Artful Dementia Research Lab at UiT invites to a webinar with Abimbola Alao. Everyone is welcome!
The PhD work, produced in 2023, examines how awareness of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) can be raised among Nigerian immigrants in the UK through art-based research. Although dementia research is extensive, ethnic minority communities often encounter late diagnosis and low engagement with services. Using ethnodrama, I transformed qualitative and autoethnographic data into the play My Name is Beatrice. The study analyses both the creative process and the play’s impact, demonstrating how drama can communicate complex health information, evoke emotional engagement, and promote early diagnosis and culturally responsive, holistic dementia care.
Abimbola Alao, PhD, is a distinguished scholar, educator, and dementia researcher with over 20 years’ experience in Medical Humanities, English Literature, and Creative Writing . She completed her PhD (with Distinction) at the University of Lapland in 2023, focusing on raising awareness of frontotemporal dementia through ethnodrama . A Cognitive Stimulation Therapy practitioner, she has led dementia programs in the UK and Nigeria and collaborated with the Alzheimer’s Society. She is also an award-winning playwright and published author.
More about Artful Dementia Research Lab's webinar series: https://uit.no/research/adlab