Visiting museums, historic houses and heritage sites is known to support people's health and wellbeing, and this has helped shape policy and practice in local authority heritage, culture, health and social services. But little is known about which specific activities, interactions and social behaviours actually produce these benefits, which makes it hard to evaluate and improve them. Leicestershire has an estimated 10,000 people living with dementia, many without a formal diagnosis or formal support (LCC Cabinet, 19th January 2026). 39,100 residents aged over65 live alone, with the over-80 population projected to almost double by 2032 (Leicestershire JSNA, 2024).Cultural participation in Leicestershire is limited among older age communities (41% of adults versus 18% of over85s) and disabled people (37% versus 44% of non-disabled adults), with the East Midlands having the lowest participation rates of any English region at 35% (DCMS Participation Survey, 2024-25).
This PhD project will explore what happens during heritage visits that supports wellbeing, working with five sites managed by Leicestershire County Council's Heritage Services: the 1620s House and Garden in Donnington le Heath, Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, Charnwood Museum in Loughborough, Harborough Museum and Melton Carnegie Museum. It will pioneer the use of video to study how people interact with each other and with heritage spaces and objects. Visitors will be invited to wear lightweight smart glasses that record a first-person view of their own visit, which they control and can switch off at any point. The project will focus on older age communities, and in particular on people living with dementia and the practices developed at the five sites, such as "dementia trails" and object handling sessions.
Participants will act as co-analysts of their own recordings, helping to identify the social processes that could be enhanced and shared with other groups. These include groups the County Council has identified as especially in need of improved health outcomes, such as minority ethnic and migrant communities. Inclusion is a priority throughout: the project will work with a deliberately diverse group of people living with dementia, and the lived experience of the researcher recruited will also help shape which groups the project engages with. This research aims to show how heritage engagement supports wellbeing, so that heritage and cultural organisations can plan and improve what they offer. The project brings together Loughborough University's expertise in applied interaction analysis, the University of Leicester's leading research in museum studies, and the County Council's award-winning heritage sites, and will inform future strategy, policy and practice.
This project has been co-created with and is supported by researchers from Loughborough University and the University of Leicester, and partners at Leicestershire County Council. The successful candidate for this project will be enrolled at Loughborough University
Project Aims
- Identify the social and interactional mechanisms through which museum and heritage visits support the health and wellbeing of older age communities.
- Document how older age communities including people with dementia, their carers and companions access, navigate and make use of LCC heritage sites, including the dementia trails.
- Co-develop recommendations with visitors and LCC staff for more inclusive signage, interpretation, trail design, and events that support activities associated with identified health benefits.
- Advance participatory, in-situ methods for creative-health research in museum settings: participants record their own visits, control what is recorded, set and revise the terms of their consent through the research, and work as co-analysts of the resulting video in data sessions.
Full Supervisory Team
- Lead Academic Supervisor: Dr Saul Albert (Loughborough University)
- Academic Co-Supervisor: Dr Nuala Morsel (University of Leicester)
- Community Supervisor: Jennifer Hunt (Leicester County Council)
Estimated thesis submission: