| 213 8 is still much work to be done in this area. In Chapter 5 we have evaluated a new qualitative method that aimed to address some of the barriers described above. The results are promising in terms of usefulness as they seem to gather meaningful data whilst also being easy to use and manage by participants. In recent years, there has been a priority placed on Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and lived experiences and it is often a requirement of research funding bodies. In PPI research, people with dementia can contribute in many different formats such as workshops and meetings and PPI groups can contribute to different parts of the research such as the research question, design or interpretation of results (105). In addition, PPI not only affects the research undertaken but also provides a valuable experience to those PPI group members beyond the research itself (106). Conducting online research during the COVID-19 pandemic Most of the research conducted in this thesis happened during the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020). Covid-19 was a highly contagious respiratory disease and heavily impacted dementia services and diagnosis (107). The global lockdowns during the pandemic often negatively impacted caregiver burden as stress and anxiety increased during these times (108). It is also likely that social isolation during lockdowns led to an increase in anxiety, depression, agitation, and apathy for people living with dementia (109). In this thesis, data for Chapters 3, 4 and 6 was collected right at the start of the pandemic. Data collection was challenging as traditional face-to-face datacollection methods were not feasible. Luckily, we were able to successfully utilize a variety of online data-collection methods. Online surveys and questionnaires have been around for a while whereas only very few studies attempted to undertake online qualitative research prior to COVID-19 (110-112). For participants in our study, the use of online data collection methods might have been easier, especially for those who lived in more rural areas, people whom we otherwise might have been harder to reach. In addition, online methods allowed participants to remain in the comfort of their own homes. At the same time, online data collection might also have had effects on the generalizability of the sample as those with limited digital access or digital skills might have been less likely to participate.
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