21.05.2025
Taking part in dementia research: Stephen’s story
Stephen is a retired social worker who lives in The Wirral, Merseyside. He spoke to us about his experience of participating in an Alzheimer’s research study and why it meant so much to him.
Stephen said: “For me, it feels a privilege really to be able to be part of research – and hopefully it’ll help me, my family, or someone else.”
After a long career working with people and families in need, Stephen felt it was important to keep making a difference. He wanted to be involved in something that could improve lives in the future.
The grandfather-of-two took part in a study exploring how memory changes over time. This could help researchers learn more about Alzheimer’s disease. These studies help researchers find better ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent dementia.
“From the beginning, I felt part of a team, you’re not just a subject, you’re part of something really important,” Stephen said. “I feel quite pleased and proud to be part of it.”
By taking part in dementia research, Stephen knows he’s doing something that could help others – now and in the future.
Please consider registering your interest in vital dementia research via the Join Dementia Research website. Tell your family, friends and colleagues about our service. You could make a huge difference for future generations.
Watch Stephen’s story below:
Taking part in dementia research: Stephen’s story
Taking part in dementia research: Stephen’s story
0:00I'm Steve or Steven. Um, I have uh a lovely wife and a daughter, two
0:088 secondsgrandsons, lovely son-in-law, good family. We have been living in West
0:1616 seconds Kerby now for 20 years. It's a beautiful place. Um, and fortunate enough to have a lovely garden that I can enjoy.
0:3636 secondsAt the beginning, um, I was introduced to a team. We were dead friendly. All the way along, you felt reassured and you felt part of a team.
0:5050 seconds Uh, you're not just a subject. You're somebody who is taking part in something that's really important. The interesting
0:5858 secondspart could be quite good fun parts where uh recollections uh awareness of your surroundings and the speed at which you can um do small quizzes and things of
1:151 minute, 15 seconds this nature. the the other bits of course is uh I don't uh give blood and
1:221 minute, 22 seconds then I did receive the jab. Uh the the jab was in my stomach
1:311 minute, 31 seconds and jab sounds awful but it was actually quite quite tame really. Another part of it is uh how they check your brain to see what's going on and uh the MRI scan.
1:441 minute, 44 secondsFor me it feels a privilege really uh to be able to be a part of this and see if it
1:541 minute, 54 secondsactually works something for me or in fact for my family or anybody else and I feel quite pleased and proud
2:032 minutes, 3 secondsto be part of it. Based on my experience I would seriously ask people out there to uh join dementia research. You could
2:132 minutes, 13 secondsfind it online or you could actually find it through your GP. But I would urge you to join dementia research.
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