When conducting my literature review, I found that there are pockets of research around the world about people with dementia who get lost or go ‘missing’, but that there seemed to be no platform for knowledge exchange.
So, in collaboration with a Canadian PhD student who I had met on Twitter, I set up the International Consortium for Dementia and Wayfinding. With my supervisor, Charlotte Clarke, I was awarded the CAHSS knowledge exchange and impact grant. I travelled to Calgary for a two day symposium in February and then I hosted a two day symposium in Edinburgh on 28th and 29th March.
The event was attended by researchers, people with lived experience, police officers, charity organisations and local organisations and we had representation from the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, the US and Canada. Ultimately, the aim of the event was to bring all these different perspectives to the same table to figure out how we can collectively support people with dementia to live in a safe and supportive environment. We spent a day and a half sharing ideas, expertise and experience and I think the event was a great success! Next steps are to set up a website for the consortium with some funding that our Canadian colleagues received.
This initiative was also awarded as a runner up in the 2019 Research Impact & Knowledge Exchange Competition that was announced at the annual SGSSS Collaboration Showcase held at the V&A Dundee on 15 May. Keep up the good work Katie!
If you want to learn more about her PhD journey and her inspiring activities you can follow her here or read her blog here.
