SPEAKER: Richard Ward

DESCRIPTION: Richard is a senior lecturer in dementia studies at the University of Stirling. He is a registered social worker who specialised in the field of dementia care and has carried forward an interest in social care practice into his research and teaching. Much of Richard's research has focused on dementia and ageing with a particular interest in the lived experience of dementia. Past work has included the study of patterns of communication in residential care, older people's experiences of age discrimination and the role of hairdressing salons and appearance work in dementia care settings. Most recently he has led the Neighbourhoods: our people, our places project, a 5-year, international, longitudinal study of neighbourhood living as experienced by people with dementia and their care partners. Richard has also recently been involved in the establishment of the Critical Dementia Network, which aims to draw upon the broader critical turn in the social sciences and apply this in dementia studies.