As I approach the first milestone of my PhD – the formulation of a research question – I felt it would be good to start a record of my studies, to share some of the interesting finds and information that I come across during my time as a doctoral fellow.

So who am I?

Naomi Gallant: newly married and recently embarked on a Clinical Academic PhD with the University of Southampton. As a doctoral fellow in the Wessex CLAHRC, my research is focusing on improving quality of fundamental care for people with dementia in acute hospitals, specifically reducing the risk of malnutrition and dehydration. I’m a qualified Occupational Therapist (OT), graduating from University of Southampton in 2011, since when I have held several OT roles ranging across physical and mental health settings. Not wanting to lose these clinical skills, and realising the importance of research influencing care at the point of delivery, I have chosen to follow a clinical academic route with the aim of collaborating research and practice.

So why dementia? 

There is a significant need in our society for an increase in dementia awareness. As the Department of Health (2013) highlights, society is not geared up for the increase in the condition, with avoidance being a common reaction – something which needs to be challenged. Conversations with those outside of the clinical or academic world only serve to emphasize the need for dementia awareness in people who have not experienced it within their own spheres. Comments such as “can someone with dementia really use Twitter?” and “the government have spoken a lot about dementia, it must be a real problem?” have fuelled my desire to spread the ‘Dementia word’.

So why me?

Since 2011 I have worked in a variety of settings, both as an OT and a Health Care Assistant (HCA). My time as an HCA in 2 different dementia care homes initiated my passion for ensuring optimum quality of life for people who are unable to express their needs due to severe cognitive impairment. My experience of seeing people, bed bound, in advanced stages of dementia furthered my realisation of a need for better understanding of, compassion for, and care towards these people.

As an OT I have worked in acute dementia wards, community care teams, and general hospital medical and rehabilitation wards. Despite the variation from specific dementia care settings, and despite a lot of wonderful, compassionate nursing staff, I have seen a need for improved dementia care in all of these places. The need seems especially acute on hospital wards where the environment, staff training and resources are primarily ill-equipped to face the challenge of a growing dementia population.

With all these factors combined, the opportunity to undertake this research – which could in small or large part contribute to future policy making – was one which I could not let pass me by. I hope you enjoy the insight this blog aims to bring into my journey.