'Public Understandings and Responses to Dementia'

Dementia is a condition that people live with on a daily basis and the way in which the general public understands and views dementia has important repercussions for the quality of life of people with dementia. Stigma and misunderstanding can have a devastating impact on a person’s experience of dementia, can influence the types of interactions they are likely to have with other people, and can prevent people with dementia from living well with the condition. While considerable research has examined the attitudes of professionals and carers to dementia, there is less research examining the attitudes of the general public. In this seminar, Patricia McParland outlines the approach she has taken in her PhD research exploring how the general public understands dementia. Her PhD is a three-year mixed method study comprising a literature review, followed by an attitudinal survey in Northern Ireland completed by 1,200 people, from which respondents were randomly selected to participate in five focus groups. She presents the initial findings from her research and considers the implications of these initial findings for us as a society.

The seminar will be of interest to practitioners, policymakers, researchers, advocates and anyone working in or with an interest in the field of dementia as well as people with dementia and their families.

Patricia McParland holds a Masters degree in guidance and counselling from Queen's University Belfast and worked for a number of years as a counsellor in private practice. Her interest in dementia is a very personal one as her mother has been living with Alzheimer's disease for almost twenty years. Patricia is in the third year of a PhD at University of Stirling exploring how the general public understands and responds to dementia. She has tutored on a number of dementia modules both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Dr Maria Pierce, Research Fellow, Living with Dementia research

Wednesday 18th April 2012

2.00pm - 3.30pm

Ui Chadhain Lecture Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin

Click here for map showing Arts Building

'Making the Diagnosis Well; Breaking the Diagnosis Well'

Thursday 17th May 2012

To be announced

'Celebrating collaborating: some implications for research with people with dementia'

Tuesday 19th June 2012

10.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

The Long Room Hub, Fellows' Square, Trinity College Dublin

To be announced