Wednesday Research Seminar Series - Unveiling the everyday: Ethnographic observations of persons living with dementia in a long-term care facility

We are pleased to invite you to our Wednesday Research Seminar. It will be held online via MS Teams on 19th March. Wednesday Research Seminar Series was launched in 2008 and has featured more than 365 presentations to date. The seminars provide a forum for researchers to share their work. Presenters include faculty from Middlesex University Dubai and other universities in the United Arab Emirates, as well as researchers from other global institutions. Please note the timings have changed due to Ramadan. The seminar will now start 1:45pm Seada  will present her work on:

“Unveiling the everyday: Ethnographic observations of persons living with dementia in a long-term care facility”
 Seada Kassie

Abstract

Psychosocial factors that influence the behaviours, general wellbeing, and quality of life of persons with dementia living in long-term care facilities include social contact and meaningful engagement, sensory stimulation, wellbeing-enhancing occupation and supervised independence, home-likeness of their care environment, and proactive as opposed to reactive approaches to addressing their unmet needs. This ethnographic observational study aimed to assess the behaviours of persons living with dementia in their natural and everyday context, with the overarching objective of identifying opportunities and challenges to providing person-centred dementia care. The observations were carried out using explicit measurement guidelines including a standardised observation tool, a smart application, and calibrated field notes to maintain reliability and consistency of data collected by a team of observers across extended observation periods. The results reveal that indicators of general well-being among persons living with dementia were virtually absent from their naturalistic environment. As part of a larger on-going research project, the findings from this study will be used to inform the design and implementation of evidence-based and contextualised interventions to enhance dementia-care services in the UAE.

Presenter Bios

Seada Kassie is a senior lecturer in Psychology at Middlesex University Dubai. She received her postgraduate training in clinical research at Harvard Medical School and is a member of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals Community. She is currently in the final stages of completing a Ph.D. in Psychology from University of Reading, U.K. Her research aims to enhance dementia care practices in the UAE and the broader Arab Gulf region by working closely with public and private healthcare service providers that cater to the medical and psychosocial needs and preferences of persons living with dementia.