The SDRC are committed to celebrating our next generation of researchers by publishing a series of blogs to PhD Students/ Early Career Researchers. This week we are featuring those that were in the SDRC Annual Report 2019/20. Read about the research by Angela Gregory, from the University of the West of Scotland, below.
I joined the Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice (ASCPP) as a PhD student at the University of the West of Scotland in August 2019. My studentship is jointly funded by Erskine Care and Alzheimer Scotland.
After graduating with a first-class Batchelor of Arts (Hons) Three-Dimensional Crafts in 2000, I set up my own business working as a community Freelance Artist/Educator. I then completed a Post-graduate Certificate in Arts and Cultural Heritage in 2003. After the death of my mum in 2013, I decided to combine my love of creative ‘doing’, and passion for empowering people to live (as opposed to merely exist) by re-training as an Occupational Therapist.
I achieved a distinction in Master of Science, Health through Occupation in 2014 where my love of research was sparked. After working for five years in various settings as an Occupational Therapist, I decided to embark on a PhD.
My PhD research will explore meaning in activity with people with advanced dementia, their families and care home staff via an action research, arts-based, embodied and sensory approach.
I see myself becoming specialised in using arts-informed action research with people with advanced dementia and integrating this knowledge into clinical practice, education and care establishments.
The SDRC will be posting blogs featuring bios from ECRs throughout the next few days. Follow us on Twitter so you know can keep up to date with the series.
If you are an Early Career Researcher or student that would like to write a guest blog for the SDRC, get in touch at sdrc@alzscot.org