Dr. Saloua Berdai Chaouni

BACKGROUND

Saloua Berdai Chaouni is active as a postdoctoral researcher at the Society and Ageing Research Lab. She has a master's in Biomedical Sciences and in Gerontological Sciences and obtained several qualifications in Management. After a short academic period conducting in-vivo neurophysiological research, she stepped into the social field.  She published her first work on older migrants in 2005 as a policy research report in Brussels. This was the start of two decades of innovative practice, policy, consulting, advocacy, and action research work on the intersection of (aged) care and ethnic diversity, in Belgium and Europe. Her pioneer work has led to numerous publications, policy guidelines, and tools like “Gids voor interculturele ouderenzorg” a guide for cultural sensitive aged care, and “Kleurrijk gezond” a healthy eating promotion guiding tool that has been adopted by Vlaams Instituut Gezond Leven.   She also led diversity and inclusion organizational change processes in several social profit organizations. She received in 2012 the Charles Ullens reward by the King Baudouin Foundation for her policy-relevant research work on older migrants in Belgium. In 2018, she was acknowledged for her academic and educational work as a member of the Belgian-Moroccan diaspora with a Diwan Award.   

She obtained her PhD in 2021 titled “Grasping fading memories of a motherland: capturing dynamic care realities of older labor migrants with dementia.” An endeavor that she combined with her work as a lecturer and a researcher at the Karel de Grote University College and Erasmus University College of Brussels. Her current research work focuses on older migrants, inclusive aged & dementia care, and decoloniality of care and research.  She is also active in several organizations and policy-making boards aiming for inclusive care for ethnic minorities in Belgium and Europe. This is besides her several grass-root activistic engagements for intersectional social justice.

KEY PUBLICATIONS

• 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, 1–16. 
• Berdai Chaouni S., Smetcoren, A. S., & De Donder, L. (2020). Caring for migrant older Moroccans with dementia in Belgium as a complex and dynamic transnational network of informal and professional care: A qualitative study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 101, 103413. 
• 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. 
• Berdai Chaouni S. & Claeys A. (2021) Dementie bij ouderen met migratie-achtergrond. Garant/Maklu.
• Berdai Chaouni S., (2024) Moving toward inclusive dementia care for an ethnically diverse population in Belgium. In The Routledge international handbook of disability and global health. Eds. Ned L., Rivas Velarde M., Singh S. Swarts L. & Soldatic K. Chapter 44, pp X-X. 
• Berdai Chaouni S. (2023) Inclusieve ouderenrechten in een diverse samenleving. In Ongehoord en ongezien: hoe Vlaanderen vergrijst. Eds. Vrancken, De Decker, Verté & Crevit. Gompel & Svacina

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