An AHP Dementia Webinar
As an allied health professional (AHP) dementia community we have developed a National AHP Dementia Webinar series where we share practice, connect people, to support. In our AHP Dementia webinar on 30th September 2026, people joined us to hear how allied health professionals led rehabilitation is helping people living with dementia achieve meaningful outcomes during acute hospital admissions in Scotland. Our guest presenters were
- Christine Steel, AHP consultant, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
- Emma Wilson, advanced practice physiotherapist NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
- Carly Johnstone, clinical specialist occupational therapist, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
- Kirsty Williamson, team lead occupational therapist, NHS Lothian
You can WATCH AGAIN; the webinar link is here
You can view all our AHP Dementia webinars here
We asked the participants
What are you planning to do next to support Rehabilitation approaches in dementia like “Active wards” in your area, you’re working or home life?” The answers are collated in the word cloud below.
During the webinar, there was interest in the work completed by Emma Wilson, Advanced Frailty Practitioner, Vale of Leven Hospital and her MSc study on “I Can…Step More Every Day”. This project aligns with evidencing the use of physical activity research, (use of daily step count), in practice (hospital setting). If you would like to learn more about Emma’s work, you can contact her at Emma.Wilson32@nhs.scot. Emma is also sharing her reference list and her poster that you can see at the end of this blog post.
If you joined us live at the webinar session in November, or you are listening again to the recording, we would encourage you to take a few minutes and share with us your thoughts. Simply Click the link to comment and let us know – https://forms.office.com/e/LZdT9GjvD8
- What did you like?
- Even better if..?
- What are you planning or have already done next with what you heard?
COMING SOON. Our final AHP Dementia webinar for 2026 will be held on:
- 9th December from 3.30pm – 4.30pm where Elaine Hunter, Claire Craig and Helen Fisher will be sharing their work to co-design person led planning, sharing the evidence, practice and the co-designed toolkit.
Email us at AHPDementia@alzscot.org for more information or to let us know what content you would be interested to learn more about.
Stay connected.
We post daily @AHPDementia
We blog weekly www.alzscot.org/talking_dementia
We support our AHP students to share their work at AHPDementia Instagram
We share self-management resources at www.alzscot.org/ahpresources
We have an email for you to send questions AHPDementia@alzscot.org
We developed an interactive website with 32 resources for you www.cpcs.online
Enjoyed this blog? Tell us more. We love feedback.
Please spend 1 minute completing this short anonymous feedback form to allow us to make our blog posts even better in 2026. Thank you
AHP Let’s Talk About Dementia Blog Feedback Form – Fill out form
References shared with permission from Emma to support the ‘Daily Step Count of Older Adults’
Agmon, M., Zisberg, A., Gil, E., Rand, D., Gur-Yaish, N. and Azriel, M. (2017) ‘Association Between 900 Steps a Day and Functional Decline in Older Hospitalized Patients’, JAMA Internal Medicine, 177(2), pp. 272–274. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.7266.
Arora and Dolan (2020) available at: https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/48905/rrheal/nhs-highland-virtual-lectures/avoiding-deconditioning Accessed 3/3/23
Baldwin, C., van Kessel, G., Phillips, A. and Johnston, K. (2017) ‘Accelerometry Shows Inpatients With Acute Medical or Surgical Conditions Spend Little Time Upright and Are Highly Sedentary: Systematic Review’, Physical Therapy; 97(11), pp. 1044-1065. doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzx076.
Bassett, D.R., Toth, L.P., LaMunion, S.R. and Crouter, S.E. (2017) ‘Step Counting: A Review of Measurement Considerations and Health-Related Applications. Sports Medicine 47:1303–1315 doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0663-1
British Geriatrics Society (2023) ‘Joining the Dots: A blueprint for preventing and managing frailty in older people’ available at https://www.bgs.org.uk/policy-and-media/joining-the-dots-a-blueprint-for-preventing-and-managing-frailty-in-older-people accessed 4/11/23
Clegg,A., Young, J., Iliff, S., Rikkert Olde, M. and Rockwood, K. (2013) ‘Frailty in elderly people’, The Lancet (British edition), 381(9868), pp. 752–762. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)62167-9.
Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP) (2012) Physiotherapy Works: Rehabilitation. Available at: https://www.csp.org.uk/publications/physiotherapy-works-rehabilitation Accessed 29/3/23
Chastin, S.F.M, Harvey, J.A., Dall, P., McInally, L., Mavroeidi, A. and Skelton, D. (2019) Beyond ‘#endpjparalysis’, tackling sedentary behaviour in health care. AIMS Medical Science. [Online] 6 (1), 67–75.
Chaudhry, U.A.R., Wahlich, C., Fortescue, R., Cook, D.G., Knightly, R. and Harris, T. (2020) ‘The effects of step-count monitoring interventions on physical activity: Systematic review and meta-analysis of community-based randomised controlled trials in adults’, The International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity; 17(1), pp. 129. doi: 10.1186/s12966-020-01020-8.
Cohen, Y., Zisberg, A., Chayat, Y., Gur-Yaish, N., Gil, E., Levin, C., Rand, D. and Agmon, M. (2019) ‘Walking for Better Outcomes and Recovery: The Effect of WALK-FOR in Preventing Hospital-Associated Functional Decline Among Older Adults’, The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences; 74(10), pp. 1664-1670. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glz025.
Constantin, S. and Dahlke, S. (2018) ‘How nurses restore and maintain mobility in hospitalised older people: An integrative literature review’, International Journal of Older People Nursing, 13(3), p. e12200–n/a. doi:10.1111/opn.12200.
Dolan, B. (2017) ‘Mindset shift on PJ paralysis’, Nursing Standard; 31(47), pp. 32. doi: 10.7748/ns.31.47.32.s29.
Fitbit: The magic of 10,000 steps (2022) available at: https://blog.fitbit.com/the-magic-of-10000-steps/ Accessed 3/3/23
End PJ Paralysis available at: #EndPJparalysis – End PJ Paralysis Accessed 29/3/23
Gibbs G (1988). Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit. Oxford Polytechnic: Oxford.
Harris, T., Kerry, S.M., Victor, C.R., Ekelund, U., Woodcock, A., Iliffe, S., Whincup, P.H., Beighton, C., Ussher, M., Limb, E.S., David, L., Brewin, D., Adams, F., Rogers, A. and Cook, D.G. (2015) ‘A Primary Care Nurse-Delivered Walking Intervention in Older Adults: PACE (Pedometer Accelerometer Consultation Evaluation)-Lift Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial’, PLoS Medicine; 12(2), pp. e1001783. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001783.
Harvey, J., McBain, J. and Cameron, H. (2018) ‘A survey of therapists views on reducing sedentary behaviour in an acute clinical setting’, AIMS Medical Science, 5(4), pp. 370-377. doi: 10.3934/medsci.2018.4.370.
Koenders, N. et al. (2021) ‘Exploring barriers to physical activity of patients at the internal medicine and surgical wards: a retrospective analysis of continuously collected data’, Disability and rehabilitation, 43(13), pp. 1883–1889. doi:10.1080/09638288.2019.1685013
Lee, I.-M., Shiroma, E.J., Kamada, M., Bassett, D.R., Mattews, C.E. and Buring, J.E. (2019) ‘Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women’, JAMA Internal Medicine, 179(8), pp. 1105–1112. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.0899.
Levin, C., Rand, D.R., Gil, E.G. and Agmon, M. (2021) ‘The relationships between step count and hospitalisation‐associated outcomes in acutely hospitalised older adults – A systematic review’, Journal of Clinical Nursing [Preprint]. doi:10.1111/jocn.16085.
Lim, S.E.R., Dodds, R., Bacon, D., Sayer, A.A. and Roberts, H.C. (2018a) ‘Physical activity among hospitalised older people: insights from upper and lower limb accelerometry’, Ageing Clinical and Experimental Research; 30(11), pp. 1363-1369. doi: 10.1007/s40520-018-0930-0.
Lim, S.E.R., Ibrahim, K., Sayer, A.A. and Roberts, H.C. (2018b) ‘Assessment of Physical Activity of Hospitalised Older Adults: A Systematic Review’, The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Ageing; 22(3), pp. 377-386. doi: 10.1007/s12603-017-0931-2.
Lim, S., Ibrahim, K., Dodds, R., Purkis, A., Baxter, M., Rogers, A., Sayer, A.A. and Roberts, H.C. (2020) ‘Physical activity in hospitalised older people: the feasibility and acceptability of a volunteer-led mobility intervention in the SoMoVe™ study’, Age and Ageing; 49(2), pp. 283-291. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afz114.
McCullagh, R., Dillon, C., Dahly, D., Horgan, N.F. and Timmons, S. (2016a) ‘Walking in hospital is associated with a shorter length of stay in older medical inpatients’, Physiotherapy; 102, pp. e41–e42. doi:10.1016/j.physio.2016.10.057.
McCullagh, R., Brady, N.M., Dillon, C., Frances Horgan, N. and Timmons, S. (2016b) ‘A review of the accuracy and utility of motion sensors to measure physical activity of frail, older hospitalized patients’, Journal of Ageing and Physical Activity; 24(3), pp. 465-475. doi: 10.1123/japa.2014-0190.
Mutrie, N., Doolin, O., Fitzsimons, C.F., Grant, P.M., Granat, M., Grealy, M., Macdonald, H., Macmillan, F., Mcconnachie, A., Rowe, D.A., Shaw, R. and Skelton, D.A. (2012) ‘Increasing older adults’ walking through primary care: Results of a pilot randomized controlled trial’, Family Practice; 29(6), pp. 633-642. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cms038.
NHS Education Scotland Turas: Learn https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/Search/SearchResults?searchterm=Gibbs%E2%80%99%20reflective%20cycle&page=1 accessed 17/4/23
NHS Education Scotland Turas: Learn https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/2959/quality-improvement-zone/qi-tools/model-for-improvement accessed 17/4/23
Orme, M.W., Harvey‐Dunstan, T.C., Boral, I., Chaplin, E.J.L., Hussain, S.F., Morgan, M.D.L., Steiner, M.C., Singh, S.J. and Greening, N.J. (2019) ‘Changes in physical activity during hospital admission for chronic respiratory disease’, Respirology; 24(7), pp. 652-657. doi: 10.1111/resp.13513.
Ostir, G.V., Berges, I.M., Kuo, Y., Goodwin, J.S., Fisher, S.R. and Guralnik, J.M. (2013) ‘Mobility Activity and Its Value as a Prognostic Indicator of Survival in Hospitalized Older Adults’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society; 61(4), pp. 551-557. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12170.
Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. British Medical Journal; 372:n71. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n71
Pavon, J.M., Sloane, R.J., Pieper, C.F., Cathleen S Colón‐Emeric, Cohen, H.J., Gallagher, D., Hall, K.S., Morey, M.C., McCarty, M. and Hastings, S.N. (2020) ‘Accelerometer‐Measured Hospital Physical Activity and Hospital‐Acquired Disability in Older Adults’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 68(2), pp. 261-265. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16231.
Paluch, A.E. et al. (2022) ‘Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts’, The Lancet. Public Health; 7(3), pp. e219–e228. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00302-9.
Richardson WS, Wilson MC, Nishikawa J, Hayward RS. (1995) ‘The well-built clinical question: a key to evidence-based decisions’, ACP J Club; 123: A12–3.
Rosenberg, D., Walker, R., Greenwood-Hickman, M., Bellettiere, J., Xiang, Y., Richmire, K., Higgins, M., Wing, D., Larson, E.B., Crane, P.K. and Lacroix, A.Z. (2020) ‘Device-assessed physical activity and sedentary behaviour in a community-based cohort of older adults’, BMC Public Health; 20(1), pp. 1256. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09330-z.
Scottish Health Survey 2021 available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-health-survey-2021-summary-report/pages/8/ Accessed 30/3/23
Scottish Government (2017) Allied Health Professionals Co-creating Wellbeing with the People of Scotland. Available at:
Simmonds, B., Fox, K., Davis, M., Ku, P., Gray, S., Hillsdon, M., Sharp, D., Stathi, A., Thompson, J., Coulson, J. and Trayers, T. (2014) ‘Objectively assessed physical activity and subsequent health service use of UK adults aged 70 and over: A four to five year follow up study’, PLoS One; 9(5), pp. e97676. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097676.
Travers, J., Romero-Ortuno, R., Langan, J., MacNamara, F., McCormack, D., McDermott, C., McEntire, J., McKiernan, J., Lacey, S., Doran, P., Power, D. and Cooney, M-T. (2023) ‘Building resilience and reversing frailty: a randomised controlled trial of a primary care intervention for older adults’, Age and Ageing; 52(2). doi:10.1093/ageing/afad012.
Treacy, D., Hassett, L., Schurr, K., Chagpar, S., Paul, S.S. and Sherrington, C. (2017) ‘Validity of Different Activity Monitors to Count Steps in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Setting’, Physical Therapy; 97(5), pp. 581-588. doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzx010.
Tudor-Locke, C., Craig, C.L., Brown, W.J., Clemes, S.A., De Cocker, K., Giles-Corti, B., Hatano, Y., Inoue, S., Matsudo, S.M., Mutrie, N., Oppert, J., Rowe, D.A., Schmidt, M.D., Schofield, G.M., Spence, J.C., Teixeira, P.J., Tully, M.A. and Blair, S.N. (2011) ‘How many steps/day are enough? for adults’, The International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity; 8(1), pp. 79. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-8-79.
Tudor-Locke, C., Schuna Jr, J.M., Barreira, T.V., Mire, E.F., Broyles, S.T., Katzmarzyk, P.T. and Johnson, W.D. (2013) ‘Normative steps/day values for older adults: NHANES 2005-2006’, The Journals of Gerontology Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences; 68(11), pp. 1426-1432. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glt116.
UK Chief Medical Officer’s Physical Activity Guidelines (2019) Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/physical-activity-guidelines-adults-and-older-adults Accessed 6/3/23
Walker, R.L., Greenwood-Hickman, M., Bellettiere, J., LaCroix, A.Z., Wing, D., Higgins, M., Richmire, K., Larson, E.B., Crane, P.K. and Rosenberg, D.E. (2021) ‘Associations between physical function and device-based measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns in older adults: moving beyond moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity’, BMC Geriatrics; 21(1), pp. 216. doi: 10.1186/s12877-021-02163-4.
Watanabe, D., Yoshida, T., Watanabe, Y., Yamada, Y., Kimura, M. and Group, K.S. (2020) ‘Objectively Measured Daily Step Counts and Prevalence of Frailty in 3,616 Older Adults’, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society; 68(10), pp. 2310-2318.doi: 10.1111/jgs.16655.
World Health Organisation (2018) ‘The global action plan on physical activity 2018 – 2030: more active people for a healthier world’. Available at; Global action plan on physical activity 2018–2030: more active people for a healthier world (who.int) Accessed 6/3/23
World Health Organization. (2020). WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/336656 Accessed 6/3/23