Clinical Professor

Allan Kellehear is a medical and public health sociologist whose teaching, research, and practice interests focus upon death, dying, and end of life care. Originally from Sydney, Australia, he has previously held full professorships at universities in Australia, Japan, and the UK. Allan is widely recognized for the introduction and development of health promotion policies and practices for palliative care. His scholarship follows two complementary lines of work: (1) interdisciplinary studies investigating human conduct and experiences at the end of life; and (2) the application of health promotion policies and practices for aged, bereavement, and palliative care.

His health promotion approach is settings/place-based. The focus of this approach is on civic participation and support for end-of-life care through community development, social ecology, services redesign, civic policy development, and public education. Allan’s work in this area has been the academic and policy basis for the global Compassionate Communities and Cities movement within hospice/palliative care.

Publications

Some typical examples of recent work are listed below.

  • J. Abel & A. Kellehear (ed) (2022) Oxford Textbook of Public Health Palliative Care. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
  • A. Kellehear (2020) Visitors at the End of Life: Finding meaning and purpose in near-death phenomena. Columbia University Press, New York.
  • A. Kellehear (2019) Civic Partnerships in Palliative Care: Making the public health case. OMSORG: Scandinavian Journal of Palliative Medicine. (4), 5-9.
  • A. Kellehear (2017) Current social trends and challenges for the dying person. In N. Jakoby & M. Thonnes (eds) Zur Soziologie des Sterbens. Aktuelle theoretische und empirische Beiträge. (Sociology of Dying. Contemporary theoretical and empirical contributions) Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 11-27.
  • A. Kellehear (2016) The Compassionate City Charter: Inviting the cultural and social sectors into end-of-life care. In K. Wegleitner, K. Heimerl & A. Kellehear (eds) Compassionate Communities: Case studies from Britain and Europe. Abingdon: Routledge, 76-87.
  • A. Kellehear (2014) The Inner Life of the Dying Person. Columbia University Press, New York.
Allan Kellehear

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Death, dying & end-of-life care, social & policy perspectives on aging, health-promoting palliative care, medical sociology, Health Humanities

Education

  • Ph.D., Sociology; University of New South Wales, Australia
  • B.A., Sociology; University of New South Wales, Australia

Contact

Phone:
  • (802) 656-4049
Office Location:

310L Rowell Building

Office Hours:

By appointment

Courses Taught

  • Healthcare Ethics
  • Sociology of Death & Dying
  • Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Death & Dying