Dr Richard Ward DipSW, PhD
Project Worker
Role
As a Project Worker in ageing and mental health I have research links to the Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. I work with service users and practitioners with the aim of improving links between research and practice.
Memberships of Committees and Professional Bodies
I am a registered social worker, a member of the British Society of Gerontology and of the British Sociological Association. Within the BSA I belong to the Sociology of Mental Health study group and the Ageing, Body and Society study group.
Research
My research has largely focussed on ageing with a particular interest in dementia care, identity and communication. Other research interests include ageing and sexuality; image and appearance in later life; and discrimination and the life course. Between October 2008 and September 2010 I was co-convenor of an ESRC Seminar Series: LGBT Lives Gender/Sexual Dissidence over the Lifecourse. Most recently I have been awarded an ESRC First Grant to study hairdressing services and bodywork in care settings for older people.
Methodological Knowledge
My PhD drew on discourse theory and analysis as a framework for research into dementia care and the negotiation of identities in care. I have interests in cultural gerontology and in critical approaches to participative research, especially in developing inclusive forms of participation.
Biography
My first degree was in English Literature, followed by an MA at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham University. I then worked as both a pre- and post-qualifying social worker mainly in the field of ageing and with a particular interest in dementia care. This included posts in both the public and third sectors. I qualified as a social worker in 1997 at Royal Holloway, University of London and also studied part-time for a Masters in social research at Surrey University. I have worked in a voluntary capacity for many years, firstly on the residential unit of the London Lighthouse and then for over 7 years on the management committee of Polari, a group that worked to raise awareness of the needs and perspectives of older LGBT people across housing, health and social care. I was awarded my PhD in 2004, which focused on gender and sexuality in dementia care settings. I have subsequently been involved in research into age discrimination and am now developing a research profile in ageing and mental health here at Manchester.
Selected publications
2012
- Ian Rivers and Richard Ward. (Ed.) (2012). Out of the Ordinary. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. eScholarID:159015
2011
- Dickson, A., O'Brien, G., Ward, R., Flowers, P., Allan, D., and O'Carroll, R.E. (2011). Adjustment and coping in spousal caregivers following a traumatic spinal cord injury: an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Health Psychology, eScholarID:130954 | DOI:10.1177/1359105311411115
2010
- Jones, R.L. and Ward, R. (Ed.) (2010). LGBT Issues: Looking beyond categories. Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press. eScholarID:75902
- Ward, R., River, L., and the Scottish Dementia Working Group. (2010). Between Practice and Participation. In J. Keady and S. Watts (Ed.), Mental Health and Later Life. London: Routledge. eScholarID:98432
2009
- Dickson A, O'Brien G, Ward R, Allan D, O'Carroll R. (2009). The impact of assuming the primary caregiver role following traumatic spinal cord injury: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the spouse?s experience. Psychology and Health, online, eScholarID:1d28398
2008
- Ward, R., Bytheway, B. (Ed.) (2008). Researching Age and Multiple Discrimination. London: Centre for Policy on Ageing. eScholarID:4d197
- Ward R, River L, Fenge L. (2008). Neither Silent nor Invisible: A comparison of two participative projects involving older lesbians and gay men in the UK. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Work, 20 (1/2), 147-166. eScholarID:1d28319
- Ward, R., Vass, A. A., Aggarwal, N., Garfield, C. and Cybyk, B. (2008). A Different Story: Exploring patterns of communication in residential dementia care. Ageing and Society, 28(5), 629-651. eScholarID:102972 | DOI:10.1017/S0144686X07006927
2007
- Bytheway B, Ward R, Holland C, Peace S. (2007). The road to an age-inclusive society. Bernard, M & Scharf, T (eds.) Critical Perspectives on Ageing Societies, Bristol: Policy Press. eScholarID:3d725
- Bytheway B, Ward R, Holland C, Peace S. (2007). Too Old: Older people's accounts of discrimination, exclusion and rejection. eScholarID:5d153
2006
- Ward R, Vass AA, Aggarwal N, Cybyk B, Garfield C. (2006). What is Dementia Care? - An Invisible Workload. Journal of Dementia Care, 14 (1), 28-30. eScholarID:1d28325
- Ward R, Vass AA, Aggarwal N, Cybyk B, Garfield C. (2006). What is Dementia Care? - Seeing Patterns, Making Sense. Journal of Dementia Care, 14 (2), 22-24. eScholarID:1d28326
2005
- Ward R, Vass AA, Aggarwal N, Cybyk B, Garfield C. (2005). A Kiss is Still a Kiss? - The construction of sexuality in dementia care. Dementia, 4 (1), 49-72. eScholarID:1d18952
- Ward R, Vass AA, Aggarwal N, Cybyk B, Garfield C. (2005). What is Dementia Care? - Dementia is Communication. Journal of Dementia Care, 13 (6), 16-19. eScholarID:1d28318
2003
- Vass AA, Minardi H, Ward R, Aggarwal N, Cybyk B, Garfield C. (2003). Research into communication patterns and consequences for effective care of people with Alzheimer's and their carers: Ethical considerations. Dementia, 2 (1), 21-4. eScholarID:1d18951