Rate My Professor Zoi Triandafilidis

Dr. Zoi Triandafilidis is a Research Fellow in the Faculty of Health and Medicine at the University of Newcastle, affiliated with the School of Medicine and Public Health and based at the Central Coast Research Institute. She earned her PhD in 2018 from Western Sydney University’s Translational Health Research Institute, where her doctoral research explored young women’s experiences of cigarette smoking using qualitative methods. With over ten years of experience conducting qualitative and quantitative research in Australia, she previously served as a Research and Development Officer at Carers NSW in Policy and Research. At the Central Coast Research Institute, she managed a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)-funded palliative care project aimed at empowering clinicians to develop research skills and improve palliative and end-of-life care services on the Central Coast. Her research team was selected as a finalist in the Central Coast Local Health District’s Caring for the Coast Awards for two consecutive years and received funding to measure and enhance death literacy among allied health professionals.

Triandafilidis specializes in palliative and end-of-life care, particularly for people with dementia, death literacy, integrated health and social care, and caregiver support. Her work also encompasses women’s health issues, including smoking-related stigma and breastfeeding support. Key publications include 'An intersectional analysis of women’s experiences of smoking-related stigma' (Qualitative Health Research, 2017, with J.M. Ussher, J. Perz, K. Huppatz), 'Taking the path of least resistance: a qualitative analysis of return to work or study while breastfeeding' (International Breastfeeding Journal, 2019, with E. Burns), 'Models of care for people with dementia approaching end of life: A rapid review' (Palliative Medicine, 2023, with S. Lewis et al.), 'Improving end-of-life care for people with dementia: a mixed-methods study' (BMC Palliative Care, 2024, with S. Carr et al.), and 'What care do people with dementia receive at the end of life: Lessons from a retrospective clinical audit' (BMC Geriatrics, 2024). These contributions have advanced understanding of care navigation, stigma, and service improvements in health settings.