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Dr Pat Chung

& Research Supervisor

Pat is a Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, and completed their PhD at Southampton University in 2009.

I am a senior lecturer in Occupational Therapy. Prior to taking up the lectureship at CCCU since Sept 2002. I had worked as a senior occupational therapist in a variety of clinical settings, i.e mental health for older people, hospice and geriatric rehab settings in Southampton, the Midlands and East Kent. I completed my PhD at Southampton University in 2009. My PhD thesis explored the activity engagement of people with dementia at home from family carers’ perspectives. My research interests include dementia and caregiving; personhood; person-centred dementia care; the impacts of chronic conditions on wellbeing and occupational engagement; aging and mental health; and teaching and learning. My roles at CCCU include module leadership, teaching on Occupational Therapy undergraduate and apprenticeship programmes, supervising postgraduate students research, i.e. MSc and PhD projects. My current research areas include enablement, dementia care, family caregiving and student learning in health education.

-Module leads for a range of modules and teaching commitments for modules within the pre-registration full-time Occupational Therapy, apprenticeship and foundation programmes. I have involved in the development of new modules for the re-approval OT programme and curriculum periodically.

-Personal academic tutor for full-time Occupational Therapy students and part-time Occupational Therapy Apprentices

-Supervisor for postgraduate students including MSc and PhD research

-Member of the Faculty’s REF2021 internal assessor panel member for UoA3 (Unit assessment 3 for the purpose of REF 2021 UK Research Excellent Framework), Faculty of Medicine, Health and Social Care, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK (2019- 2021)

I have been a senior lecturer at CCCU since September 2002.

Research interests & Supervison

Do you want to do a research degree? Are you interested in Medicine, Health and Social Care or related topics? Then I would be pleased to hear from you.

Current Research:


-Co-researcher on collaborative research entitled ‘Carers’ Experience of Having a Loved-One with Dementia in Long-term Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International Grounded Theory Study’. This is an international collaboration with researchers from USA, UK, Switzerland, Japan, and Hong Kong.


-Expert Advisor on a European Interreg funded research project entitled, ‘EMPOWERCARE’, led by Dr Toni Wright and Professor Eleni Hatzidimitriadou.


- Co-researcher with Dr Maria Stein on a University funded project entitled, ‘Factors that Influence Occupational Therapy (OT) Students’ Readiness to Engage with Different Teaching and Learning Methods: a mixed method research including national OT student survey.

Previous Research:


-Lead researcher for the collaborative project with a Local Authority lead researcher for the collaborative project with a Local Authority, The title of the research is ‘Staff perspectives of the Homecare Enablement Services for people with dementia and their carers’ (2018-2020).


-Co-researcher with CCCU colleagues for a University funded project entitled, ‘Mental Health Hub project entitled, ‘Knowledge and perception of mental health and mental illness amongst academic staff and students in the Faculty of Health and wellbeing’ (2018-2020).


-Lead researcher for a funded research postdoctoral project by College of Occupational Therapists’ Elizabeth Casson Postdoctoral Award 2016. The project title is: Homecare Enablement Services for people with dementia: the experiences of service users within local authorities (2016- 2019).


-Collaborator on a National Institute for Health Research funded project led by Dr Fox (PI) at the University of East Anglia, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. The title of the NIHR project is ‘Peri-operative Enhanced Recovery Hip Fracture Care’ (2013-2021).


-Lead researcher for a student research internship scheme which was funded by the CCCU with the aim to provide students an opportunity to gain research experience through taking part in a research project. The title of the research project is ‘Exploring the concept of Enablement: the perspectives of people with dementia’. This was collaborated between CCCU and a Local Authority Council (2014).

Research Projects

  • An ethnographic exploration of support for carers through collective experiences. Researcher(s): Mrs Caroline Trevor. Supervisor(s): Dr Pat Chung, Dr Ian Marsh. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • General Practitioners' perceptions of supporting patients experiencing chronic pain in the UK: an interpretative phenomenological exploration of role, identity and stigma in providing care. Researcher(s): Ms Tamar Wildwing. Supervisor(s): Dr Pat Chung, Professor Eleni Hatzidimitriadou. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Occupational Therapists’ perceptions and understanding of vision assessment for adults with complex needs. Researcher(s): Miss Julie Bradford. Supervisor(s): Dr Pat Chung, Professor Eleni Hatzidimitriadou. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The effects of anticipatory grief on carers supporting a person with dementia at home and in a care home. Researcher(s): Mrs SHEILA CLARKE. Supervisor(s): Dr Jacqueline Wier, Dr Pat Chung, Professor Douglas MacInnes. [Postgraduate Research Project]

External Activities (Current):


-Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Tung Wah College, Hong Kong since 2016

-External examiner for an MSc by research and PhD viva in UK universities.

-External Examiner for the MSc Dementia programme and subjects and course units allied to Medicine APIMH Dementia Care Pathway, Manchester University.

-External Examiner for the BSc (Hon) Occupational Therapy programme, Tung Wah college, School of Medicine in Hong Kong.

-Deputy editor, World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin since 2016.

-Reviewers for Journals : European Journal of Mental Health, World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin; Arts and Health; British Journal of Occupational Therapists.

-Peer reviewer for the WHO Global Dementia Observatory (GDO) World Health Organisation/WHO.

-Grant reviewer: I have been invited to review grant proposal for several National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) programmes, i.e. Health Services Research (HSR), Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Health Services and Delivery Research (HS&DR) and Research for Patient Benefit (Rfpb); Applied Research Collaboration/ARC Capability applications.

-Grant reviewer for Alzheimer Society research & fellowship grant Alzheimer Society.

-A member and working group member of the Higher Education Network for Dementia- I am currently contributing to the revision of the Position Statements of the HEDN, working on recommendations of a requirement for (re)validation of health and social care and housing pre-qualifying education in UK. It is intended that the revised position statement will be launched by the end of 2022.

Previous External Roles/Activities:


-Adjunct Senior Lecturer: The University of Sunshine Coast, Occupational Therapy School, Faculty of Science, Health, Education & Engineering, Australia (2013 – 2017).

-Mentor for a Visiting Scholar from China: My role was to support the VS who spent time within the FHSC in order to work on a project which aimed to compare the English and Chinese methods of supporting stroke patients for hospital discharge and community rehab. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Henan Province, China (2012-2013).

-External Examiner for an MSc Dementia studies programme, Bradford University. (2014 – 2017).

-Invited guest speaker to deliver a talk on 'An Overview of Dementia Practice in the British Context' at the Department of Rehabilitation Faculty of Health Science and Technology, Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare, Okayama in Japan (2014).

-Advisor and mentor for a local community art project - Our Work Of Art Project. A community art project focused on inspiring older people as volunteers, to then support older vulnerable people as participants, in socially engaged, group creative practice in Kent UK. https://kentartsandwellbeing.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Our-Work-of-Art-2018-With-These-Hands.pdf

-A member of the Expert Panel of the Forum of Mobility Centre in the UK (2013 -2018).