Dr Pat Chung

Prior to taking up the lectureship at CCCU, I worked as a senior occupational therapist in a variety of clinical settings including community mental health for older people and geriatric rehab settings in different NHS settings in England. I was awarded my PhD by Southampton University in 2010. My thesis explored the activity engagement of people with dementia at home from family carers’ perspectives. The research question was rooted in my clinical work. I have a long-term interest in person-centred dementia care, family caregiving, activity engagement and enablement. I am interested in collaborating with colleagues to promote and delivery ‘dementia care’ education. Between 2016-2018, I undertook a joint OT lead role for the ‘Time for Dementia’ programme collaborating with Brighton University. I am a member of the Higher Education of Dementia Network (HEDN) which is a network for educators with an interest in dementia care training or research concerning dementia education and training. I have been a peer reviewer for various journals and also for the WHO Global Dementia Observatory since 2019.

My key roles involve module leadership, academic personal tutoring and teaching, on the Occupational Therapy/OT undergraduate and apprenticeship degree programmes as well as BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy with Foundation Year. I provide supervision to postgraduate students. I have been involved in external examiner roles for OT and dementia programmes.

My research areas include enablement, dementia care, family caregiving and student learning in health education. Currently, I am currently collaborating with another researcher on a research project relating to support for carers of people with dementia

Previous 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 was 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.
• Lead researcher for the collaborative project with a Local Authority lead researcher for the collaborative project with a Local Authority, 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 with 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)
  
  

I am currently the External Examiner for the BSc (Hon) Occupational Therapy programme at Tung Wah college, School of Medicine in Hong Kong. I have been an External Examiner for MSc Dementia studies programme at Bradford University (2014 to 2017) and External Examiner for the MSc Dementia programme at Manchester University (2018 and 2022). I have also been External Examiners for MSc by Research and PhD by research thesis.

External activities (current):

• Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Tung Wah College, Hong Kong since 2016. This role enables me to support Hong Kong OT students’ visit to our AHP program, and facilitate online students exchange activities.
• Member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapy Dementia guideline development group since 2024.
• Member of the 2026 World Federation of Occupational Therapy Congress Scientific Programme (2024-26).
• Reviewers for Journals: European Journal of Mental Health, World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin; Arts and Health; British Journal of Occupational Therapists; BMC Geriatrics, Research Involvement and Engagement (Springer Nature); Discover Public Health.
• Peer reviewer for the WHO Global Dementia Observatory (GDO) World Health Organisation/WHO.
• Grant reviewer: 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, contributing to the revision of the Position Statements of the HEDN.

Previously held external roles/activities:

• Deputy editor, World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin (2016-2023).
• 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).
• 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. 
• A member of the Expert Panel of the Forum of Mobility Centre in the UK (2013-2018).