New Developments in Dementia Research – A Sociological, Empirical, and Discourse Analytical Approach for Exploring Different Stakeholder Perspectives

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Silke Schicktanz, Prof. Dr. Andrea D. Bührmann, Prof. Dr. Annette Leibing

My PhD project consists of three parts under the overriding topic of social and ethical implications of dementia prediction and affected people’s participation in dementia research. The sub-themes of anticipation, temporality, and participation are analyzed in light of different stakeholders’ perspectives. To assess which social and ethical implications are relevant in dementia prediction, an analysis of current societal understandings of the disease and its underlying cultural connotations becomes necessary. To gain insight into the field of dementia research, my PhD project is informed by two third-party funded projects at the Dept. of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine (UMG). One project entails a stakeholder conference conducted with experts to develop a joint statement for the implementation of predictive biomarkers for dementia. A second project entails interviews with affected people about their attitudes towards advance research directives (ARDs) in the context of dementia research.