Rachel Thompson

Associate Professor Rachel Thompson is a behavioral scientist specializing in health psychology and shared decision-making, leading the Discipline of Behavioural and Social Sciences in Health at the University of Sydney's School of Health Sciences. She holds a BPsySc(Hons), PhD from Queensland, and a GradCertEdStudies from Sydney, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Her research focuses on perinatal and reproductive health, emphasizing evidence-based care aligned with patient preferences. She leads the Periscope Lab and contributes to the Wiser Healthcare collaboration and Sydney Health Literacy Lab. Teaching includes HSBH3005 Evidence-Based Health Care, with supervision in behavioral science and health services research across perinatal care, patient-centered approaches, shared decision-making, health inequities, and low-value care.

• Education: BPsySc(Hons) (Qld), PhD (Qld), GradCertEdStudies (Syd)
• Labs/Teams: Periscope Lab, Wiser Healthcare, Sydney Health Literacy Lab
• Grants: COMFORT trial (NHMRC-funded)

Her work addresses weight stigma in maternity care, conflicts of interest in healthcare, and implementation challenges in shared decision-making. She collaborates internationally on patient decision aids (PDAs) and evaluates interventions to reduce low-value care.