Dr. Saloua Berdai Chaouni

(she/her)

 

BACKGROUND

Saloua Berdai Chaouni is a postdoctoral researcher at the Society and Ageing Research Lab (SARLab) at Vrije Universiteit Brussels and a senior researcher and lecturer at Karel de Grote University College. Trained in biomedical sciences, gerontology, and management, she works from an embodied multi-disciplinarity that bridges the biomedical, social, cultural, and political dimensions of health and care. After early academic work in neurophysiology, she deliberately shifted toward the social field.

Her engagement with ageing and migration began in 2005 with a policy research report on older migrants in Brussels. This marked the start of more than two decades of innovative work at the intersection of ageing, care, and ethnic diversity in Belgium and across Europe. Her pioneering contributions span practice-oriented and policy research, consulting, advocacy, participatory action research, and organizational change. This work has resulted in numerous publications, policy guidelines, and practical tools, including the Gids voor interculturele ouderenzorg (Guide for Culturally Sensitive Aged Care) and Kleurrijk Gezond, a healthy eating promotion tool adopted by the Vlaams Instituut Gezond Leven. She has also led diversity, equity, and inclusion trajectories within several social profit organizations.

In recognition of her policy-relevant research on older migrants, she received the Charles Ullens Award from the King Baudouin Foundation in 2012, and in 2018 she was honoured with a Diwan Award for her academic and educational contributions as a member of the Belgian-Moroccan diaspora.

Saloua obtained her PhD in 2021, Grasping Fading Memories of a Motherland, which examined the dynamic care realities of older labour migrants with dementia. Her research focuses on older migrants, inclusive age and dementia care, and the decoloniality of care and research. Through care-oriented, decolonial participatory action research, her current work examines the embodied health effects of racism on racialized women across the life course. This approach integrates lived expertise, community knowledge, and academic inquiry to contribute to racism-responsive and inclusive care systems.

Alongside her academic work, she is actively engaged in policy advisory boards and grassroots initiatives promoting inclusive intersectional care in Belgium and Europe.

KEY PUBLICATIONS

  • Berdai Chaouni, S. (2026) Toward equitable dementia care for older migrants: a new conceptual framework. https://doi.org/10.3384/ijal.1652-8670.5679

  • Berdai Chaouni, S., Claeys, A., & De Donder, L. (2024). The influence of religion on the care experiences of family carers of older migrants with dementia in Belgian cities. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 27(3), 265–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2024.2337619

  • Berdai Chaouni S. (2022) Geïntegreerde zorg zonder exclusieven. In Geïntegreerde zorg: werken aan samenwerken. Eds. Jo Van Deurzen & Stef Steyaert. LannooCampus

  • Berdai Chaouni S. & Claeys A. (2021) Dementie bij ouderen met migratie-achtergrond. Garant/Maklu.

  • Berdai Chaouni, S., Claeys, A., Broeke, J. Van Den, & Donder, L. De. (2021). Doing research on the intersection of ethnicity and old age : Key insights from decolonial frameworks. Journal of Aging Studies, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2020.100909

For a full overview: Pure Databank.  

ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3176-847X 

RESEARCH EXPERTISE

  • Older migrants
  • Inclusive aged and dementia care
  • Intersectional exclusionary mechanisms and racism
  • Decolonial research
  • Informal and formal care

GET IN TOUCH

e-mail: saloua.berdai-chaouni@vub.be

Telephone: +32 477 96 56 88