John Keady
Biographic Data
| ID | 112553 |
|---|---|
| NAME | John Keady |
| GIVEN NAMES | John |
| FAMILY NAME | Keady |
| SIGNATURE | KEADY J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Manchester |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8243-6913 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 44 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 170 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 43 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Embodying the space
This reflective article explores how musical improvisation fosters embodied connection, creative self-expression and relational well-being for and with people living with dementia. Drawing on over ten years of embedded practice within Manchester Camerata’s Music in Mind programme, orchestral musician and music therapist Amina Hussain offers a reflective account of improvisation work with people living with dementia in community-based group settin…
Healthcare Support Workers Working With People With Dementia on Mental Health Wards
This study explores the practice of healthcare support workers (HCSWs) working with people with dementia on mental health wards for older people within the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. People with dementia in these settings have complex physical and mental health needs with significant behaviors that challenge and therefore require high levels of staff expertise to meet their needs. Underpinned by the theory of care aesthetics, …
Only my family can help
In the United Kingdom, people living with dementia admitted to National Health Service (NHS) psychiatric/mental health inpatient dementia assessment wards (dementia assessment wards) are nearly always compulsorily detained under a section of the Mental Health Act 1983 owing to the risk and complexity of the presenting condition. As such, dementia assessment wards admit some of the most vulnerable patients in society, yet these environments of car…
Through their eyes
In the UK, when people with dementia are regarded as a risk to themselves or others, they are usually admitted compulsorily onto a National Health Service dementia inpatient ward, under the 1983 Mental Health Act. Remarkably little is known about the experiences of informal (family) carers supporting these individuals with dementia during their stay; this study is the first to explore those experiences. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews wit…
We Do This Together
In recent years, there has been a growing focus on incorporating the perspectives and experiences of people with dementia in research. However, collaborative research that engages with their everyday lives remains limited, and there is little reflection on this research approach. Our research project on everyday life with dementia was conducted in the Netherlands by a team comprising academic researchers and co-researchers with dementia. The co-r…
Creating and Reliving the Moment
Musical improvisation is a generative process of spontaneously creating music 'in the moment'. For people with young onset dementia, musical improvisation provides an extended opportunity for creative self-expression and connection to one's own body and life story. Using visual research methods, including video elicitation interviews, this paper explores the 'in the moment' musical experiences of five people living with young onset dementia who t…
Ambivalent Anti-Modernity
This essay provides an analysis of texts and images (memes) that have been widely distributed and discussed within the contemporary fascist/national socialist spectrum, and that articulate a pointed antagonism toward modernity. The meaning of the term ‘modernity’ is seldom clearly defined, but it can be generally understood, in this context, as referring to liberal or progressive stances on current hot-button topics concerning race, gender or sex…
Ways of being’ in the domestic garden for people living with dementia
Domestic gardens represent a site for enacting embodied identity and social relationships in later life, and negotiating tensions between continuity and change. In the context of dementia, domestic gardens have significant implications for ‘living well’ at home, and for wider discussions around embodiment, relational selfhood and agency. Yet previous studies exploring dementia and gardens have predominantly focused on care home or community conte…
Exploring the contribution of housing adaptations in supporting everyday life for people with dementia
The primary aim of this scoping review was to explore the contribution of housing adaptations to supporting everyday life for people with dementia living at home in the community. The study adopted a scoping review methodology which was guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers Manual . Four review questions were developed which subsequently informed the inclusion criteria and search terms. Eight databases were searched resulting in 2,339 r…
In the moment with music
The term ‘in the moment’ has received growing interest in the context of music programmes for people living with dementia, with music therapists, family carers, health-care professionals and people living with dementia themselves reporting the value of framing musical experiences in the ‘here and now’. Although this term is being used more frequently within the literature, there has yet to be a formal examination of such ‘in the moment’ musical e…
Beyond the shrinking world
‘Dementia-friendly communities’ herald a shift toward the neighbourhood as a locus for the care and support of people with dementia, sparking growing interest in the geographies of dementia care and raising questions over the shifting spatial and social experience of the condition. Existing research claims that many people with dementia experience a ‘shrinking world’ whereby the boundaries to their social and physical worlds gradually constrict o…
Re-thinking and re-positioning ‘being in the moment’ within a continuum of moments
This article draws upon six social research studies completed by members of the Dementia and Ageing Research Team at The University of Manchester and their associated networks over an eight-year period (2011–2019) with the aim of constructing a definition of ‘being in the moment’ and situating it within a continuum of moments that could be used to contextualise and frame the lived experience of dementia. Using the approach formulated by Pound et …
Taking time
Dementia is a global health challenge and currently the focus of a coordinated international response articulated through the notion of 'dementia-friendly communities and initiatives' (DFCIs). Yet, while increasing research attention has been paid to the social and spatial dimensions to life with dementia in a neighbourhood setting, the temporalities of dementia have been largely overlooked. This article sets out different aspects of the lived ex…
‘My father is a gardener … ’
‘I try my best … I try to relieve the burden of my mum’
Singapore is experiencing a rapid growth in its ageing population with most of the islands’ inhabitants living in high-rise apartments due to the scarcity of land. The Chinese community living in Singapore comprises the largest ethnic group and they are more likely to live together under one roof in an intergenerational family grouping. Currently, there are gaps in understanding intergenerational Singapore-Chinese families and their approach to c…
Transforming lived places into the connected neighbourhood
To support people with dementia to live at home, a key national and international policy driver is to create dementia-friendly communities which draws attention to the importance of a local neighbourhood and living well with dementia. However, there is a lack of evidence about how people with dementia define and interact with their neighbourhood. This longitudinal narrative research aimed to uncover the meaning, construction and place of neighbou…
It's our pleasure, we count cars here’
The extent of social isolation experienced by people living with dementia who reside in the community has been well acknowledged, yet little is known about how people living alone with dementia maintain neighbourhood-based connections. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of people with dementia who live alone, focusing upon how they establish social networks and relationships in a neighbourhood context, and how they are suppor…
Bridging the divide
The risk of living with dementia and, separately, cancer, increases exponentially with age. However, to date, there is a paucity of research investigating the experiences of people living with both these conditions. This study used semi-structured interviews to explore the decision-making and treatment options for people who live with both dementia and cancer. In total, ten people living with both dementia and cancer (aged 39–93 years) and nine f…
Neighbourhoods as relational places for people living with dementia
An increase in the number of people living independently with dementia across the developed world has focused attention on the relevance of neighbourhood spaces for enabling or facilitating good social health and wellbeing. Taking the lived experiences and daily realities of people living with dementia as a starting point, this paper contributes new understanding about the relevance of local places for supporting those living with the condition. …
From conversation to connection
Semantic dementia causes progressive communication difficulties that significantly impact on the person and their family. There is a paucity of research examining conversation skills in this condition and associated interventions to support interaction, such as life-story work. This study used a multiple case study design to: (a) explore the everyday conversation experiences of five individuals with semantic dementia and their spouses; and (b) ex…
Participatory social network map making with family carers of people living with dementia
This article focuses on the use of a participatory social network mapping method with family carers. This is one of a suite of methods developed in a 5-year qualitative multi-centre project exploring how neighbourhoods support, enable or disable people with dementia and their families to live well in their communities. The article considers how mapping provides insights into family support networks, revealing the fluidity of support and care with…
How might the cultural significance of storytelling in Deaf communities influence the development of a life-story work intervention for Deaf people with dementia? A conceptual thematic review
Although life-story work is an established form of support for people with dementia and their carers, culturally Deaf people who are sign language users have been excluded from this practice. There is no evidence base for the cultural coherence of this approach with Deaf people who sign, nor any prior investigation of the linguistic and cultural adaptation that might be required for life-story work to be effective for sign language users with dem…
Living Life and Doing Things Together
The aim of this study is to identify relevant content for a self-management guide by using the outcomes of previous research in combination with knowledge and experiences from couples where one partner has a diagnosis of dementia. The study was carried out in three phases: (a) literature search of previous research related to well-being and couplehood in dementia; (b) interviews with couples with dementia based on the findings of the literature s…
Social Research Methods in Dementia Studies
Combining music and life story to enhance participation in family interaction in semantic dementia
It is argued that fostering greater opportunities for such in-the-moment connections is an important goal for intervention, particularly when language may be significantly compromised
Neighbourhoods as relational places for people living with dementia
An increase in the number of people living independently with dementia across the developed world has focused attention on the relevance of neighbourhood spaces for enabling or facilitating good social health and wellbeing. Taking the lived experiences and daily realities of people living with dementia as a starting point, this paper contributes new understanding about the relevance of local places for supporting those living with the condition. …
Nobody would say that it is Alzheimer's or dementia at this age’
Re-thinking and re-positioning ‘being in the moment’ within a continuum of moments
This article draws upon six social research studies completed by members of the Dementia and Ageing Research Team at The University of Manchester and their associated networks over an eight-year period (2011–2019) with the aim of constructing a definition of ‘being in the moment’ and situating it within a continuum of moments that could be used to contextualise and frame the lived experience of dementia. Using the approach formulated by Pound et …
Once I had money in my pocket, I was every colour under the sun’
Appearance and the work invested in it by and for people with dementia are a neglected issue within dementia studies. In policy and practice there exists an assumption that the role of supporting a person to manage their appearance is easily assumed by another within caring encounters, only to be subsumed within the daily task-oriented provision of care. This paper reports on interviews conducted as part of the Hair and Care project, which explor…
Living with uncertainty
Across the world, an early and timely diagnosis of dementia is seen to be a policy and practice imperative and a necessary step in order to live well with the condition. However, limited understanding exists regarding the personal and relational meanings attributed to the diagnostic experience. Drawn from the findings of a larger multi-site study conducted in four areas of England, this article presents a subset of the data where five participant…
Taking time
Dementia is a global health challenge and currently the focus of a coordinated international response articulated through the notion of 'dementia-friendly communities and initiatives' (DFCIs). Yet, while increasing research attention has been paid to the social and spatial dimensions to life with dementia in a neighbourhood setting, the temporalities of dementia have been largely overlooked. This article sets out different aspects of the lived ex…
Participatory social network map making with family carers of people living with dementia
This article focuses on the use of a participatory social network mapping method with family carers. This is one of a suite of methods developed in a 5-year qualitative multi-centre project exploring how neighbourhoods support, enable or disable people with dementia and their families to live well in their communities. The article considers how mapping provides insights into family support networks, revealing the fluidity of support and care with…
Beyond the shrinking world
‘Dementia-friendly communities’ herald a shift toward the neighbourhood as a locus for the care and support of people with dementia, sparking growing interest in the geographies of dementia care and raising questions over the shifting spatial and social experience of the condition. Existing research claims that many people with dementia experience a ‘shrinking world’ whereby the boundaries to their social and physical worlds gradually constrict o…
Assembling the salon
This article explores the labour and experiences of a hitherto entirely overlooked section of the dementia care workforce: care-based hairdressers. Reporting on findings from the ESRC-funded 'Hair and Care' project, the analysis and discussion focus upon the 'doing of hair' in the context of dementia care. The authors challenge existing assumptions and approaches to the management of appearance in dementia care, arguing for greater recognition of…
Reframing risk management in dementia care through collaborative learning
Risk management is a complex aspect of practice which can lead to an emphasis on maintaining physical safety, which impacts on the well-being of people with dementia. Education for practitioners in risk management is particularly challenging because of its conceptual nature and diverse perceptions of risk between and within professional groups. The practice development research reported here formed one part of a multisite study and contributed to…
Transforming lived places into the connected neighbourhood
To support people with dementia to live at home, a key national and international policy driver is to create dementia-friendly communities which draws attention to the importance of a local neighbourhood and living well with dementia. However, there is a lack of evidence about how people with dementia define and interact with their neighbourhood. This longitudinal narrative research aimed to uncover the meaning, construction and place of neighbou…
We can't keep going on like this’
In this study, we identify the dominant storylines that were embedded in the narratives of younger people with dementia and their nominated family members. By implementing a longitudinal, narrative design underpinned by biographical methods we generated detailed family biographies with five families during repeated and planned research contacts (N=126) over a 12–15-month period between 2009 and 2010. The application of narrative analysis within a…
Ways of being’ in the domestic garden for people living with dementia
Domestic gardens represent a site for enacting embodied identity and social relationships in later life, and negotiating tensions between continuity and change. In the context of dementia, domestic gardens have significant implications for ‘living well’ at home, and for wider discussions around embodiment, relational selfhood and agency. Yet previous studies exploring dementia and gardens have predominantly focused on care home or community conte…
In the moment with music
The term ‘in the moment’ has received growing interest in the context of music programmes for people living with dementia, with music therapists, family carers, health-care professionals and people living with dementia themselves reporting the value of framing musical experiences in the ‘here and now’. Although this term is being used more frequently within the literature, there has yet to be a formal examination of such ‘in the moment’ musical e…
Living With Semantic Dementia
Semantic dementia is a variant of frontotemporal dementia and is a recently recognized diagnostic condition. There has been some research quantitatively examining care partner stress and burden in frontotemporal dementia. There are, however, few studies exploring the subjective experiences of family members caring for those with frontotemporal dementia. Increased knowledge of such experiences would allow service providers to tailor intervention, …
It's our pleasure, we count cars here’
The extent of social isolation experienced by people living with dementia who reside in the community has been well acknowledged, yet little is known about how people living alone with dementia maintain neighbourhood-based connections. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of people with dementia who live alone, focusing upon how they establish social networks and relationships in a neighbourhood context, and how they are suppor…
Understanding the personhood of Deaf people with dementia
This article concerns Deaf people in the United Kingdom, who use sign language, who have a formal diagnosis of dementia and who have participated in interviews in British Sign Language (BSL) about their experience of living with dementia. We address the methodological challenges involved in enabling culturally meaningful participation in circumstances where the non-verbal is not equivalent to the non-linguistic. We demonstrate the use of interpre…
Centre stage diagrams
A recent advance to the 'classic' grounded theory approach of Glaser and Strauss' seminal work has been the development of constructivist grounded theory. While constructivist grounded theory has significant utility, centre stage diagrams were developed by the authors to help integrate 'storied meaning' and diagramming into a method of data collection, analysis and theory development/presentation. Centre stage diagrams are co-constructed by the r…
Sharing stories
People with dementia are finding increasingly creative and diverse ways of making their voice heard in society and one such method is through the publication of autobiographical accounts. Following set inclusion criteria, this meta-ethnographic analysis compares and contrasts the contents of 12 books written by people with dementia and published between 1989 (the year of publication of the first text) and the end of 2007 (the selected cut-off poi…
Living Life and Doing Things Together
The aim of this study is to identify relevant content for a self-management guide by using the outcomes of previous research in combination with knowledge and experiences from couples where one partner has a diagnosis of dementia. The study was carried out in three phases: (a) literature search of previous research related to well-being and couplehood in dementia; (b) interviews with couples with dementia based on the findings of the literature s…
Combining music and life story to enhance participation in family interaction in semantic dementia
It is argued that fostering greater opportunities for such in-the-moment connections is an important goal for intervention, particularly when language may be significantly compromised
Psychosocial Intervention Use in Long-Stay Dementia Care
The objective of this study was to develop a substantive grounded theory of staff psychosocial intervention use with residents with dementia in long-stay care. "Becoming a person again" emerged as the core category accounting for staffs' psychosocial intervention use within long-stay care. Interview data were collected from participants in nine Irish long-stay settings: 14 residents with dementia, 19 staff nurses, one clinical facilitator, seven …
Centre Stage Diagramming
Only my family can help
In the United Kingdom, people living with dementia admitted to National Health Service (NHS) psychiatric/mental health inpatient dementia assessment wards (dementia assessment wards) are nearly always compulsorily detained under a section of the Mental Health Act 1983 owing to the risk and complexity of the presenting condition. As such, dementia assessment wards admit some of the most vulnerable patients in society, yet these environments of car…
Bridging the divide
The risk of living with dementia and, separately, cancer, increases exponentially with age. However, to date, there is a paucity of research investigating the experiences of people living with both these conditions. This study used semi-structured interviews to explore the decision-making and treatment options for people who live with both dementia and cancer. In total, ten people living with both dementia and cancer (aged 39–93 years) and nine f…
Beyond ‘person‐centred’ care
Currently considerable emphasis is placed on the promotion of person‐centred care, which has become a watchword for good practice. This paper takes a constructively critical look at some of the assumptions underpinning person‐centredness, and suggests that a relationship‐centred approach to care might be more appropriate. A framework describing the potential dimensions of relationship‐centred care is provided, and implications for further develop…
Involving Families in Care Homes
User Participation Research in Health and Social Care
Older People and Mental Health Nursing
Alcohol-related brain damage
To date, the voice and experience of people with alcohol-related brain damage has been silent in the literature. Using narrative research methodology and a focus on risk and quality of life, this paper outlines the analysis of interviews with six people with alcohol-related brain damage who were resident on a specialist care unit for the condition. Of the six participants, four were interviewed twice in line with the study protocol and separate i…
Reframing risk management in dementia care through collaborative learning
Risk management is a complex aspect of practice which can lead to an emphasis on maintaining physical safety, which impacts on the well-being of people with dementia. Education for practitioners in risk management is particularly challenging because of its conceptual nature and diverse perceptions of risk between and within professional groups. The practice development research reported here formed one part of a multisite study and contributed to…
Sharing stories
People with dementia are finding increasingly creative and diverse ways of making their voice heard in society and one such method is through the publication of autobiographical accounts. Following set inclusion criteria, this meta-ethnographic analysis compares and contrasts the contents of 12 books written by people with dementia and published between 1989 (the year of publication of the first text) and the end of 2007 (the selected cut-off poi…
Risk Assessment and Management for Living Well with Dementia
This useful book highlights principles of good practice for managing risk in dementia care, and presents a rounded approach that will help practitioners negotiate some of the complex issues this entails
Centre Stage Diagramming
Centre stage diagrams
A recent advance to the 'classic' grounded theory approach of Glaser and Strauss' seminal work has been the development of constructivist grounded theory. While constructivist grounded theory has significant utility, centre stage diagrams were developed by the authors to help integrate 'storied meaning' and diagramming into a method of data collection, analysis and theory development/presentation. Centre stage diagrams are co-constructed by the r…
Understanding dementia
This study concerns older Deaf sign language users in the UK. Its aim was to explore how to enable effective information access and promote awareness and understanding of dementia from a culturally Deaf perspective. A purposive sample of 26 Deaf people without dementia participated in one of three focus groups facilitated directly in British Sign Language (BSL) without an intermediate interpreter. The sample was differentiated by age, role in the…
Once I had money in my pocket, I was every colour under the sun’
Appearance and the work invested in it by and for people with dementia are a neglected issue within dementia studies. In policy and practice there exists an assumption that the role of supporting a person to manage their appearance is easily assumed by another within caring encounters, only to be subsumed within the daily task-oriented provision of care. This paper reports on interviews conducted as part of the Hair and Care project, which explor…
Understanding the personhood of Deaf people with dementia
This article concerns Deaf people in the United Kingdom, who use sign language, who have a formal diagnosis of dementia and who have participated in interviews in British Sign Language (BSL) about their experience of living with dementia. We address the methodological challenges involved in enabling culturally meaningful participation in circumstances where the non-verbal is not equivalent to the non-linguistic. We demonstrate the use of interpre…
We can't keep going on like this’
In this study, we identify the dominant storylines that were embedded in the narratives of younger people with dementia and their nominated family members. By implementing a longitudinal, narrative design underpinned by biographical methods we generated detailed family biographies with five families during repeated and planned research contacts (N=126) over a 12–15-month period between 2009 and 2010. The application of narrative analysis within a…
Living With Semantic Dementia
Semantic dementia is a variant of frontotemporal dementia and is a recently recognized diagnostic condition. There has been some research quantitatively examining care partner stress and burden in frontotemporal dementia. There are, however, few studies exploring the subjective experiences of family members caring for those with frontotemporal dementia. Increased knowledge of such experiences would allow service providers to tailor intervention, …
Nobody would say that it is Alzheimer's or dementia at this age’
Living with uncertainty
Across the world, an early and timely diagnosis of dementia is seen to be a policy and practice imperative and a necessary step in order to live well with the condition. However, limited understanding exists regarding the personal and relational meanings attributed to the diagnostic experience. Drawn from the findings of a larger multi-site study conducted in four areas of England, this article presents a subset of the data where five participant…
Psychosocial Intervention Use in Long-Stay Dementia Care
The objective of this study was to develop a substantive grounded theory of staff psychosocial intervention use with residents with dementia in long-stay care. "Becoming a person again" emerged as the core category accounting for staffs' psychosocial intervention use within long-stay care. Interview data were collected from participants in nine Irish long-stay settings: 14 residents with dementia, 19 staff nurses, one clinical facilitator, seven …
Assembling the salon
This article explores the labour and experiences of a hitherto entirely overlooked section of the dementia care workforce: care-based hairdressers. Reporting on findings from the ESRC-funded 'Hair and Care' project, the analysis and discussion focus upon the 'doing of hair' in the context of dementia care. The authors challenge existing assumptions and approaches to the management of appearance in dementia care, arguing for greater recognition of…
Social Research Methods in Dementia Studies
Combining music and life story to enhance participation in family interaction in semantic dementia
It is argued that fostering greater opportunities for such in-the-moment connections is an important goal for intervention, particularly when language may be significantly compromised
How might the cultural significance of storytelling in Deaf communities influence the development of a life-story work intervention for Deaf people with dementia? A conceptual thematic review
Although life-story work is an established form of support for people with dementia and their carers, culturally Deaf people who are sign language users have been excluded from this practice. There is no evidence base for the cultural coherence of this approach with Deaf people who sign, nor any prior investigation of the linguistic and cultural adaptation that might be required for life-story work to be effective for sign language users with dem…
Living Life and Doing Things Together
The aim of this study is to identify relevant content for a self-management guide by using the outcomes of previous research in combination with knowledge and experiences from couples where one partner has a diagnosis of dementia. The study was carried out in three phases: (a) literature search of previous research related to well-being and couplehood in dementia; (b) interviews with couples with dementia based on the findings of the literature s…
From conversation to connection
Semantic dementia causes progressive communication difficulties that significantly impact on the person and their family. There is a paucity of research examining conversation skills in this condition and associated interventions to support interaction, such as life-story work. This study used a multiple case study design to: (a) explore the everyday conversation experiences of five individuals with semantic dementia and their spouses; and (b) ex…
Participatory social network map making with family carers of people living with dementia
This article focuses on the use of a participatory social network mapping method with family carers. This is one of a suite of methods developed in a 5-year qualitative multi-centre project exploring how neighbourhoods support, enable or disable people with dementia and their families to live well in their communities. The article considers how mapping provides insights into family support networks, revealing the fluidity of support and care with…
Psychology (37 works) · Dementia (34 works) · Medicine (34 works) · Sociology (27 works) · Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research (17 works) · Disease (15 works) · Qualitative research (15 works) · Social Psychology (13 works) · Gerontology (12 works) · Mental Health and Patient Involvement (10 works)