By Neil Fullerton

TO really understand the brain diseases which cause dementia, we need to carry out high quality research. To be most effective this research needs coordination and direction.

This month saw the launch of the Scottish Brain Health & Dementia Research Strategy – a first for Scotland, and quite possibly the world. Backed by a wide range of leading national organisations, the plan has been developed to guide the direction of travel for research in Scotland. This first strategy lays the groundwork to create a long-term, sustainable environment in which brain health and dementia research can flourish.

One criticism that can often be levelled at researchers and clinical research programmes is the long delay with, or indeed the complete lack of, converting research findings into practice for the benefit of the wider population. The design of this plan has been led throughout by the desire to accelerate high quality research that translates into health and social care practice as quickly and effectively as possible.

The strategy sets out several key areas for action and aims to create an ecosystem which enables more people to take part in research across Scotland. The foundation of the strategy comes from an appreciation that if meaningful is driven by people’s needs, then it is vital that conversations take place between people affected by brain diseases and the people researching them.

At the heart of the strategy is a roadmap to establish specialised research boards within each of the 14 regional NHS boards across Scotland. These boards will be developed to coordinate the local research agenda in relation to dementia and brain health. Representatives from these local boards will then come together to form a national forum which will provide a rapid research-review service to determine priority focus areas and accelerate implementation into practice. One thing we’ve learned from the coronavirus pandemic is that it doesn’t have to take years to get research findings into practice, things can move quicker when they need to. And for the enormous issues and associated burdens of dementia and population brain health, they really do need to.

The strategy, through creating this local and national structure, will help to provide direction, generate enthusiasm, and pool talent and resources in an endeavour that ultimately will improve the lives of everyone affected by research into brain health and dementia in Scotland.

What the strategy shows more than anything is the need to collaborate with the whole population, as co-designers and co-beneficiaries of research work. It means no longer considering people in research studies as “subjects”, but as partners.

It is with this ethos that the strategy sets out the path forwards for research in Scotland. A path that includes a role for everyone and recognises that, together, we are all researchers.

Neil Fullerton is Project & Communications Lead for Brain Health Scotland