My thesis
When I was doing my MSc, my research aimed to explore the experiences of persons living with dementia who were aging in place through interviews with dyads which included the persons living with dementia themselves and a care partners. I found it especially challenging to recruit persons living with dementia despite themselves and their care partners being interested as many were living in the more advanced stages and standard interview methods were not accessible for them. This led me to explore the barriers that exist for persons living with more advanced dementia to participate in research. Thus, my PhD dissertation aims to address these barriers by exploring how adaptive and participatory research approaches can support the meaningful inclusion of people living with advanced dementia. Too often, assumptions about communication, consent, and capacity result in their voices being left out of research that directly affects their lives. Yet people living with advanced dementia continue to have experiences, preferences, and perspectives that deserve to be heard. By co-designing flexible and accessible research methods with people who have lived experience, I hope opportunities for greater participation and representation can be created. Ultimately, this work seeks to ensure that people living with advanced dementia can help shape the research, care, and policies that impact them and encourage more inclusive and equitable dementia research.
My time in the School of Public Health Sciences
I have really loved my time in the School of Public Health Sciences (SPHS) so far. The faculty have been incredibly supportive, and the courses I’ve taken I feel have truly helped me grow as a researcher. One of the things I've enjoyed most is learning about the incredible research being done by my fellow graduate students and hearing about the different paths that brought them to public health research. I’m constantly inspired by the range of work happening across the school. What stands out most to me about SPHS is the strong sense of community and the emphasis on student involvement. I especially appreciate the many student-led initiatives and events, such as the Research and Practice in Health Sciences Conference and the Symposium on Aging Research, which create opportunities to connect, collaborate and learn from others both within and beyond the school. These experiences have made my time at SPHS incredibly rewarding and have helped me build very meaningful connections.
Research publications
Russell, J.L., and Fletcher, P.C. (2025). Caregiver Perspectives of Aging in Place with Dementia: A Qualitative Exploration of Barriers Using the Social Ecological Model. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement 44(4), 520–529.
Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn.