Skip to content
GOLTC | Globe Icon
Globe Icon
GOLTC

GLOBAL
OBSERVATORY
OF LONG-TERM
CARE

Part of the International Long-Term Care Policy Network (ILPN)

 

Dimitra Xidous

TrinityHaus, Trinity College Dublin

Dimitra Xidous

  • 10+ years of research experience. Currently the Principal Investigator (for TCD) of Urban Nature Plans Plus (Horizon Europe project); Research Lead of TrinityHaus Research Pillar. Co-Applicant and Research Team Lead (Engagement, Co-Creation, Research Methods).
  • 8 years professional experience in health policy and research (at Federal Government level, Canada), currently,  Research Fellow in TrinityHaus, a research centre focusing on people-centred design and the built environment for over a decade (2014-present)
  • Involved in several age-attuned design research projects (funders include by Health Research Board, Science Foundation Ireland, and Centre for Excellence in Universal Design) focusing on the role of the built environment to support health and well-being across the lifespan. Significant experience in European projects, with a focus on co-production and community engagement activities at neighbourhood/city scale, including piloting and developing innovative methodological approaches.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Countries Ireland;
Topics Age-friendliness; Ageing in place; Climate Change and LTC; Co-production in LTC; COVID-19 and other infectious diseases and LTC; Ecosystems of care; Housing and care; Intergenerational approaches; Person-centered care; Universal design and LTC;
Methods Case studies; Co-production methods; Creative research methods; Document analysis; Focus groups; Guidelines development; Interviews; Knowledge-exchange; Literature reviews and synthesis; Mixed methods; Observational studies; Participatory research methods; Pilot study; Policy analysis; Practice-based approaches; Qualitative studies; Questionnaire; Research diaries; Surveys; Theory and frameworks; Training materials; Vignettes and narratives;
Role Research;
Interest Groups Ageing and Place; Climate Change and LTC;
Websitehttps://www.tcd.ie/trinityhaus/
ORC.ID0000-0002-3086-2790
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dimitra-xidous-a66b7411/
Other 1http://www.dimitraxidous.com/;
Research interests

Combining people-centred and a place-based approaches: working with key groups such as children/youth, persons with disabilities & older people, to support inclusive engagement and co-creation in the built environment across a number of scales, with a focus on the neighbourhood scale.
Integrating sustainability, inclusion, health, and quality of experience: integrating the New European Bauhaus pillars of inclusion, sustainability, and aesthetics (quality of experience) and other elements such as health and nature-based solutions (NBS) in planning and design of residential long-term care settings.
Participatory research, co-creation and living labs: working onsite with stakeholders and case studies/ pilots to co-research and co-create age-friendly environments.
Stewardship and long-term management approaches: exploring how place and the built environment evolves over time and fostering long-term management and local community stewardship.
Applying novel methodologies (reflexive monitoring) to capture learnings and reflect on change over time, to foster transdisciplinary collaboration on place-making; and,  arts-based approaches in the context of planning and design of RLTC to better understanding meaning of home, connection to and sense of place, and how such approaches can be applied to reinforce the lived experience of residents in RLTC settings.
Key publications
Grey, Xidous, O’Donoghue, Mannion, Dockrell, Coyle, O’Neill (2026) Design for quality of life, sustainability, and resilience in long-term residential care settings for older people in Ireland: Universal Design Guidelines: https://www.tcd.ie/media/tcd/trinityhaus/pdfs/TrinityHaus-et-al-2026-LTRC-UD-Guidelines-RevA.pdf 
DAVIS, M; Burgos, N; De Vreese, R; Lupp, G; Maestre-Andres, S; Xidous, D; Zingraff-Hamed, A. (2025). Co-creating nature-based solutions with commonly excluded stakeholders: Insights from practice and research. NetworkNature+ Task Force 6.

Grey T, O’Donoghue J, Xidous D, O’Neill D, Long-Term Residential Care and the Built Environment: Improving Quality of Life and Resilience Through a Universal Design Approach, Stud Health Technol Inform, 320, 2024, p207-214Journal Article, 2024 URL DOI

O’Donoghue J, Xidous D, Grey T, O’Neill D, Residential Long-Term Care and the Built Environment: Balancing Quality of Life and Infection Control, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2023Journal Article, 2023 URL TARA – Full Text DOI

GREY T, Xidous D, O’NEILL D, COLLIER M J, 2023. Growing Older Urbanism: exploring the nexus between ageing, the built environment, and urban ecosystems. Urban Transformations. DOI: 10.1186/s42854-023-00053-z

COLLIER, M J… XIDOUS, D (2023). An integrated process for planning, delivery, and stewardship of urban nature-based solutions: The Connecting Nature Framework – Nature Based Solutions (3) 2023 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2023.100060

Hölscher, K … Xidous, D (2023) Strategies for mainstreaming nature-based solutions in urban governance capacities in ten European cities.  npj Urban Sustainability (2023) 3:54 ; https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-023-00134-9

O’DONOGHUE, J., XIDOUS, D., GREY, T. & O’NEILL, D. 2023. Residential Long-Term Care and the Built Environment: Balancing Quality of Life and Infection Control. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 24, 1508-1512.

GREY, T., O’DONOGHUE, J., XIDOUS, D., NICOL, S., KENNELLY, S., COVENEY, E. & O’NEILL, D. 2023. 142 Identifying common housing conditions affecting older people relevant to integrated Care for Older Persons in Ireland. Age and Ageing, 52, https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad156.133

O’DONOGHUE, J., XIDOUS, D., GREY, T. & O’NEILL, D. 2023b.  Nursing home care in Ireland and the built environment: key emerging issues and insights. Age and Ageing, 52, https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad156.134

Grey T, Xidous D, O’Donoghue J, Kennelly S, O’Neill D, Improving Quality of Life and Enhancing COVID-19 Infection Control in Existing Residential Care Settings for Older People: Universal Design Guidelines, Dublin, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, 2022, p1 – 44Report, 2022 URL

O’Neill D, Xidous D, O’Donoghue J, Puntambekar M, Grey T, Residential long-term care, Covid-19 and architecture and design of the built environment, European Geriatric Medicine, 18th Congress of the European Geriatric Medicine Society, London, 28-30 September 2022, 13, (Suppl 1), 2022, ppS355Meeting Abstract, 2022 DOI

Grey T, Xidous D, O’Donoghue J, Kennelly S, O’Neill D, Universal Design for Improving Quality of Life and Enhancing COVID-19 Infection Control in Existing Residential Care Settings for Older People: Research Report, Dublin, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, 2022, p1 – 110Report, 2022 URL

O’Neill D, Grey T, Xidous D, O’Donoghue J, Puntambekar M, Rethinking nursing home architecture and design in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Innovation in Aging, Gerontological Society of America 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting, Indianapolis, USA, 2-6 November 2022, 6, (Suppl 1), 2022, pp790 – 791Meeting Abstract, 2022 DOI

Murphy E, Burke E, O’Donoghue J, Xidous D, Grey T, Kennelly S, O’Neill D. 2021. Built environment of nursing homes and infection control and pandemic preparedness.

Burke E, O’Donoghue J, Kennelly S, Xidous D, Grey T, O’Neill D. 2021. Mapping quality of life domains in nursing homes.

Murphy E, Burke E, O’Donoghue J, Grey T, Xidous D, Kennelly S, Anderson D, O’Neill D. 2021. Nursing home design and COVID pandemic resilience.