Biography

Dr Dia Soilemezi is a Researcher Psychologist and a Qualitative Methodologist. She is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in Department of Psychology and currently works part-time as a Senior Research Adviser at the NIHR-funded Research Support Service Hub (delivered by the University of Southampton and partners). 

Dia graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Crete (Greece), has an MSc in Health Psychology from Sussex University and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Portsmouth. Dia’s PhD project focused on the impact of the home environment in dementia care and was shortlisted for best research 2016 by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Before joining RSS (previously RDS) in 2017, Dia worked as a post-doc researcher in ageing-related projects at the University of Portsmouth and University of Southampton. Before embarking on research, Dia was employed in a variety of NHS clinical settings in Brighton and Portsmouth, supporting adults and the elderly with stroke, dementia and mental health problems.  She has also been a project worker implementing European integration projects, focusing on work-training and education for ex-drug addicts in Athens, Greece.

Research interests

My current research interests are: dementia; homecare; meaning of home; family carers; dementia-friendly design; healthcare environments; ageing and later life; use of herbal medicine 

My main research interests lie within the field of dementia and particularly home care and support to family care of people with dementia. I am interested in the meaning of home and how it might change throughout the lifespan and especially in relation to health and care at home. I am using qualitative methods and I am particularly interested in using naturalistic methods, such as walking interviews.