Early Digitally Enabled CST for Dementia in Primary Care v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating Early Digitally Enabled Cognitive Stimulation Therapy for Dementia in Primary Care
IRAS ID
368737
Contact name
Fiona Costello
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Ayla Care Limited
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
Dementia affects approximately 900,000 people in the UK. As cognition declines after diagnosis, people with dementia may become more likely to fall and to become physically frail. Falls in this group are common and often serious, leading to broken bones, hospital admission, loss of independence, and earlier moves into long-term care.
Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is a well-established, non-drug group therapy recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for people with mild to moderate dementia. CST helps people stay mentally active and can slow cognitive decline. However, most people diagnosed with dementia are never offered it, because access to CST within NHS memory services is constrained.
This study asks whether CST can be delivered in GP practices, shortly after diagnosis, using a digital platform called Ayla. Ayla supports trained facilitators to deliver CST sessions consistently. People with dementia do not use the technology themselves — all sessions remain face-to-face and socially interactive.
Approximately 100 people with mild to moderate dementia will take part across three primary care organisations in England. Participants will attend group CST sessions twice a week for seven weeks. Before and after the programme, facilitators will ask participants brief questions about their quality of life, mood, and thinking. Information on falls, frailty, and medications will also be collected from GP records. Participants, carers, and staff will be interviewed about their experiences.
This is a feasibility study. It will not prove whether CST prevents falls, which would require a larger trial. Instead, it will establish whether this model of delivery works in primary care, what staff and patients experience, and whether the findings justify a future, larger evaluation of early CST as a way of reducing falls and frailty after dementia diagnosis.
The study is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/LO/0333
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jun 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion