March/April 2004
People

Dementia Scholar returns to USA

An American scholar has returned to the States with "a wealth of knowledge" after spending the autumn term with the University's Bradford Dementia Group (BDG).

Associate Professor from Northern Illinois University Carolinda Douglass (pictured right) became a Visiting Scholar at BDG in the School of Health Studies. Carolinda brought her family with her for the sabbatical and her two eldest children attended primary school in Leeds.

She said: "Being at BDG has been an extremely rewarding experience for me and my family.

"Professionally, I have gained a wealth of knowledge from my colleagues at BDG and, on a personal level, my family and I have all benefited tremendously from this cross-cultural experience."

Carolinda was on a research sabbatical conducting work on Dementia Care Mapping (DCM).

Developed by the group, DCM studies the behaviour of people with dementia to help improve their care. Carolinda's research included surveying DCM users in the US and comparing the results with a DCM user survey undertaken by BDG.

During her visit she conducted key informant interviews and will compare these to similar interviews in the US. Whilst here she also trained with BDG to the Evaluator status and began her apprenticeship to become a DCM trainer. She will now be involved in DCM training in the US.

Her presence at BDG marked a long-lasting and ongoing association with individuals and organisations interested in DCM worldwide. BDG anticipates future collaborative work with Northern Illinois University.

16 April 2004

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