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Dementia 2016
September 29-October 01, 2016
Volume 6 Issue 5(Suppl) J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 2016
ISSN:2161-0460 JADP, an open access journal
conferenceseries .com
September 29-October 01, 2016 London, UK
5th International Conference on
Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia
Gary Morris, J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 2016, 6:5(Suppl)
Engaging with lived dementia experience through first-person media narratives
Gary Morris
University of Leeds, UK
Having problems in communicating does not mean that individuals with dementia are unable to express themselves.
Instead, we need to find ways to ‘listen’ more to what is being related. This presentation explores the learning potential of
engagingmental health nurses with lived dementia experience through the accessing of media narratives.The narrative accounts
are selected from a wide selection of media sources utilizing visual, textual and auditory modes of communication. These
include internet blogs/discussion forums, autobiographical texts, art work, poetry, feature films and television documentaries.
Subsequent learning was evaluated through focus group discussion and module assignments. The preliminary findings from
these learning activities demonstrate a greater appreciation of lived dementia experience, including a person’s thoughts and
feelings. There was also a sense of attitudinal change reported with students more mindful of the internal world of those with
dementia. This importantly helped participants to reframe behaviours which otherwise could be perceived as “challenging”,
recognizing internal drivers such as frustration, pain or helplessness. The work illustrated here highlights the need to facilitate
expression of lived experience amongst those with dementia and for health care workers/learners to explore means of tuning in
to and ‘hearing’ their narratives. The result of this is the promotion of attitudinal change, empathic learning and person centred
care approaches as advocated by notable researchers such as TomKitwood and the Bradford Dementia Group. This also reflects
care approaches to care highlighted in the National Dementia Strategy (DOH 2009).
Biography
Gary Morris is a PhD student at the University of Huddersfield as well as being a mental health lecturer working at the University of Leeds. He leads the mental
health nursing programme and runs modules which include “Lived experience in mental health” and “Media depictions of mental health.” He is the author of a
number of articles and textbooks concerned with dementia care, media narratives and lived mental health experience.