Kate O'Loughlin

Dr O’Loughlin is a Senior Lecturer in Health Sociology in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney as well as Director of the Faculty’s Off-shore Programs offered in Singapore. While Dr O’Loughlin has been in a senior management role since 2000 she has maintained a research and teaching profile. She is a member of the Faculty’s research teams in: Ageing, Health, and Services; Health Professions and the Workplace; Occupational Performance.

Dr O’Loughlin’s primary research interest is in ageing with a focus on behaviours and exposures across the life course and the effect of these on health outcomes in later life. Her other research interests are in occupational health, specifically the injury and rehabilitation of mature aged workers, and in workplace practice issues related to health care professionals. In a consulting capacity, Dr O’Loughlin (with Dr Ev Innes) provided the Department of Education, Employment and Work Relations with a case study on OHS changes for older workers for their Jobwise website. She is currently involved in projects analyzing data related to life transitions and social pathways and the effect of these on health, as well as ageing and disability (hearing loss). These projects are based on data from the Melbourne Longitudinal Surveys of Healthy Ageing (MELSHA) and the ABS Disability and Carers Survey respectively.

Dr O’Loughlin is a Chief Investigator on the ARC-funded Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia research project being conducted in collaboration with National Seniors Association, the US AARP, and La Trobe and Melbourne Universities.

In addition to her research and university service, Dr O’Loughlin supervises research students from a range of health professional backgrounds at both Honours and doctoral level. She currently supervises students engaged in projects related to: ageing and the life course; residential care options in aged care; professional practice in health care; and occupational health and injury management. She also teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Her teaching interests are in the areas of health sociology, occupational health and rehabilitation and research methods and statistics.