Page 6 - Stories_of_Older_Adults

FOREWORD

We compiled this book to share with you the life stories and biographies of eight older adults as retold
by students undergoing Bachelor of Dentistry programme at the Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti
Malaya. These stories were collected as part of our research to explore the use of life story
documentation as a way to improve dental students’ empathy and communication skills. As healthcare
professionals of the future, our dental students need to have these skills to give the best care to their
patients. Talking to the older adults from our community helped them hone these skills and build their
confidence.

As you turn the pages of this book, we hope to give you a glimpse into the journey we took over the
course of this project. This is of course, just a snippet of the many activities and interactions we
conducted.

While COVID-19 meant that we had to change our original research plan, we pressed on and were able
to complete it online. This is largely due to the efforts of the dental students and older adults who were
the participants in our study. These individuals were our partners and collaborators in the research.
Therefore, we are excited to share their stories and perspectives with you. We hope you, the reader,
will enjoy reading the heartwarming and inspiring biographies of the older adults. Perhaps, you will be
inspired to document the life stories of some of the people close to you!

THE EDITORS

Dr Nor Shafina binti Mohamed Nazari
Lecturer
Department of Restorative Dentistry
Faculty of Dentistry
Universiti Malaya

Dr Sharifah Ayeshah binti Syed Mohd Noori
Senior lecturer
Department of English Language
Faculty of Languages & Linguistics
Universiti Malaya

Dr Shafiyah binti Rosli Lee
Undergraduate alumni
Faculty of Dentistry
Universiti Malaya

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