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.
