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Image of Bob Woods

Professor Bob Woods

Professor Emeritus

Tel: 01248 383719
E-mail: b.woods@bangor.ac.uk

 

Research Interests:

Interventions to improve quality of life and function in people with dementia. Epidemiological studies of cognitive function and well-being in later life.

 

Profile:

Bob Woods studied Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge, before qualifying as a clinical psychologist at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1975. He then worked for several years in the NHS in Newcastle, as a clinical psychologist with older people, establishing groups for carers with Age Concern, as well as developing therapeutic approaches for people with dementia. Subsequently he combined extensive clinical work with older people with academic appointments at the Institute of Psychiatry, London and University College London. He was appointed to the first Chair in Clinical Psychology with Older People in the U.K., at Bangor University in 1996, and following his retirement in July 2017 he has been awarded the title Emeritus Professor. He was Director of the Dementia Services Development Centre Wales at Bangor University from its inception in 1999 until 2017. He was Associate Director of the Health and Care Research Wales Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research (CADR), a collaboration with Swansea and Cardiff Universities from  2015-2017.  He has been closely involved with developments in dementia care in Wales through his role with the NHS Wales 1000 Lives plus quality improvement programme on dementia care. His research has focused on psychosocial approaches to working with people with dementia and their families and he also leads the major epidemiological study of cognitive impairment in Wales, CFAS Wales. He has published widely, from research papers on dementia care and on depression in older people to text-books for clinical psychologists to books for family carers and training packages. He is an Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador, a member of the Medical & Scientific Advisory Panels for Alzheimer’s Europe and Alzheimer’s International and a Board member of INTERDEM, the pan-European network on psychosocial interventions for people with dementia.

 

Current Projects:

  • Maintaining independence through goal-oriented cognitive rehabilitation: GREAT into Practice (GREAT-iP). £399,996. Alzheimer’s Society. With L. Clare (PI, Exeter University) et al. Jan 2018-Dec 2020. http://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/reach/great/
  • Optimising functional independence of older persons with dementia: Implementation and Evaluation of the Interdisciplinary Home-bAsed Reablement Program (I-HARP). 1.9 million $(AUS). Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Boosting Dementia Research Grants. With Yun Hee-Jeon (PI, Sydney University) et al. Oct 2017 – Sept 2020. http://dsdc.bangor.ac.uk/httpdsdc.bangor.ac.ukiharpproject.php.en

 

Selected Publications:

Mountain, G., Windle, G., Hind, D., Walters, S., Keertharuth, A., Chatters, R., Sprange, K., Craig, C., Cook, S., Lee, E., Chater, T., Woods, R., Newbould, L.,  Powell, L., Shortland, K., Roberts, J. (2017).  A preventative lifestyle intervention for older adults (Lifestyle Matters): a randomised controlled trial. Age Ageing 1-8. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afx021

Clare, L., Wu, Y-T., Teale, J.C., MacLeod, C., Matthews, F., Brayne, C., Woods, B. on behalf of the CFAS-Wales study team (2017). Potentially-modifiable lifestyle factors, cognitive reserve and cognitive function in later life: a cross-sectional study. PLOS Med, e1002259. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002259

Janssen, E.P., de Vugt, M., Köhler, S., Wolfs, C., Kerpershoek, L., Handels, R.L., Orrell, M., Woods, B., Jelley, H., Stephan, A. and Bieber, A. (2016). Caregiver profiles in dementia related to quality of life, depression and perseverance time in the European Actifcare study: the importance of social health. Aging & Mental Health, pp.1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2016.1255716

Orrell M, Hoe J, Charlesworth G, Russell I, Challis D, Moniz-Cook E, Knapp, M., Woods, B., Hoare, Z., Aguirre, E., Toot, S., Streater, A., Crellin, N., Whitaker, C., d’Amico, F., Rehill, A. (2017).  Support at Home: Interventions to Enhance Life in Dementia (SHIELD) – evidence, development and evaluation of complex interventions. Programme Grants Appl Res 2017;5(5). DOI 10.3310/pgfar05050

Orrell, M., Yates, L., Leung, P., Kang, S., Hoare, Z., Whitaker, C., Burns, A., Knapp, M., Leroi, I., Moniz-Cook E., Pearson, S., Simpson, S., Spector, A., Roberts, S., Russell, I., de Waal, H., Woods, R.T., Orgeta, V, (2017). The impact of individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (iCST) on cognition, quality of life, caregiver health, and family relationships in dementia: a randomized controlled trial. PLOS Med 14.3 (2017): e1002269.

Opdebeeck, C., Matthews, F.E., Wu, Y-T., Woods, R.T., Brayne, C. & Clare, L., on behalf of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study Collaboration (2018). Cognitive reserve as a moderator of the negative association between mood and cognition: evidence from a population-representative cohort. Psychological Medicine, 48, 61–71. doi:10.1017/S003329171700126X

Bieber A, Stephan A, Verbeek H, Verhey F, Kerpershoek L, Wolfs C, de Vugt M, Woods RT, Røsvik J, Selbaek G, Sjölund BM, Wimo A, Hopper L, Irving K, Marques M, Gonçalves-Pereira M, Portolani E, Zanetti O, Meyer G. (2017).  Access to community care for persons with dementia and their informal carers:  A European comparison of structures and common pathways to formal care based on case vignettes. Z Gerontol Geriatr DOI 10.1007/s00391-017-1266-7

Webster L, Groskreutz D, Grinbergs-Saull A, Howard R, O’Brien JT, Mountain G, Banerjee, S., Woods, B.,……Livingston, G. (2017). Development of a core outcome set for disease modification trials in mild to moderate dementia: a systematic review, patient and public consultation and consensus recommendations. Health Technol Assess 21(26). DOI 10.3310/hta21260

Webster, L., Groskreutz, D., Grinbergs-Saull, A., Howard, R., O'Brien, J.T., Mountain, G., Banerjee, S., Woods, B., et al. (2017) Core outcome measures for interventions to prevent or slow the progress of dementia for people living with mild to moderate dementia: Systematic review and consensus recommendations. PLoS ONE 12(6): e0179521. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179521

Broda, A., Bieber, A., Meyer, G., Hopper, L., Joyce, R., Irving, K., Zanetti, O., Portolani, E., Kerpershoek, L., Verhey, F., de Vugt, M., Wolfs, C., Eriksen, S., Røsvik, J., Marques, M.J., Gonçalves-Pereira, M., Sjölund, B-M., Woods, B., Jelley, H., Orrell, M., Stephan, A. and the ActifCare Consortium (2017). Perspectives of policy and political decision makers on access to formal dementia care: expert interviews in eight European countries. BMC Health Services Research, DOI 10.1186/s12913-017-2456-0

Clare, L., Toms, G., Thomas, E., Hindle, J.V., and Woods, R.T. (2017). Gweld y Gair: standardisation and clinical application of a Welsh language measure for estimation of premorbid intellectual functioning. FPOP Bulletin, 139, July, 17-26.

Moniz-Cook E, Hart C, Woods B, Whitaker C, James I, Russell I, Edwards R T, Hilton A, Orrell M, Campion P, Stokes G, Jones R S, Bird M, Poland F & Manthorpe J. (2017). Challenge Demcare: Management of challenging behaviour in dementia at home and in care homes. Programme Grants Appl Res 2017;5(15) DOI: 10.3310/pgfar05150

Yates, J. A., Clare, L., & Woods, R. T. (2017). “You’ve got a friend in me”: can social networks mediate the relationship between mood and MCI?. BMC Geriatrics, 17(1), 144.   DOI 10.1186/s12877-017-0542-0

Rajkumar, A.P., Ballard, C., Fossey, J., Orrell, M., Moniz-Cook, E., Woods, R.T., Murray, J., Whitaker, R., Stafford, J., Knapp, M., Romeo, R., Woodward-Carlton, B., Khan, Z., Testad, I. & Corbett, A. (2017). Epidemiology of pain in people with dementia living in care homes: longitudinal course, prevalence, and treatment implications. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2017.01.024

Aslett, H., Huws, J., Woods, R.T. & Kelly-Rhind, J. (2017). ‘This is killing me inside’: The impact of having a parent with young-onset dementia. Dementia, published on-line Sept. 5th 2017. DOI: 10.1177/1471301217702977

Windle, G., Joling, K., Howson-Griffiths, T., Woods, B., Jones, C., Van de Ven, P., Parkinson, C. (2017). The impact of a visual arts program on quality of life, communication, and well-being of people living with dementia: A mixed-methods longitudinal investigation. International Psychogeriatrics, 1-15. doi:10.1017/S1041610217002162

Ballard, C., Corbett, A., Orrell, M., Williams, G., Moniz-Cook, E., Romeo, R., Woods, B., Garrod, L., Testad, I., Woodward-Carlton, B., Wenborn, J., Fossey, J., Knapp, M. (2018). Impact of person-centered care training and person-centered activities on quality of life, agitation and antipsychotic use in people with dementia living in nursing homes: A cluster-randomized controlled trial of the WHELD intervention. PLOS Med 15(2): e1002500. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002500

Chatters, R., Newbould, L., Sprange, K., Hind, D., Mountain, G., Shortland, K., Powell, L., Gossage-Worrall, R., Chater, T., Keetharuth, A., Lee, E., Woods, B. (2018). Recruitment of older adults to three preventative lifestyle improvement studies Trials 19:121 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-018-2482-1

Pickett, J., Bird, C., Ballard, C., Windle, G., Woods, B., Gray., K., Walton, C. (2018). A roadmap to advance dementia research in prevention, diagnosis, intervention, and care by 2025. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4868

Kerpershoek, L., de Vugt, M., Wolfs, C., Woods, B., Jelley, H., Orrell, M., Stephan, A., Bieber, A., Meyer, G., Selbaek, G., Handels, R., Wimo, A., Hopper, L, Irving, K., Marques, M., Gonçalves-Pereira, M., Portolani, E., Zanetti, O., Verhey, F. & the Actifcare Consortium (2017). Needs and quality of life of people with middle-stage dementia and their family carers from the European Actifcare study. When informal care alone may not suffice, Aging & Mental Health, DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2017.1390732

Øksnebjerg, L., Diaz‐Ponce, A., Gove, D., Moniz‐Cook, E., Mountain, G., Chattat, R., & Woods, B. (2018). Towards capturing meaningful outcomes for people with dementia in psychosocial intervention research: A pan‐European consultation. Health Expectations.

Evans, I. E., Llewellyn, D. J., Matthews, F. E., Woods, R. T., Brayne, C., Clare, L., & CFAS-Wales research team. (2018). Social isolation, cognitive reserve, and cognition in healthy older people. PloS one, 13(8), e0201008.

Gerritsen, D.L., van Beek, A.P.A. & Woods, R.T. (2018): Relationship of care staff attitudes with social well-being and challenging behavior of nursing home residents with dementia: a cross sectional study, Aging & Mental Health, DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1506737

O’Philbin, L., Woods, B., Farrell, E., Spector, A.E. & Orrell, M. (2018). Reminiscence therapy for dementia: an abridged Cochrane systematic review of the evidence from randomized controlled trials. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, https://doi.org/10.1080/14737175.2018.1509709

O’Shea, E., Hopper, L., Marques, M., Gonçalves-Pereira, M. Woods, B., Jelley, H., Verhey, F., Kerpershoek, L., Wolfs, C., de Vugt, M., Stephan, A., Bieber, A., Meyer, G., Wimo, A., Michelet, M., Selbaek, G., Portolani, E., Zanetti, O., Irving, K.  & the Actifcare Consortium (2018). A comparison of self and proxy quality of life ratings for people with dementia and their carers: a European prospective cohort study. Aging & Mental Health  DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1517727

Woods, B., Arosio, F., Diaz, A., Gove, D., Holmerova, I., Kinnaird, L., Matlova, M., Okkonen, E., Possenti, M., Roberts, J., Salmi, A., van den Buuse, S., Werkman, W., Georges, J. (2018). Timely diagnosis of dementia? Family carers' experiences in 5 European countries. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4997

 

For a full list of publications, please click here.