Kelly Rhea MacArthur

Dr. Kelly Rhea MacArthur is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), within the College of Arts and Sciences. She joined the faculty in 2014 and specializes in medical sociology, gender, and quantitative methods. Her work bridges research and teaching in mental health, health disparities, and medical education.

• Ph.D. in Sociology, Kent State University (2014)
• M.A. in Sociology, Kent State University (2008)
• B.A. in Sociology, Fairleigh Dickinson University (2004)

Her research focuses on medical student well-being, clinical empathy, loneliness and health, and statistics anxiety. She teaches courses in Social Statistics and Medical Sociology, many of which are offered online, including a new cross-listed course on Human Connection, Loneliness, & Health.

Her recent publications explore wellness interventions, addiction stigma, and empathy decline in medical training, primarily published in journals such as BMC Medical Education, Academic Psychiatry, and Social Science and Medicine. These works reflect a strong trend toward understanding psychosocial determinants of health in medical education and broader society.

Dr. MacArthur chairs the Social Science Research Commons (SSRC) steering committee, supporting interdisciplinary research at UNO. She is actively involved in pedagogical research, examining how statistics anxiety impacts academic performance across gender. While no specific awards are listed, her scholarly output and service demonstrate significant academic engagement.

She advises students through her academic role and contributes to research mentorship. Her lab or team involvement is centered around the SSRC, which fosters collaborative research across disciplines. She continues to expand her work on loneliness and mental health in post-pandemic contexts.