A piano being played by aged hands.

1.9 Dementia and Information

“Almost 40 per cent of people over the age of 65 experience some form of memory loss. When there is no underlying medical condition causing this memory loss, it is known as “age-associated memory impairment,” which is considered a part of the normal aging process. Brain diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are different.” (Alzheimer.ca)

In this interview Dr. Grant Campbell from the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University discusses dementia, both his research and how it has affected his loved ones. He makes sometimes surprising connections between the interactions of people living with dementia and their caregivers and topics such as music theory, cataloguing, and information organization. From Ranganathan’s faceted classification to Grice’s implicatures, Campbell makes use of many LIS concepts to help grapple with this challenging topic.

After you’ve listened to the episode below, you can also: read the transcript, attend Dr. Campbell’s upcoming public talk, or read more about this topic.

FIMS #PublicInterest Talk

Dementia: Learning from Caregivers
With Dr. Grant Campbell
Thursday, March 21, 2019
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
London Public Library, Masonville Branch
30 North Centre Rd

Spouses, friends and adult children who care for family members with dementia are amassing powerful insights into the nature of dementia and the nature of communication in dementia care. Dr. Grant Campbell will describe what he has learned from a series of interviews with caregivers: what they experienced, what they learned, and what they can tell others who are just beginning a long road. All are welcome.

Further reading

Episode producer: Alex Mayhew
Image credit: Lukas Budimaier on Unsplash

3 comments

    • If people do not have time to go to the library, the information can be delivered to them by means of apps and gadgets. To both caregivers and patients.

      Artificial intelligence and machine learning can learn communication patterns of patients by analyzing how categories are embedded in speech, and can be used for modeling responses to questions that Alzheimer’s patients ask over and over.

  1. […] Asked why they chose an audio format for sharing LIS research, Mike, kirstyn and Alex reflect on how research is often about telling stories: podcasts are a logical fit as an oral storytelling platform. Podcasts also offer an opportunity to share unique content with users they can’t get elsewhere, and help forge a more intimate relationship than is possible simply reading research results. For an example of a powerful, personal episode of So What?, seek out the latest offering, episode 1.9: Dementia and Information. […]

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