Kate O'Donnell

Professor Kate O'Donnell is Professor of Primary Care Research and Development at the University of Glasgow's School of Health & Wellbeing, with a joint appointment in the School of Social & Political Sciences. She leads research on health service organization, migrant health, and policy implementation, particularly focused on vulnerable populations. Her work employs mixed-methods approaches including Normalization Process Theory to examine healthcare access barriers.

Professor O'Donnell's research examines primary care delivery systems, migrant health experiences, dementia and cardiovascular prevention in deprived communities, and digital health interventions. She maintains particular expertise in cross-cultural healthcare communication and asylum seeker health needs.

Her publication record demonstrates consistent focus on health inequalities, with recent work examining COVID-19 impacts on healthcare access and digital exclusion. Research spans qualitative investigations of marginalized groups' experiences and quantitative analyses of health outcomes.

Honors include the Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of General Practitioners – their highest distinction for non-clinical academics. She chairs the Society for Academic Primary Care and advises the Scottish Government's New Scots Integration Strategy and EUR-HUMAN project.

Professor O'Donnell actively mentors early-career researchers and has supervised numerous PhD and MD students to completion. She established the Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network, fostering collaboration between academics, NGOs, and policymakers.