Overview

Chloë Place is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the College of Medicine and Health, working as part of the Exeter Care Homes and Knowledge (ExCHANGE) Collaboration. This project falls within the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Health Research Collaboration South West Peninsula (PenARC), and is supported by funding from the Alzheimer’s Society and Dunhill Medical Trust. The research focuses on the wellbeing and happiness of older people living in care homes.

Chloë is also an ESRC-funded Doctoral Researcher at the University of Sussex, in the department of Social Anthropology. Before embarking on her PhD research, Chloë worked as an NHS Occupational Therapist, specialising in older adults’ mental healthcare. Having lived for extended periods of time in Andalusia, Spain, sparked Chloë’s interest in approaches to ageing, dementia and care in the Andalusian context. Her PhD thesis entitled ‘Looking After Abuelos: An Ethnography of Dementia Care in an Andalusian Town’ explores questions of personhood, kinship, community and spirituality in Andalusian dementia care.

Qualifications

MSc Social Research Methods, University of Sussex (ESRC-funded)

MSc in Health through Occupation, University of Brighton

BA Social Anthropology, University of Sussex

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Research

Research interests

Chloë has multi-disciplinary research interests spanning diverse subjects, drawn from her background in social anthropology, occupational therapy and mental healthcare. She specialises in qualitative research exploring issues related to dementia and older people’s care and is particularly interested in cross-cultural approaches to ageing as a way of enhancing our wider understandings of personhood and relationality.

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External Engagement and Impact

Awards

• Chloë was the winner of the Margaret Clark Award, for her article entitled ‘Fiestas, Saints and Spirituality: Collective Rituals as Community Eldercare in Andalusia’, 2020.
• Chloë’s piece entitled ‘The Illusion of Eternal Independence’, was shortlisted for the ESRC Better Lives writing competition, 2019.

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