Editorial

We are pleased to welcome Drs. Pamela Roach and Caroline Swarbrick as the new editors of Dementia: the international journal of social research and practice. It has been a privilege to be the editors of Dementia for the last four years and it is with sadness that we say goodbye. We have attempted to maintain the integrity and quality of the journal from the founding editors—Drs. John Keady and Phyllis Braudy Harris—which was a big task. We have seen ground-breaking articles published on a wide range of topics, including articles reviewed and authored by people living with dementia. We have seen special issues published and currently in progress. We have also published two virtual special issues—both of which were collated by people living with dementia and carers.

We are grateful to the team at SAGE for their continued support. They have been wonderful and helped us through the initial growth period as we learned our roles as editors. We are also incredibly grateful to the editorial board who were so supportive of us and who contribute so much to the quality and success of Dementia.

The research with and for people with dementia and carers is extensive, and we received many manuscripts focused on a variety of topics from different countries. It was a privilege to read these articles and eventually, to publish many of them. We are reminded that through this extensive work, we can all contribute to creating a better world with and for people living with dementia and their families.

As we move on to new and different initiatives, we are confident that the journal is in good hands with Drs. Pamela Roach and Caroline Swarbrick. They are scholars committed to people living with dementia, to working with and not just for people with dementia, and to the highest levels of academic rigor. We wish them the very best as they take on their new roles.

As the incoming editors of Dementia: the international journal of social research and practice, we carefully reflected on what it means to take the helm of such an innovative and ground-breaking journal. When we considered taking on the role, we met to talk about our shared vision, values and goals for the journal and for dementia related-research more broadly. We thought about the legacy of the journal since its founding in 2002 by John Keady and Penny Braudy Harris; and stewardship more recently by Elaine Wiersma and Ruth Bartlett. The privilege we feel being able to contribute to the ongoing advancement of dementia care and research is immeasurable and is a responsibility we assume with pride and honour. We are also grateful to have had the time to learn from all the preceding editors and serve on the editorial board ourselves under their remarkable leadership.

We then thought about the era in which we currently find ourselves, and the new challenges faced by global health and social care arenas - especially for individuals, families and communities living with dementia. With increasing ageing populations in many countries creating challenges in capacity across systems, as well as health and social care providers struggling with burnout and adapting to new virtual care, technology and models of care provision, these challenges remain set to continue and intensify. Innovative methods to address complex problems with research grounded in the social experience of dementia is more important than ever. We look forward to welcoming new and previously overlooked approaches to research and scholarship and expanding the types of research to include global and inclusive approaches to dementia care. This is of particular importance when we look to improve the health of equity-deserving groups in collaborative and community-driven ways.

We are excited about the challenge ahead and look forward to continuing to work in ethical ways with people living with, and impacted by, dementia with guidance from the editorial board, our reviewers, and most importantly, the communities with which we work.