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Dr. Mary Patricia Sullivan

Dr. Mary Patricia Sullivan
Professor / Faculty of Education and Professional Studies - School of Social Work - Social Work
Position
Full-time Faculty
Extension
4496
Website
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About
Mary Pat Sullivan is a registered social worker and social gerontologist. She is currently Full Professor in the School of Social Work and Graduate Faculty, Graduate Studies and Research. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Alzheimer Society of Ontario. Dr. Sullivan previously headed social work at Brunel University London. Highlights from her career in the UK include Honorary Secretary of the British Society of Gerontology and Editor, Generations Review; inaugural recipient of the Tilda Goldberg Social Work Research Fellowship; member of the Editorial Board for Ageing & Society, and an honorary research appointment at the Dementia Research Centre, University College London. Prior to her academic career in the UK, Dr. Sullivan was a clinical social worker involved in the development, delivery and evaluation of geriatric mental health services in northern and eastern Ontario.
Education
PGCert (Learning and Teaching), Brunel University London
PhD (Gerontology), King’s College London
MSW, Carleton University
BSW, Laurentian University
Research
Areas of Specialization:

Dr. Sullivan’s principal research interests are focused on the social context of aging and older age including geriatric mental health, dementia care, social isolation and loneliness, elder abuse, aging without children and gerontological social work education and practice.

Selected Research Awards:

Interdependence and Pathways to (Dis) Concordant Experiences of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Dementia Care (2021-2023)
Sullivan, M.P., Victor, C. (Brunel University London), Williams, V., Grillo, A. (Nipissing University) and Bertuzzi-Gallo, Alzheimer Society of Sudbury Manitoulin North Bay and Districts
RTOERO, $25,000

The Impact of Multicomponent Support Groups for those Living with Rare Dementias (2019-2024)
Crutch, S. (PI), Stott, J., Camic, P. (University College London), Windle, G., Tudor-Edwards, R., Hoare, Z. (Bangor University), Sullivan, M.P. (Nipissing University) and MacKee-Jackson, R. (National Brain Appeal)
Economic and Social Research Council and National Institute for Health Research, £3.7million

Old and Lonely: The Loneliness Narrative, Moral Regulation and the Media (2018 – 2020)
Sullivan, M.P. (PI) (Nipissing University) and Victor, C. (Brunel University London)
Nipissing University, $5,000

Echoes around the Home (2017)
Firth, N. (PI) (University College London) and Sullivan, M.P. (Nipissing University)
UCL Collaborative Social Science Domain, £4,000

Seeing What They See: Compensating for Cortical Visual Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease (2013-18)
Crutch, S.(PI) , Tyler, N., (University College London) Sullivan, M.P., Gilhooly, M., Gilhooly, K., McIntyre, A. (Brunel University London), Lengyel, I., (University College London) Frost, C. (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)and Peto, T. (Moorfields Eye Hospital)
Economic and Social Research Council and National Institute for Health Research, £2.7 million

A Study of the Prevalence and Nature of Financial Abuse of Those Lacking Mental Capacity (2014-16)
Gilhooly, M. (PI), Harries, P., Gilhooly, K., and Sullivan, M.P. (Brunel University London)
Dawes Trust Charity, £83,000

New Perspectives on Loneliness: Developing Theory, Methodology and Evidence (2014-16)
Victor, C. (PI), Sullivan, M.P. and Thomas, M. (Brunel University London)
Economic and Social Research Council, £30,000

The Social Context of Ageing and Alzheimer’s Disease in Jordan (2010)
Victor, C. (PI), Sullivan, M.P. and Gilhooly, M. (Brunel University London)
British Academy, £5000 and Brunel University London, £5000

Publications

(Selected Journal Papers)

Brotherhood, E., Stott, J., Windle, G., Barker, S., Camic, P., Caufield, M., Culley, S., Ezeofor, V., Harding, E., Hoare, Z., Mckee-Jackson, R., Roberts, J.; Sharp, R., Suarez-Gonzalez, A., Sullivan, M.P., Tudor-Edwards, R., Waddington, C., Walton, J., Winrow, E., and Crutch, S. (2019) Protocol for the Rare Dementia Support Impact Study: RDS Impact. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 35 (8), 833-841.

McIntyre, A., Harding, E., Yong, K.X.X., Sullivan, M.P., Gilhooly, M., Gilhooly, K. Gilhooly, K.J., Woodbridge, R. and Crutch, S. (2019) An exploration of health and social care practitioners understanding of the problems of people with dementia-related visual impairment. Health and Social Care in the Community, 27 (4), 982-990.

Harding, E., Sullivan, M.P., Woodbridge, R., Yong, K.X.X., McIntyre, A., Gilhooly, M.L., Gilhooly, K.J., and Crutch, S.J. (2018) ‘Because my brain isn’t as active as it should be, my eyes don’t always see’: a qualitative exploration of the stress process for those living with posterior cortical atrophy. BMJ Open; 8:e018663. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2017-018663.

Sullivan, M.P., Victor, C.R., and Thomas M. (2016) Understanding and alleviating loneliness in later life: Perspectives of older people. Quality in Ageing and Older Age, 17 (3), 168-178.

Woodbridge, R., Sullivan, M.P., Harding, E., Crutch, S., Gilhooly, K., Gilhooly, M., McIntyre, A., Wilson, L. (2016) Use of the physical environment to support everyday activities for people with dementia: A systematic review. Dementia the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 17 (5), 533-572.

Gilhooly, K.J., Gilhooly, M., Sullivan, M.P., McIntyre, A., Wilson, L., Harding, E., Woodbridge, R., and Crutch, S. (2016) A meta-review of stress, coping and interventions in dementia and dementia caregiving. BMC Geriatrics doi: 10.1186/s12877-016-0280-8. PMID: 27193287; PMCID: PMC4872341.

Ray, M., Milne, A., Beech, C., Richards, S., Sullivan, M.P., Tanner, D., Phillips, J. and Lloyd, L. (2015) Gerontological social work: Reflections on its role, purpose and value. British Journal of Social Work, 45 (4), 1296-1312.

Richards, S., Sullivan, M.P., Tanner, D., Beech, C., Milne, A., Ray, M., Phillips, J. and Lloyd, L. (2014) On the edge of a new frontier: Is gerontological social work in the UK ready to meet 21st century challenges? British Journal of Social Work, 44 (8), 2307-2324.

Al-Makhamreh, S. and Sullivan, M.P. (2012) Professionalizing social work in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: Processes and implications. European Journal of Social Work, 6 (4), 536-550.

Sullivan, M.P., Pokhrel, S., and Lim, K.H. (2010) Developing and promoting diverse learning environments. Diversity in Health and Care, 7 (4), 271-282.

Sullivan, M.P., Forrester, D. and Al-Makhamreh, S. (2010) What makes for effective trans-national social work collaboration? Reflections on an evaluation of a social work training workshop in Jordan. International Social Work, 53 (2), 217-232.

Sullivan, M.P. (2009) Social workers in community care practice: Ideologies and interactions with older people. British Journal of Social Work, 39 (7), 1306-1325.

(Selected Book Chapters)

Harding, E., Sullivan, M.P., Crutch, S. and Yong, K.X.X. (In press) Into the ordinary: Lessons learned from a mixed methods study in homes of people living with dementia. In P. Camic, J.E. Rhodes and L. Yardley (eds.) Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition. Expanding Perspectives in Methodology and Design. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Sullivan, M.P. (2015) Elder care. In J. Wright (ed.) International Encyclopaedia of the Social & Behavioural Sciences, 2nd Edition. Oxford: Elsevier.

Victor, C.R. and Sullivan, M.P. (2015) Loneliness and isolation. In J. Twigg and W. Martin (Eds.) Handbook of Cultural Gerontology. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 261-268.

Al-Makhamreh, S. and Sullivan, M.P. (2013) Social work in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.  In M. Gray, J. Coates, M. Yellow Bird and T. Hetherington (eds.) Decolonizing Social Work.  Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing.

Nelson-Becker, H. and Sullivan, M.P. (2012) Social care and spirituality.  In M. Cobb, C. Puchalski and B. Rumbold (eds.) Spirituality in Healthcare. Oxford: Oxford University Press.