Rate My Professor Katie Brittain

Professor Katie Brittain serves as Professor of Applied Health Research and Ageing in the Population Health Sciences Institute within the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University. A social gerontologist with a background in sociology, she earned her PhD in Social Gerontology from the University of Leicester (2000-2005), an MA in Medical Sociology from the University of Warwick (1996-1997), and a BSc in Sociology from the University of Surrey (1990-1994). Her research employs quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the social impact of illness on older people's lives, including the challenges and opportunities presented by physical, social, and technological environments. Key areas of focus encompass ageing in place, dementia care, assistive technologies, Parkinson's disease, care homes, digital exclusion, end-of-life care, and incontinence among older adults.

Brittain's career includes prior roles as Associate Professor of Ageing and Health at Northumbria University and Lecturer in Social Gerontology at Newcastle University's Institute of Health and Society. She has published extensively in prominent journals, with notable works such as Gibson K, Brittain K et al., "‘It’s where I belong’: what does it mean to age in place from the perspective of people aged 80 and above? A longitudinal qualitative study (wave one)" (BMC Geriatrics, 2024); Gibson K, Kingston A, McLellan E, Robinson L, Brittain K, "'Successful' ageing in later older age: a sociology of class and ageing in place" (Social Science & Medicine, 2024, 358); Brittain K, Degnen C, "Living the everyday of dementia friendliness: navigating care in public spaces" (Sociology of Health & Illness, 2022, 44(2)); and Gibson G, Dickinson C, Brittain K, Robinson L, "The provision of assistive technology products and services for people with dementia in the United Kingdom" (Dementia, 2016, 15(4)). Her contributions address how illness, care practices, and environments influence ageing processes and community support structures.