Contact Details
- Position
- Senior Lecturer
- Department
- Department of Psychological Medicine (Dunedin)
- Qualifications
- MBBS, PGDipLaw, MSc, MRCPsych, PGDipMedEd
- Research summary
- Mental health and service provision for people with intellectual disability; youth justice and transition to adulthood; forensic intellectual-disability services; mental health law and human rights
- Teaching
Diana teaches undergraduate medical students in psychiatry and mental health. Her teaching interests include intellectual disability, autism, clinical communication, ethics and mental health law.
- Memberships
- Member, Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Affiliate, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
- Clinical
Diana works as a consultant psychiatrist specialising in intellectual disability with Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Southern.
Research
Diana’s research interests focus on the mental health and wider outcomes of people with intellectual disability, particularly those who have contact with several different health, disability and justice services.
She hopes to undertake doctoral studies examining the adult outcomes of young people with intellectual disability who have had contact with Youth Justice. This includes mental and physical health, education, employment, welfare and further justice involvement.
Other areas of interest include transition from child to adult services, diagnostic overshadowing, access to specialist mental health care, forensic services, compulsory care, restrictive practices and reasonable adjustments for people with intellectual disability, interface between intellectual disability and legislation.
Diana is also involved in early collaborative work on maternal mental health service provision.
Her earlier research examined transition services for young people with intellectual disability, specialist inpatient care, challenging behaviour and the accessibility of research information.
ORCID 0009-0002-4392-680X
Additional details
Diana trained in medicine at University College London and has worked in psychiatry of Intellectual Disablity in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Aotearoa New Zealand.
She has worked in community, inpatient, consultation-liaison, secure and forensic intellectual-disability services. She also has postgraduate qualifications in law and medical education.
Diana is interested in research and teaching that can contribute to more accessible and appropriate mental health care for people with intellectual disability.
Publications
Andrea Barron, D. R., Duff, M., Kidd, A. M. J., Kumar, S., Porter, R. J., & Pumipi, T. (2026). Equity requires visibility: Intellectual disability and Aotearoa New Zealand's mental health roadmap. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 139(1639), 10-14. doi: 10.26635/6965.7629 Journal - Research Other
Andrea Barron, D. (2026). More than buildings: Preserving expertise. Otago Daily Times, (8 July). Retrieved from https://www.odt.co.nz/news/opinion/more-than-buildings-preserving-expertise-kvkngflv Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles
Porter, R., Bathgate, D., & Andrea Barron, D. (2022, September). Autism and psychiatry of intellectual disabilities. Verbal presentation at the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) New Zealand Conference, Queenstown, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs
Andrea Barron, D., Coyle, D., Paliokosta, E., & Hassiotis, A. (2014). Transition for children with intellectual disabilities. Intellectual Disability and Health, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK. Retrieved from https://www.intellectualdisability.info/life-stages/articles/transition-for-children-with-intellectual-disabilities Other Research Output
Andrea Barron, D. R., & Ker-Chiah, W. (2014). Persons with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. Singapore Family Physician, 40(2), 34-42. Journal - Research Article