Research Institute / Centre environment – Theme (s) / Areas of Focus (foci)

Caring Futures Institute – Better Systems / Quality aged care

Position Title – Professor, College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Research biography –

Professor Lily Xiao has teaching and research interests in the areas of caregiver support in dementia care, chronical disease management, cross-cultural dementia care, dementia education for health and social care professionals and family carers. She has in-depth knowledge about the impact of increased cultural, linguistic and religious diversity of the consumers and the workforce on communication and quality of care in aged care and dementia care. Methodologies she has applied to research projects include qualitative studies (phenomenological study, critical ethnography), quantitative studies (cross-sectional study, randomised controlled trial) and critical action research.

She is also passionate about health equity in global health. She was selected to participate in the World Health Organization (WHO) Nursing and Midwife Scholar Programme in the WHO Headquarter in Geneva in 2015. She is a Key Contributor to the WHO iSupport program, a global online program for caregivers of people with dementia. She led the development of Human Resources for Health Observer No 22 entitled ‘Optimizing the contributions of the nursing and midwifery workforce to achieve universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals through education, research and practice'.

Recent research projects

1. Lily Xiao, Gillian Harvey, Stacey George, Rachel Milte, Shahid Ullah, Hui Chen Chang Western, Michael Lawless Flinders University, Kham Tran Flinders University, Ying Yu, Rebecca Bilton, Candy(Shan) Xie, Anna Howard, Mary Sophou Pronia, Kam Leung Chiu, Ada Cheng, Cross-sector collaboration to scale up a Culturally Tailored iSupport model to address unmet needs of dementia carers: the CT-iSupport trial, 2024 MRFF Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care, $2,968,692 Aus. Grant ID: 2041443. Five years 2025-2030.
2. Lily Xiao, Rachel Milte, Claudia Meyer, Hui Chen Chang, Kham Tran, Shahid Ullah, Kate Laver, Ying Yu, Alison Kitson, A ‘culturally tailored iSupport model’ for carers of people with dementia, 2022 NHMRC TCR: Cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity in dementia research, $1,555,078.05 Aus. Grant Proposal ID: 2024551.
3. Lily Xiao, Julie Ratcliffe, Claudia Meyer, Michael Chapman, Langduo Chen, Shahid Ullah, Alison Kitson, Andre Andrade, Creating partnership in iSupport program to optimise carers’ impact on dementia care, Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) 2020 Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Mission, Grant Proposal ID 2008321, $1,406,658 Aus.
4. Lily Xiao, Julie Ratcliffe, Alison Kitson, Shahid Ullah, Claudia Meyer, Sue McKechnie, Craig Whitehead, Michael Chapman. Strengthening partnerships with carers through innovative delivery of an Australian iSupport for Dementia program, 2020NHMRC/DCRC World Class Research Project Grans, $536,586 Aus.

Research Impact –

Professor Lily Xiao is internationally recognised in the dementia caregiving research field and is one of four key contributors to the WHO iSupport for Dementia, a global online program for carers of people with dementia. The program is being adapted and introduced into WHO member countries to support informal carers who care for more than 55 million people with dementia. She serves on the WHO Dementia Knowledge Exchange Committee to support the adaptation process.

She also led the adaptation of iSupport program in Australia. The WHO iSupport program can now be delivered in 8 languages including English, Cantonese, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish and Vietnamese via e-book, iSupport website and hardcopy manuals. Australian aged care organisations have adopted the programs in their services.

She was selected by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations (NFACR) twice to showcase Australian excellence in dementia care in projects that lead to cultural adaptation, evaluation and scale-up of the Chinese iSupport program in greater China including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.  

She has led the development and evaluation of the world’s first evidence-based ‘Cross-cultural care program for aged care staff’ in a residential aged care setting. This program has led to significant change and advances in knowledge in the field of aged care workforce development. The program includes five interactive learning modules with dementia care and end of life care embedded, along with practical toolkit. The program is now fully implemented in practice – with funding from the Department of Health and Aged Care for the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing to lead, deliver and disseminate the program to the broader aged care sector. 

Research Interest –

Research areas:

Lily is particularly interested in:

• Dementia care including people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities
• Education and support for carers of people with dementia including those from CALD communities
• Cross-cultural care for older people in health and aged care settings
• Multicultural aged care workforce development

Methodologies used:

Qualitative research using hermeneutics and descriptive study; Quantitative studies using randomised controlled trial and questionnaire survey; Critical theory applied to action research.

Grant funding and Prizes and Awards

Prizes and Awards

2022 - 2026: Matthew Flinders Professor, Flinders University.

2019– present: Guest Professor, Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, China

2020 – present: Guest Professor, West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, China

2013: Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Award-Research Category, the Government of South Australia.

Keywords

Caregiver, cross-cultural care for older people, dementia, WHO iSupport for Dementia program, healthcare for older people with complex care needs, aged care, multicultural aged care workforce development

Education/academic qualifications

2007: PhD, Flinders University.

2003: Master of Nursing, Flinders University.

1990: Post Registration Diploma, West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, China.

• Dementia care or aged care (8)
• Poststroke hospital to home transition care (2)
• Hypertension and diabetes management for older people (1)
• Urinary incontinence management for older people (1)
• Mentoring program for hospital nurses (1)

• Urinary and faecal incontinence for older people (2)
• Nursing education (1)