Researching Art to help people living with Dementia

In this week’s show, we discuss how arts based methodologies and the knowledge and skills of an artist can be used within the field of health to create new understandings and promote wellbeing in people living with dementia. Our first guest is freelance Artist and Academic, Dr Megan Wyatt. Megan recently completed her PhD at Wrexham Glyndwr University, investigated how people living with dementia engage with and experience painting. We are also joined by Megan’s PhD Supervisor Dr Susan Liggett. Susan is the Associate Dean for the Research Faculty of Art Science and Technology at the University, and her research considers how visual arts can contribute to a better society. Both Megan and Susan are passionate about the benefits of Art in dementia, having both experienced the impact of the disease within close relatives. Together they co-authored a paper on “The Potential of Painting: Unlocking Disenfranchised Grief for People Living With Dementia” and are in the process of writing a chapter for the practical handbook of dementia to be published later this year. Dr Megan O’Hare hosted the show which was recorded in November 2020. The growing prevalence of dementia, combined with an absence of effective pharmacological treatments, highlights the potential of psychosocial interventions to alleviate the effects of dementia and enhance quality of life. Art, Dance, Music, Singing and other interventions have been proven to be effecting as a means to support improved wellbeing and reduce agitation in people living with dementia. Delivering these interventions and measuring their impact can be challenging, we hope this show is useful to anyone working in this field, and would love to hear from others to discuss this field in a blog for the Dementia Researcher website. _____________________________________________________________________ Review the paper discussed here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1054137318780577 You can find out more about our panellists, and their work on our website: https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk A transcript of this podcast is also available here https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/podcast-researching-art-to-help-people-living-with-dementia _____________________________________________________________________ Like what you hear? Please review, like, and share our podcast - and don't forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode. This podcast is brought to you in association with Alzheimer's Research UK and Alzheimer's Society, who we thank for their ongoing support.