Federica D'Andrea

Dr Federica D’Andrea

Lecturer in Dementia Studies
School of Medicine and Biosciences
federica.dandrea@uwl.ac.uk

Dr Federica D’Andrea is a Lecturer for the MSc in Dementia Studies at the Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory, School of Medicine and Biosciences, University of West London.  

Federica’s research responds to significant questions of innovative provisions, promotion of quality of life in the context of ageing and care for people with dementia.  

Her inventive research programme utilises stakeholder-engaged, mixed method approaches to investigate the under-explored field of olfactory stimulation in dementia care. This body of work has led to the development and design of a novel theory- and evidence-based multi-sensory intervention for people with dementia living in care homes, including thematic boxes with olfactory stimuli and heritage items.  

Federica has extensive experience in collaborating with cultural, business, and charitable organisations in her research. Recently Federica collaborated with such a Givaudan Ltd, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust charity (CW+), Boots UK Archive, and Heathrow Airport Archive to develop innovative multisensory approaches to dementia care. 

Before joining the University of West London in 2022, Federica worked on the implementation and evaluation of the PriDem project at University College London, developing and implementing primary care led post-diagnostic care in dementia. Federica has extensive experience exploring the significance and potential clinical impact of olfactory in dementia care. Previously she has collaborated with Givaudan Ltd to explore the relationship between smell and memory. As part of an Arts Council England Museum Resilience funded Creative Conversations project, she investigated the impact of a multi-centre cultural intervention for mental health service users. Federica has also investigated the efficacy of cognitive training for older people at the University of Padua (Italy). 

  • Qualifications

    • PGCert in Professional Academic Practice, University of West London, 2024
    • PhD Dementia Care, University of West London, 2022 
    • MSc (Hons) Clinical Psychology, University of Padua, 2015  
    • BSc Psychological Sciences and Techniques, University of Chieti – Pescara, 2012 

  • Awards

    Interdem Academy Publication Award 2022-2023

  • Memberships

    Chartered member of the British Psychological Society
    Member of the National Institute Health Research (NIHR)
    Clinical Research Network (CRN) Dementias Portfolio Development Group Early Career Researcher
    Member of the Higher Education Dementia Network (HEDN)
    Member of the INTERDEM Academy
    Member of The Global Consortium of Chemosensory Researchers
    Invited member of Boots UK archive scientific advisory board
    Advocate of BrainFit4Life

Research

Member of:
The Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory

  • Research and publications

    Griffiths, S., Spencer, E., Flanagan, K., O’Keeffe, A., Hunter, R., Wiegand, M., D’Andrea, F., Benjamin, L., Poole, M., Hagan, A., Brar, M., Wilcock, J., Walters, K., Robinson, L. and Rait, G. on behalf of the PriDem study team. (2023) Evaluating a model of best practice in primary care led post-diagnostic dementia care: Feasibility and acceptability findings from the PriDem Study. Under review on BMJ Open.

    Spencer, E., Griffiths, S., Flanagan, K., O’Keeffe, A., Wiegand, M., Benjamin, L., D’Andrea, F., Wilcock, J., Poole, M., Walters, K., Robinson, L., and Rait, G. on behalf of the PriDem Study project team (2023) Improving access to personalised care planning in dementia: Implementing the PriDem intervention in primary care. Under review on BMJ Open.

    Griffiths, S., Spencer, E., Wilcock, J., Bamford, C., Wheatley, A., Brunskill, G., D’Andrea, F., Walters, K., Harrison Dening, K., Lago, N., O’Keeffe, A., Hunter, R., Robinson, L., Rait, G. (2023). Protocol for the feasibility and implementation study of a model of best practice in primary care led post-diagnostic dementia care: PriDem. BMJ open, 13(8), e070868.

    D’Andrea, F., Dening, T., & Tischler, V. (2022). Object handling for people with dementia: A scoping review and the development of intervention guidance. Innovation in Aging, 6(5), igac043. 

    D'Andrea, F., Tischler, V., Dening, T., & Churchill, A. (2022). Olfactory stimulation for people with dementia: a rapid review. Dementia, 14713012221082377. 

    D’Andrea, F., & Tischler, V. (2022). “It inspires me and suddenly the ideas come”: exploring the use of cultural venues in mental health care. Arts & Health, 14(1),102-118.  

    Brai, E., Tonacci, A., Brugada-Ramentol, V., D’Andrea, F., & Alberi, L. (2021). Intercepting dementia: awareness and innovation as key tools. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 664.

    Tischler, V., & D'Andrea, F. (2021) Multisensory intervention. In Psychosocial Interventions and Dementia: Our Guide for Understanding, Knowing, Implementing. Médéric Alzheimer Foundation, France.

    D'Andrea, F., Tischler, V., & Dening, T. (2020). The development of a multi-sensory intervention for people with dementia living in care homes. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 16, e043522.  

    Tischler, V., & D'Andrea, F. (2020) Using memory box objects and smells for people living with dementia: guidance for carers. Available on Boots UK website

    D'Andrea, F., Tischler, V., Dening, T., Churchill, A., & Hui, E. (2020) The effects of olfactory stimuli on people with dementia: a rapid review of the literature. PROSPERO

  • Conferences

    Nov 2023 ‘Smell a Memory: The science of olfaction and olfactory stimulation in dementia care’. Invited speaker at the Global Challenges Seminar, Brunel University, London, United Kingdom.

    Oct 2023 ‘Smell and flavour: Odour and memory’. Invited speaker at the Flavour Symposium, University of West London.

    Nov 2023 ‘Object handling intervention for people with dementia: Exploring its components’. Poster presentation at the UK Dementia Congress, Birminghman, United Kingdom.

    Oct 2023 ‘Using material objects in dementia care: a scoping review and guidance for object handling intervention’. Poster presentation at the 33rd Alzheimer Europe Conference, Helsinki, Finlandia.

    Oct 2023 ‘Olfaction and dementia: A review of the current state of research and potential for enhancing well-being’. Poster presentation at the 33rd Alzheimer Europe Conference, Helsinki, Finlandia.

    Oct 2023 ‘Inclusion of people living with dementia in research: Findings from the PriDem feasibility study’. Co-author of an oral presentation at the 33rd Alzheimer Europe Conference, Helsinki, Finland.

    Oct 2022 ‘Including people living with dementia in research and making it a positive experience: Preliminary lessons from PriDem feasibility and implementation study'. Co-author of an oral presentation at the 32nd Alzheimer Europe Conference (online).

    Oct 2021 ‘Olfactory stimulation in dementia care: a rapid review of the literature'. Oral presentation at the 31st Alzheimer Europe Conference (online). 

    Oct 2020 ‘Building a realist programme theory for a novel intervention: a mixed-methods approach’. Poster presentation at the 30th Alzheimer Europe Conference (online). 

    July 2020 ‘The development of a multi-sensory intervention for people with dementia living in care homes’. Poster presentation at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (online). 

    Oct 2019 ‘Object handling for people with dementia: A scoping review’. Poster presentation at the 29th Alzheimer Europe Conference, The Hague, Netherlands. 

    Jun 2019 ‘Using olfactory stimulation: a multi-sensory intervention in care home for people with dementia’. Oral presentation at the Doctoral Research in Progress Seminars, University of West London. 

    May 2019 ‘Object handling for people with dementia: A definition and theoretical model’. Oral presentation at the Doctoral Student’s Conference, University of West London.  

    Dec 2018 ‘Using olfactory stimulation: multi-sensory intervention in care home for people with dementia’. Oral presentation as part of the Centre for Dementia Seminar Series, University of Nottingham. 

    Nov 2018 ‘Multi-sensory intervention based on olfactory stimulation’. Oral presentation as a part of the Dementia Seminar Series, University of West London. 

    Nov 2018 ‘Smell and flavour: Odour and memory’. Oral presentation at the Flavour Symposium, University of West London. 

    Jul 2018 ‘Multi-sensory approaches in dementia care’. Oral presentation at the Postgraduate Research Conference, University of Worcester. 

  • Research degree supervision

    Would be interested in hearing from potential students interested in multisensory and creative approaches to dementia care. 

Courses taught on