Sarah Wallcook
PhD student
European Commission Marie Curie Fellowship Alumnus, occupational therapist and singer, committed to improving participation and inclusion in everyday life.
About me
Hello, I am delighted to be working with the CACTUS research group and proud to be an alumnus of the Marie Sklodowska Curie fellowship funded through the Interdisciplinary Network for Dementia Using Current Technology (INDUCT). As technology changes and becomes ever more prevalent in society, my studies have been investigating how technology acts as both a barrier and facilitator in the daily lives of older adults living with and without dementia in Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S. I have a particular interest in ensuring public involvement in the whole research process (PPI), and in the rural context for participation. This interest has been fostered through collaboration with colleagues at University College London, where I spent 3 months on secondment with Professor Paul Higgs and Dr Georgina Charlesworth and we jointly produced a symposium together with colleagues from the University of East Anglia.
My community-centred career as a project manager and educator for over ten years has focused on positive social change and creating tailored opportunities for people to participate in activities that are important to them. This has meant also overcoming barriers to participation – be that by securing funding, or building workforce capability and capacity, or developing networks and raising awareness among different stakeholders. This is in addition to designing, providing and evaluating accessible services. My 2018 secondment to the World Federation of Occupational Therapists supported by Ritchard Ledgerd, enabled me to take a strategic, global perspective on how opportunities to participate in daily life occupations are being threatened by inequitable and inadequate access to assistive technologies. We produced a position statement, and our surveys and reports have yielded insights into the indicators of assistive technology use across the profession globally. This secondment led to my ongoing involvement with the World Health Organisation's Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology, where I have been part of the collaboration to produce assistive product specifications for procurement.
Education
MSc. OT, B.Mus (hons)
Academic honours, awards and prizes
Stipendium 2020, Svensk Förening för Kognitiv Medicin
INTERDEM Academy Fellowship 2019
Four travel grants to present and chair at international conferences