridge House Education and Research Centre, St Luke’s Home. She has a background in Action Research as well as person-centred practice development, dementia and long-term care, both as a practitioner and researcher. This gives her a unique insight into knowledge utilisation and work-based learning approaches in such settings. More information here.

Julie is a Research Fellow within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast. She has experience developing, implementing, and evaluating evidence-based educational programmes. Her research focuses on understanding and supporting health and well-being across the life course, including palliative care for older adults. More information here.

Lana is a Research Assistant within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast. As a Registered Nurse, she has worked in critical care and medical settings. The research work Lana has been involved in has focused on palliative and end-of-life care for people with advanced dementia and support for their informal caregivers.