Wandering the Wards: An Ethnography of Hospital Care and its Consequences for People Living with Dementia

Wandering the Wards is an ethnographic study of life in contemporary hospitals, focusing on people living with dementia who require urgent unscheduled care. It provides a valuable analysis of the organization and delivery of routine care and everyday interactions at the bedside, revealing the powerful continuities and durability of ward cultures of care and their impacts on patients.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 188 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Wandering the Wards is a comprehensive and uncompromising ethnographic exploration of life within modern hospitals. It unveils the institutional and ward cultures that shape the organization and delivery of everyday care for one of the largest populations within them: individuals living with dementia who require urgent unscheduled hospital care.

*Drawing on five years of in-depth research conducted within acute wards in the UK, the authors closely observe individuals living with dementia throughout their admission, shadowing hospital staff as they engage with them during and across shifts.* In a significant contribution to the field of hospital ethnography, this book offers a valuable analysis of the organization and delivery of routine care and everyday interactions at the bedside. These insights reveal the profound continuities and resilience of ward cultures of care and their profound impacts on individuals living with dementia.

*Recognized as a *Shortlisted for the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize 2021*

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367644482