About
Kathleen (Kate) Rice is an Associate Professor and Research Director in McGill University's Department of Family Medicine, holding the SSHRC-funded Tier II Canada Research Chair in the Medical Anthropology of Primary Care. Her work bridges anthropology and healthcare, focusing on ethnographic research to understand healthcare power dynamics and improve care for marginalized populations. She has affiliations with the Departments of Anthropology and Social Studies of Medicine, as well as the School of Population and Global Health.
Education: PhD in Socio-Cultural Anthropology from the University of Toronto (2015).
Research Interests: Kate's work examines perinatal care, chronic pain, gender-based violence, human rights, and medical education. Her geographic focus includes Southern Africa and Canada. Notable projects include the CIHR/IDRC-funded 'Ukuvula Isango' initiative addressing rural South African women's empowerment post-pandemic, and the SSHRC-funded project on chronic pain and social inequity. She also leads an ethnographic study on cultural safety in urban perinatal care at Montreal's Maison Bleue.
Awards: Runner-up for the Joel Gregory Award (2021) for her book Rights and Responsibilities: Gender, Personhood, and the Crisis of Meaning in Rural South Africa.
Advising & Grants: Current roles include Canadian PI for the 'Ukuvula Isango' project and Co-PI for the chronic pain patient engagement initiative. She co-directs the Partnership for the Engagement of People in Pain Research (PEPR). Past grants include CIHR, IDRC, and SSHRC funding.
Labs/Teams: Active collaborations include the South African research team for post-pandemic rural reconstruction and the Maison Bleue perinatal care project. She contributes to interdisciplinary networks like the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG).
