Profile summary
Prof Eleni Hatzidimitriadou, CPsychol, FHEA, is a clinical and community psychologist and has held a number of appointments in Greece and the UK in mental health practice and academia.
Eleni is currently Head of Research and Enterprise in the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Canterbury Christ Church University. Prior to joining CCCU, Eleni held academic posts at the University of Kent (2000-2008) and the joint Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, Kingston University and St George's, University of London (2008-2014). In 2014 she joined CCCU as Head of School of Public Health, Midwifery and Social Work in the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing (2014-2017).
Eleni has published widely and led research on co-production/service user involvement in mental health care, welfare and social care in old age, and access of migrants and ethnic minorities to health care systems. She has a strong record of international research collaborations and networks in the field of community psychology and public health.
Research and knowledge exchange
Past projects: Cultural Capital and Youth Migrant Transitions into labour market, German Volkswagen Foundation (2005-2008); Domestic Violence against Women and Men in Europe (DOVE), Public Health European Authority (2008-2011); Diabetes and Physical Exercise (BEAT), Sport England/Bexley Council/MIND Bexley (2015-2018), lead on quantitative analysis of intervention data.
Current projects: DWELL (Diabetes and Wellbeing), EU INTERREG 2SEAS (2016-2020), PI on evaluation of a 12-week patient programme for the self-management of Type 2 diabetes; ADAPT (Assistive Devices for empowering Disabled People through Robotic Technologies), EU INTERREG CHANNEL MANCHE (2017-2021), PI on development of training of Health Care Professionals in Assistive Technologies; MOTION (Mechanised Orthosis for Children with Neurological Disorders), EU INTERREG 2SEAS (2019-2022), PI on conduct of feasibility studies to evaluate an exoskeleton prototype and develop training for healthcare professionals and carers to engage with the technology; Evaluation of Community Activation Projects in Ebbsfleet Healthy New Town, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (2018-2019), PI on evaluation of impact on residents’ wellbeing.
Eleni is an experienced PhD and Masters supervisor with numerous successful completions. She also acts regularly as Internal and External PhD Examiner in esteemed institutions in the UK and abroad. As an expert in the field of migrant mental health, she attracts post-doctorate researchers from abroad, to work with her on a number of migration and mental health related projects which led to published outputs and successful grant applications.
She is currently supervising student in the area of refugee mental health and detention, LGBT carers and their wellbeing, asylum data and social construction of asylum seekers in the UK.
Teaching and subject expertise
Eleni has extensive teaching experience both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. She had a steering role in 'widening participation' undergraduate programmes at the Medway campus of the University of Kent and acted as programme director on BA and Masters programmes in her previous posts. Her areas of teaching expertise include: community psychology, mental health. migration and welfare, old age. quantitative and qualitative research methods for health and social care, service user and care involvement, cultural competence of health and social care professionals, domestic violence and wellbeing.
She acts regularly as External Examiner for both taught courses and research degrees on the topics of migration and mental health, public health and social gerontology.
She is a Higher Education Academy Fellow and a Chartered Psychologist, British Psychological Society and the Greek Ministry of Health.
External Activities
Eleni acts as a regularly review for international academic journals (e.g. British Journal of Social Work, International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care; Health and Social Care in the Community; Journal of Social Policy and Journal of Radical Psychology) and member of Editorial Boards at national and international journals (e.g. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care; Mid-Sweden Journal of Public Health; Health Science Journal) and Associate Editor of an international journal (BMC Women’s Health). She has also acted as a guest editor in a number of special issues at international journals.
External appointments:
- External expert advisor/collaborating stakeholder, EU project “CARE: Common Actions for REfugees and other migrants’ health” (2015-2017)
- Expert Trainer on Refugee Trauma – International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Malta (2016)
- Expert member of NHS Kingston Clinical Commissioning Group - Equality and Diversity Steering Group (2012 - 2014)
- External Expert - Quality Assurance Assessment, Nursing School, Greek Ministry of Education, Athens, Greece (2011)
- Expert Trainer on Culturally Competence in Health and Social Care Provision – ESDY, Athens, Greece (2010)
- External Expert/PhD Examiner, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey (2009)
- Member of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Programme Board Workforce, Education and Training Sub-Group, National Institute for Mental Health England (NIMHE) (2006-2008)
- Trustee of the Canterbury and Faversham Forum for Mental Health (2005-2008)
- Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, National School of Public Health, in Athens, Greece (2006-2007)
Publications and research outputs
Costa, D., Hatzidimitriadou, E., Ioannidi-Kapolou, E., Lindert, J., et al (2018) The impact of intimate partner violence on forgone healthcare: a population-based, multicentre European study. Eur J Public Health, 1-6. DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/cky167
Dias, N., Costa, D., Soares, J., Hatzidimitriadou, E., et al (2018) Social support and intimate partner violence victimization among adults from six European countries. Familty Practice, DOI: 10.1093/fampra/cmy080
Hatzidimitriadou, E. & Psoinos, M. (2017) A qualitative analysis of migrant social workers’ work experiences and perceived prejudice from an empowering acculturative integration approach, European Journal of Social Work. DOI: 10.1080/13691457.2017.1366299
Costa, D., Hatzidimitriadou, E., Ioannidi-Kapolou, et al (2016) Male and female physical intimate partner violence and socioeconomic position: a cross-sectional international multicentre study in Europe. Public Health, 139. pp. 44-52.
Costa, D., Soares, J., Lindert, J., Hatzidimitriadou, et al (2015) Intimate partner violence: a study in men and women from six European countries. Int J Public Health, 60(4), 467-478.
Costa, D., Hatzidimitriadou, E., Ioannidi-Kapolou, E. et al (2015). Intimate Partner Violence and Health-Related Quality of Life in European men and women: findings from the DOVE study. Quality of Life Research, 24(2), 463-471.
Li, S., Hatzidimitriadou, E. & Psoinos, M. (2014) “Tangled Wires in the Head”: Older migrant Chinese’s perception of mental Illness in Britain. J Aging Studies, 30, 73-86.
Hatzidimitriadou, E. & Psoinos, M. (2014) Cultural health capital and professional experiences of overseas doctors and nurses in the UK. Diversity and Equality in Health and Care, 11(1), 35-47.
Hatzidimitriadou, E. (2010) Migration and Ageing: Settlement Experiences and Emerging Care Needs of Older Refugees in Developed Countries. Hellenic Journal of Psychology, 7(1), 1-20.
Find out more about Prof Eleni Hatzidimitriadou's reaearch at researchgate.net.