This book puts the critical into dementia studies. It makes a timely and novel contribution to the field, offering a thought-provoking critique of current thinking and debate on dementia. Collectively the contributions gathered together in this text make a powerful case for a more politically engaged and critical treatment of dementia and the systems and structures that currently govern and frame it. The book is inter-disciplinary and draws together leading dementia scholars alongside dementia activists from around the world. It frames dementia as first and foremost a political category. The book advances both theoretical and methodological thinking in the field as well as sharing learning from empirical research. Outlining the limits to existing efforts to frame and theorise the condition, it proposes a new critical movement for the field of dementia studies and practice. The book will be of direct interest to researchers and scholars in the field of dementia studies and wider fields of health, disability and care. It will provide a novel resource for students and practitioners in the fields of dementia, health care and social care. The book also has implications for dementia policymaking, commissioning and community development. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

What is dementia? How should we organize dementia care? This comprehensive book critically examines the main approaches to understanding dementia (bio-medical, social-psychological and socio-gerontological) and the main principles and ideologies of care. The book: • provides clarity on the gap between the utopian aspirations of care and the reality of care • opens up a series of questions about knowledge and treatment of dementia • argues for a transition from positions that place emphasis upon the individual or particular care services to the social, cultural and economic context Lively, informative and challenging, the book will be of interest to students of nursing, sociology of health & illness, social work and social gerontology. Anthea Innes teaches at the Dementia Services Development Centre, University of Stirling

The conceptualization of dementia has changed dramatically in recent years with the claim that, through early detection and by controlling several risk factors, a prevention of dementia is possible. Although encouraging and providing hope against this feared condition, this claim is open to scrutiny. This volume looks at how this new conceptualization ignores many of the factors which influence a dementia sufferers’ prognosis, including their history with education, food and exercise as well as their living in different epistemic cultures. The central aim is to question the concept of prevention and analyze its impact on aging people and aging societies.

This book offers the first ever critical history of dementia studies. Focusing on the emergence of dementia studies as a discrete area of academic interest in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, it draws on critical theory to interrogate the very notion of dementia studies as an entity, shedding light on the affinities and contradictions that characterise the field. Drawing together a collection of internationally renowned experts in a variety of fields, including people with dementia, this volume includes perspectives from education, the arts, human rights and much more. This critical history sets out the shared intellectual space of ‘dementia studies’, from which non-medical dementia research can progress. The book is intended for researchers, academics and students of dementia studies, social gerontology, disability, chronic illness, health and social care. It will also appeal to activists and practitioners engaged in social work and caregiving involved in dementia research.

Traditionally, the most preferred social research methods in dementia studies have been interviews, focus groups and non-participant observations. Most of these methods have been used for a long time by researchers in other social research fields, but their application to the field of dementia studies is a relatively new phenomenon. A ground-breaking book, Social Research Methods in Dementia Studies shows researchers how to adapt their methods of data collection to address the individual needs of someone who is living with dementia. With an editorial team that includes Ann Johnson, a trained nurse and person living with dementia, this enlightening volume mainly draws its contents from two interdisciplinary social research teams in dementia, namely the Center for Dementia Research [CEDER] at Linköping University in Norrköping, Sweden and the Dementia and Ageing Research Team [DART] at The University of Manchester in Manchester, UK. Case examples are shared in each of the main chapters to help ground the social research method(s) in a real-life context and provide direction as to how learning can be applied to other settings. Chapters also contain key references and recommended reading. This volume will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, interested in fields such as: Research Methods, Qualitative Methods and Dementia Studies.

This refreshing book uses broad political and moral economy perspectives to explore the intersections of race, class, gender and aging and how these help determine the experience of aging and growing old. The twenty chapter volume includes new contributions by many of the top names in critical gerontology. Both political and economic factors, and those shared norms about fairness and obligation that help shape our aging policies, are examined in relation to a wide range of contemporary issues in gerontology.

"The book will be valuable for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and lecturers involved in the field of dementia care and the health-care sciences. Furthermore, it provides a useful resource for clinicians who wish to explore their understanding of 'personhood', person-centred care and the nature of Kitwood's critical appraisal of how 'care' should be constructed and delivered." Ageing and Society "Baldwin and Capstick have produced an honest appraisal that is undeniably a reader and critical commentary, and have not shirked from any responsibilities. ... This paperback would serve two distinct strands of readership equally well - those coming afresh to dementia care, or practitioners steeped in the concepts, who are looking to reanalyse and consider future developments. As such, it is difficult to underestimate its value." Nursing in Practice How does Kitwood’s work contribute to our understanding of ‘the dementing process’ and the essentials of quality care? How was Kitwood’s thinking about dementia influenced by the wider context of his work in theology, psychology and biochemistry? What is the relevance today of key themes and issues in Kitwood’s work? Tom Kitwood was one of the most influential writers on dementia of the last 20 years. Key concepts and approaches from his work on person-centred care and well-being in dementia have gained international recognition and shaped much current thinking about practice development. The complexities of Kitwood’s work and the development of his thinking over time have, however, received less attention. This Reader brings together twenty original publications by Kitwood which span the entire period of his writing on dementia, and the different audiences for whom he wrote. Almost ten years after Kitwood’s death, it is now timely to review his contribution to the field of dementia studies in the light of more recent developments and from a critical and interdisciplinary perspective. The introduction to this Reader summarises and problematises some of the key characteristics of Kitwood’s writing. Each of the four themed sections begins with a commentary offering a balanced consideration of the strengths of Kitwood’s work, but also of its limitations and oversights. The Reader also includes a biography and annotated bibliography. Tom Kitwood on Dementia: A Reader and Critical Commentary is key reading for students of social work or mental health nursing, with an interest in dementia care. Professionals working with people with dementia will also find it invaluable. Additional Contributors: Habib Chaudhury, Deborah O’Connor, Alison Phinney, Barbara Purves, Ruth Bartlett.