Dr. Ian Davies-Abbott

Biography

I joined the Centre for Applied DementiaStudies as an Assistant Professor in Dementia Studies in November 2023.

I have a background in mental health nursing, teaching and research. Iam particularly interested in qualitative approaches with a background ofapplying Appreciative Inquiry, positioning theory and semi-structuredinterviews in research. I am interested in how language constructsaccepted realities that result in positive and negative social actions and howthese realities can be challenged. The primary focus of my research has beenthe lived experience of people living with dementia and giving a voice toseldom heard groups.

My PhD thesis was entitled ‘Discourse and dementia’, which reconfiguredthe Appreciative Inquiry methodology to support a group of people living withdementia to design a short film, which was then used to positively influencethe language used by others about dementia.

I was the principal investigator of the study ‘Language creates reality’which explored how Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) can be applied to clinical casenote writing about people living with dementia. I was a co-principalinvestigator in the Celtic Advanced Life Science Innovation Network (CALIN)project, which connected businesses, academia and healthcare with experts fromsix leading universities across Ireland and Wales. I was a co-lead for the workpackage, Environments of Ageing as a member of the Centre for Ageing &Dementia Research (CADR) and supported Public Health Wales regarding the All-WalesDementia Care Pathway of Standards, focussing on standard 16: DCM. I was theauthor of the Welsh national strategy and implementation guide for DCM,published in 2022. During the covid-19 pandemic, I was involved in a studywhich used DCM to gain an insight into experiences on mental health wardsduring lockdown and led another research project exploring the experience of aperson living in a care home with dementia during lockdown. I was a co-researcheron the Rare Dementia Impact Study and led a study exploring the referralpathways for people living with dementia in Wales. I led and continue tosupport the Rare Dementia Support in Wales group, which is a monthly on-line groupfor people affected by rare types of dementia in Wales.

I have previously completed a Small Business Research Initiative projectwhich attempted to provide an innovative solution to the acute anxiety oftenexperienced by people living with dementia when travelling to and attendinghospital appointments. Many of my projects have resulted in outcomes that havevalue beyond academic outputs, including the development of new pathways forpeople living with dementia who are admitted to older person’s mental healthwards, health board policies regarding sexual safety and the development of thefirst published guidance for clinicians working with transgender people livingwith dementia.

I am currently working on projects regarding the positioning of peopleliving with dementia in cinema and the potential of resilience building throughrole playing games.

I have experience as a PhD and MSc supervisor.