Anna Bryan

Name: Anna Bryan

PhD Research Area: Music and Care Homes

Research Affiliations: Advanced Care Research Centre, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, Music in Human and Social Development Research Group, Edinburgh Centre for Research on the Experience of Dementia

Supervisors: Dr Tom Russ, Dr Katie Overy, and Prof Heather Wilkinson

E-mail: anna.bryan@ed.ac.uk

Biography:

Anna received her BA in Music from Columbia University in 2019 and MSc by Research in Music at the University of Edinburgh in 2020. During her Master’s research, she explored the use of music in Edinburgh Care Homes. Anna is a member of the first cohort of PhD students at the Advanced Care Research Centre, an interdisciplinary research centre studying topics relating to supporting the lives of people in later life. During her PhD, Anna has worked on a couple of external projects: one project related to the organisation of online music groups for those affected by dementia, while the other investigated the responses that made music “meaningful” for those affected by dementia (Meaningful Music: A Music and Dementia Research Study).  Anna also conducted a summer research project in 2022 that explored the contexts for music provision in Midlothian care homes.

Research Interests:

  • Implementation of music provision in care homes
  • What makes music provision “meaningful”
  • Sustainability of music interventions in care homes
  • Accessibility of music interventions in care homes
  • Intergenerational music programmes
  • Social isolation in care homes
  • Improving care delivery in care homes

Funding:

Anna is funded by the Advanced Care Research Centre, through a grant provided by Legal & General.