Kristina Chelberg

Dr. Kristina Chelberg is a Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Faculty of Law, supported by a 2025 Dementia Australia Research Foundation (DARF) Post-doctoral Fellowship. Her research focuses on socio-legal dementia studies, examining legal responses to dementia in aged care systems, with a particular emphasis on gender dynamics and participatory action research to amplify the voices of people living with dementia. Chelberg holds degrees in law, science, and publishing, and her work is motivated by her father’s dementia diagnosis and experiences with systemic marginalization in aged care.

Her current project, Promoting voice of people living with dementia in aged care improvement and reform, explores innovative methods like visual tools and sensory approaches to enable direct participation of dementia patients in aged care feedback processes. This project addresses systemic barriers to their inclusion in policy reforms. Chelberg’s research adopts interdisciplinary approaches, including narrative analysis and action research, to critique normative frameworks in aged care discourse.

Her publications highlight overlooked gendered impacts of dementia policies, the stigmatization of dementia behaviors as ‘monstrous’, and neoliberal discourses around brain health. She has presented her work at the United Nations and contributed to reports like The Unsilencing of Older Women. Chelberg is also active in community initiatives, co-founding the 4 Daughters Walk Club to support women caring for parents with dementia.

Her funded research (2025–2028) seeks to develop evidence-based resources for inclusive aged care consultation, aligning with disability rights principles. Professional service includes roles with the Australian Association of Gerontology and Law & Society of Australia & New Zealand.