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Associate Professor is Keynote Speaker on Dementia in Cheltenham, England

            Shawnee State University’s Associate Professor Christine Raber, Ph.D., has been invited to speak on dementia at several conferences including the Gloucestershire Primary Care Dementia Summit in Cheltenham, England, where she is the keynote speaker.
            Her research project for her doctoral dissertation “Supporting personhood in dementia: Examining the impact of volition on function in everyday occupations” was a qualitative study examining volition in dementia and its relationship to engagement in everyday occupations. Raber studied eight people with moderate dementia residing in an assisted living facility, identifying and exploring the impact of past life interests and activity patterns on current motivation for activities.
            She will be presenting her research to primary care physicians, dementia care workers, activity providers, and occupational therapists. While in England, Raber will be touring facilities that provide dementia care.
            “Findings from my study provide an in-depth description and analysis of volition in persons with moderate dementia, highlighting the potency of the social environment for this population,” Raber said. “Continued research in this area may contribute to improvements in person-centered dementia care.”
            She has also written two journal articles on dementia, “A phenomenological study of volition in everyday occupations of older people with dementia” in the British Journal of Occupational Therapy and “The power of the social environment in motivating persons with dementia to engage in occupation: Qualitative findings” in the Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics.
            In Philadelphia, Raber presented “Understanding Volition & Cognition: A Key to Occupational Engagement” at the Allen Cognitive Advisors Ltd. & Network Cognitive Symposium 2010.
            In January, she will be presenting at the Second International Institute on the Model of Human Occupation in Chicago.
            Dr. Raber works with student research teams at SSU on studies continuing this line of research.