BSMS > About BSMS > Contact us > Staff > Dr Ben Hicks

Dr Ben Hicks

Ben Hicks holding a painting as part of his dementia research

Dr Ben Hicks (PhD, BSc, PGCE)

Research Fellow in Dementia Studies
E: B.Hicks@bsms.ac.uk
T: 01273 877843
Location: 101 Trafford Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RY

Areas of expertise: Dementia

Research areas: Social inclusion, quality of life, inequalities

Preferred gender pronouns: him/his/he

Twitter handle: @determindstudy

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Biography

Ben Hicks is a Research Fellow and the Co-ordinator of the ESRC/NIHR funded DETERMIND research programme (https://determind.org.uk/). This is a 5-year longitudinal study, led by BSMS, that seeks to examine and address the inequalities and inequities in the post-diagnostic care pathway for newly diagnosed people with dementia and their care partners. The research is based across 3 NHS sites within the UK (Sussex, South London and Gateshead) and is a collaboration of multiple academic partners including University of Sussex, London School of Economics, Kings College London, University of York, Newcastle University and the University of Cambridge. Prior to joining the Centre for Dementia Studies at BSMS, Ben was a Psychology Lecturer at Bournemouth University, where he also studied for his PhD.

Research

Ben's research concerns supporting quality of life and social inclusion in people with dementia by exploring their differing lived experiences of the condition and addressing the inequalities that may arise in the dementia care pathway. His PhD focused on examining and supporting social inclusion in rural-dwelling older men with dementia through a community technological initiative that was tailored towards their multiple masculinities. Ben is also interested in understanding how creative psychosocial initiatives can be used to promote positive dementia-awareness and enhance the health and well-being of people with dementia and their care partners.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Teaching

Prior to joining BSMS, Ben taught on the Psychology undergraduate and Masters level courses at Bournemouth University. He lectured in areas of social psychology, exploring the concepts of ‘self’ and ‘identity’ and their links to positive psychological well-being, as well as qualitative research methods and analysis.

Selected publications

Cafferata, R. M., Hicks, B., & von Bastian, C. (2021). Effectiveness of cognitive stimulation for dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin.

Heward, M., Adams, A., Hicks, B., & Wiener, J. (2020) ‘We go for a homely feel… not the clinical dementia side’: care home managers’ experiences of supporting residents with dementia to orientate and navigate care environments. Ageing & Society, 1-27.

Hicks, B., & Innes, A. (2020) Developing collaborative relationships with rural-dwelling older men with dementia in the UK: Lessons learned from a community technological initiative. In Innes, Morgan & Farmer (1^st) Remote and Rural Dementia Care (pp-151-184). Bristol: Policy Press.

Farina, N., Hicks, B., Baxter, K., Birks, Y., Brayne, C., Dangoor, M., ... & Banerjee, S. (2019). DETERMinants of quality of life, care and costs, and consequences of INequalities in people with Dementia and their carers (DETERMIND): A protocol paper. International journal of geriatric psychiatry.

Hicks, B., Innes, A., & Nyman, S. R. (2019). Experiences of rural life among community-dwelling older men with dementia and their implications for social inclusion. Dementia, 1471301219887586.

Hicks, B., Innes, A., & Nyman, S (2019). Exploring the active mechanisms for engaging rural-dwelling older men with dementia in a technological initiative. Ageing and Society. 1-33.

Kenigsberg, P.A., Aquino, J.P., Bérard, A., Brémond, F., Charras, K., Dening, T., Dröes, R.M., Fabrice, G., Hicks, B., Innes, A. and Nguyen, M., (2019). Assistive technologies to address capabilities of people with dementia: from research to practice. Dementia, 18(4), 1568-1595

Hicks, B. Carroll, D. Shanker, S. & El-Zeind, A. (2017) ‘Well I’m still the Diva!’ Enabling people with dementia to express their identity through graffiti arts: Innovative Practice. Dementia. Published Online

Cutler, C., Hicks, B., & Innes, A. (2016). Does digital gaming enable healthy aging for community-dwelling people with dementia? Games and Culture, 11(1-2), 104-129.

Kennedy, F., Hicks, B., & Yarker, J. (2014). Work stress and cancer researchers: an exploration of the challenges, experiences and training needs of UK cancer researchers. European journal of cancer care, 23(4), 462-471

Click here to elements profile >