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The arts as a medium for communicating research findings about dementia care
About the speaker
Prof Justine Schneider has been Professor of Mental Health and Social Care at the University of Nottingham since 2004. She was previously Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Applied Social Studies at the University of Durham (1998-2004) and a Non-Executive Director, County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust. Her previous employment includes seven years as a Research Fellow at the Personal Social Services Research Unit, University of Kent at Canterbury (1991-98), two years of voluntary work in Lima, Peru, and several years of professional social work practice in London and the south east.
Prof Justine Schneider has extensive experience in many aspects of applied health research using a wide range of methodologies and approaches. She has expertise in mental health service evaluation, carers, care homes, costs and supported employment for people with any kind of disability or disadvantage. Her current work focuses primarily on dementia and staff development, and she is exploring innovative approaches to knowledge exchange in dementia care through the arts.
Seminar details
In this presentation I shall describe the process whereby ethnographic research on care workers has been used as a basis for a play in one case and a graphic novel in another. The play - 'Inside Out of Mind' - was written and directed by Tanya Myers. The graphic novel - 'Winston's World' - was drawn by Tony Husband, whose book 'Take Care, Son' describes his father's dementia. The practicalities of engaging artists with research material will be covered, together with the rationale for using different media. I hope that the participants will contribute by reflecting critically on the purpose and on the forms of art used in these examples. For instance we might consider together whether there is a trade-off between breadth and depth of impact in certain art forms. Another topic for discussion might be how these resources can influence workforce development or public awareness - both positively and negatively.