Martha Ward
Postgraduate researcher

Profile

Biography

Martha is a first-year Social Policy and Social Work PhD student completing an NIHR-funded project surrounding the co-design of an intervention for homecare workers supporting people with dementia struggling to engage with social care. She holds a first-class BA (hons) in Education, Culture and Childhood and an MSc (Conversion) in Psychology and Education.

She has worked on various research projects across education and social care. Her most recent role as a research assistant involved working on the Tired of Spinning Plates project, which explored the mental health experiences of adults and/or older carers of adults with learning disabilities using digital storytelling.

Research

Overview

Thesis title

‘HOPES for Homecare:’ Developing Reflective Learning for Homecare Workers Supporting People with Dementia.

Research topic

Developing a learning resource for homecare workers supporting people living with dementia.

Research interests

Martha's research interests involve improving the experiences of marginalised population in education and social care. She is particularly interested in utilising co-design methodologies to improve the knowledge, skills and support of social care and educational professionals to improve the inclusiveness of services. Her master's dissertation explored the perceptions of mainstream teachers and staff regarding their psychoeducational needs for teaching and supporting autistic female adolescents.

However, her current PhD project is focused on upskilling homecare workers to support and encourage the engagement of people living with dementia in social care. She is passionate about amplifying the voices of marginalised groups, including autistic children and young people, through research, as well as ensuring research has practical application. She has also been involved in digital storytelling projects to explore the mental health and well-being of family carers and adults with learning disabilities. 

Supervisors

• Dr Mark Wilberforce
• Professor Yvonne Birks

Publications

Selected publications

Runswick-Cole, K., Douglas, P., Fogg, P., Alexander, S., Ehret, S., Eves, J., Shapley-King, B., Ward, M.,; Wood, I. (2024). When Father Christmas is the Gaslighter: How Special Education Systems Make (M)others Mad. Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies. (In Press).