Dr Carrie Stewart

Biography

My research focuses upon the development of innovative solutions to tackle a global issue, supporting the health and wellbeing of an ageing population.

I have dedicated my research career towards improving the health of older people, with an emphasis on improving the management and lived experiences of pain, dementia and Parkinson's Disease, and reducing medicine harm, in older people.

Current research grants include:

• Dunhill Medical Trust Academy Ignition Fund: Capacity Building for Anticholinergic Burden Reduction Research. Stewart, C., Myint, P.K., Soiza, R.L. (2025) (£4,200)
• NHS Grampian Charity: Qualitative Exploration of Drinking, Dietary and Lifestyle Changes in those living with Parkinson's. Stewart, C., Sleeman, I., Myint, P.K., Macleod, A. (2025) (£48,370)
• Sir Halley Stewart Trust: Identifying older peoples’ needs to empower discussions with healthcare professionals about their use of anticholinergic Medicines. Stewart, C., Myint, P.K., Soiza, R.L. (2025) (£66,233)
• NIHR: Helping to Optimise Pain control in the Elderly experiencing Analgesic Overprescribing. Spicer, S., Byng, R., Payne, R., Maidment, I., Stewart, C., Myint, P.K., Horowitz, M., McNamee, P., Trewern, L., Schofield, P. (2025) (£249,073)
• Vaccine Innovation Fund: Widening Access to Trials in Care Homes. Soiza, R.L., Shenkin, S., Vasan, S., Burton, J., Scott. J., Stewart, C., Quinn, T., Carmichael, S., MacLeod, M.J., Lockhart, R., Gordon, A., Nair, H., Hodge, E., Anderson, L., Ashworth, R., Andrew, M. (2024) (£299,792)

I lead an ageing health focused Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group, focusing on increasing equity in ageing research, impactful co-development, and driving initiatives to improve PPI practices.

Current PPI funding includes:

• NHSG Charity: Why don’t you hear me?”: Engaging older people and caregivers from diverse backgrounds in discussions about public and patient involvement in ageing health research. Stewart, C., Myint, P.K., Soiza, R.L., Brack, C. (2025). (£3,680)

Prizes and Awards

NHS Grampian-  Delegates Prize-          NHS Grampian October 2022

Siddall Scholarship- PhD Scholarship University of Aberdeen March 2010

Research Overview

The aim of my research is to develop ways of improving the health, care experiences, and quality of life of older people. I focus upon improving the management of chronic conditions, and improving prescribing practices (i.e. reducing medicine related harms) in older people. I have specific experience in chronic pain, dementia and Parkinson's disease, and anticholinergic medicines. I am an active promoter of the value of PPI in achieving this and I am committed to improving the use of PPI within the ageing health field.

Current Research

Reducing harms from older persons anticholinergic medicine use

• Dunhill Medical Trust Academy Ignition Fund: Capacity Building for Anticholinergic Burden Reduction Research. Stewart, C., Myint, P.K., Soiza, R.L. (2025) (£4,200)
• Sir Halley Stewart Trust: Identifying older peoples’ needs to empower discussions with healthcare professionals about their use of anticholinergic Medicines. Stewart, C., Myint, P.K., Soiza, R.L. (2025) (£66,233)

Building on my previous work which conceptualised a patient-empowerment approach to deprescribing anticholinergics, where older people are the agent of change within interventions, my current work involved refining the patient empowerment intervention from perspective of older people and caregivers. This work includes a systematic review of patient empowerment based deprescribing interventions, qualitative interviews and a national survey. Findings are expected summer/autumn 2025. More information can be found here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/specialist-collaborations/actra/acer/inform-study/

As a result of the finding from EXPERTISE study, I secured funding from DMT to address research capacity issues which appear to be hampering progress in intervention development around reducing use of anticholinergic medicines. This work involves the setting up of a network of clinicians and academics from which skills and knowledge can be shared, collaborations developed, to build the required capacity to move this issue forwards. More detail can be found here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/specialist-collaborations/actra/acer/arc-hive/

Improving older persons pain management and reducing harm from medicines

• NIHR: Helping to Optimise Pain control in the Elderly experiencing Analgesic Overprescribing. Spicer, S., Byng, R., Payne, R., Maidment, I., Stewart, C., Myint, P.K., Horowitz, M., McNamee, P., Trewern, L., Schofield, P. (2025) (£249,073)

A collaboration between University of Plymouth, Aston University, University of Exeter, and University of Aberdeen, this project aims to identify ways in which we can reduce harm to older people from analgesics. I co-lead work package 2, a series of qualitative interviews, and the PPI component.

Improving lived experience of persons living with Parkinson's Disease

• NHSG Charity: Qualitative Exploration of Drinking, Dietary and Lifestyle Changes in those living with Parkinson's. Stewart, C., Sleeman, I., Myint, P.K., Macleod, A. (2025) (£48,370)

This project aims to identify innovative approaches to supporting those living with PD to improve food and fluid intake throughout the course of PD. This project includes a systematic review of the qualitative evidence regarding eating and drinking behaviours throughout the course of PD, and a series of qualitative interviews with persons living with PD and caregivers. 

Improving diversity of older people in clinical trials

• Vaccine Innovation Fund: Widening Access to Trials in Care Homes. Soiza, R.L., Shenkin, S., Vasan, S., Burton, J., Scott. J., Stewart, C., Quinn, T., Carmichael, S., MacLeod, M.J., Lockhart, R.., Gordon, A., Nair, H., Hodge, E., Anderson, L., Ashworth, R., Andrew, M. (2024) (£299,792)

This multi work package project aims to identify barriers to care home participating in vaccine trials and propose solutions to overcoming these. I provide qualitative and PPI expertise to support this project. 

Improving PPI diversity

• NHSG Charity: Why don’t you hear me?”: Engaging older people and caregivers from diverse backgrounds in discussions about public and patient involvement in ageing health research. Stewart, C., Myint, P.K., Soiza, R.L., Brack, C. (2025).  (£3,680)
• The Morningfield Association: Improving Diversity of the ACER PPI Group. Stewart, C., Myint, P.K., Soiza, R.L., Brack, C. (2025) (£1,400)

These projects are allowing the conduction of work to develop the reach and impact of our PPI group, through focusing on building relationships with community organisations which serve key groups typically not represented within our current PPI group. 

Knowledge Exchange

I lead on the ACER PPI group, developed in 2019, to promote the engagement of older people and their carers with older peoples research. More information on our PPI group can be found here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/acer/acer-ppi-group-members-1972.php

We have also spent extensive time co-developing patient facing materials with our PPI group, to promote awareness of anticholinergic medications and what patients can do if they have any concerns about their medications: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/acer/anticholinergic-medications-1984.php