Dr Miia Rahja
Senior Research Fellow
College of Medicine and Public Health
Miia is a registered occupational therapist and a senior research fellow with the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI). She coordinates the South Australian arm of the Australian Dementia Network’s (ADNeT) Registry and Screening & Trials programs, facilitating clinical trials and supporting clinical quality benchmarking across SA health sites.
Miia completed her PhD in 2019 on the implementation of an evidence-based care program for people with dementia in Australia. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, contributed to health policy evidence checks and Productivity Commission reports, and is internationally recognised for her expertise in reablement for people living with dementia. She contributed to a book chapter on reablement and dementia and is the sole Australian occupational therapist invited to join the EU-funded ReableDem expert working group on reablement in dementia care.
She currently co-supervises a PhD student and has developed and taught a dementia-specific postgraduate topic at Flinders University. Miia also serves as the researcher co-chair of FHMRI’s Consumer and Community Involvement Advisory Board.
PhD, BAppSc (OT) Hons, BIntBus
2021 Robert Penhall Early Career Research Award (Australian Association of Gerontology - South Australia)
2025 Occupational Therapy Australia Early Career Researcher Award
2025 Occupational Therapy Australia Research Team Award
2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Early Career Researchers (Flinders University)
- Lead and conduct research focused on rehabilitation, aged care, and dementia care, with an emphasis on evidence-based and person-centred approaches.
- Coordinate the South Australian arm of the Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) Registry and Screening & Trials programs, managing site engagement, participant recruitment, and data quality.
- Develop, implement, and evaluate reablement and other non-pharmacological care programs for people living with dementia across health and aged care settings.
- Provide research advice and mentorship to clinicians, students, and early career researchers to build capacity in dementia and aged care research.
- Facilitate collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and consumers to ensure research translation and impact on policy and practice.
- Use registry data to inform research and support clinical quality improvement.
Experience in teaching general rehabilitation related topics at undergraduate level
Experince in the development and teaching of a rehabilitation for dementia topic at postgradute level
- Expert in conducting research with strong public and patient (consumer) involvement, ensuring findings are translated into real-world practice
- Lead and foster collaborations with government and non-government aged care organisations, and with clinicians, to drive improvements in dementia and aged care
- Active collaborator in the international ReAble network, contributing to global initiatives on reablement for people living with dementia
Sturt Rd, Bedford Park
South Australia 5042
South Australia | Northern Territory
Global | Online
Follow Flinders
