Dr Kiera Kenny

Kiera is a researcher and administrator coordinator at the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research (CIMTR). She is interested in improving clinical and organisational outcomes through psychological research. She has experience in music therapy and dementia care research.

[email protected]

Background

Kiera has a first-class undergraduate degree in Abnormal and Clinical Psychology from ARU in 2017. She gained her MSc degree in Organisational Psychology from the University of Kent in 2018.

Kiera was awarded a Vice Chancellor's PhD scholarship in 2020 and led the project ‘Music4theMind’ – a non-randomised cluster feasibility trial. The trial focused on implementing a music therapy intervention across 12 care homes and on evaluating the intervention's feasibility and preliminary effects. The treatment included two elements: individualised music therapy for care home residents living with dementia and skill-sharing sessions with care home staff for 12 weeks.

Since completing her PhD in 2024, Kiera has conducted postdoctoral research in music therapy and dementia, focusing on the inclusivity of music-based interventions in dementia care. Kiera also works alongside CIMTR’s Institute Operations Manager to manage the day-to-day responsibilities of the institute, including communications, events and outreach.

Research interests

• Psychological interventions
• Music therapy
• Dementia care
• Organisational and service improvement
• Mental health

Areas of research supervision

• Music therapy and dementia
• Music therapy and autism in children

Qualifications

• PhD, ARU
• MSc Organisational Psychology, University of Kent
• BSc Abnormal and Clinical Psychology, ARU

Selected recent publications

Kenny, K., Odell-Miller, H. and Hsu, M.H. (2025) 'Exploring the meaning of and barriers to quality of care for people living with dementia through the perspective of care home staff: A qualitative study', Geriatric Nursing, 64. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2025.04.018

Kenny, K., Odell-Miller, H., Kabir, R. and Hsu, M.H. (2025) 'A systematic review of how quality of care for care home residents living with dementia is defined and operationalised in research', Journal of Public Health. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-025-02586-y

Recent presentations and conferences

‘Music therapy and dementia care', Adult Care Services Festival of Practice, Hertfordshire, 2025.

‘Music4theMind: A Feasibility Trial of Individualised Music Therapy for Managing Needs and Symptoms of Care Home Residents with Dementia to Improve Care Quality’, 35th Alzheimer Europe Conference, Bologna, Italy, 2025.