Jackie van Dael

Jackie is an interdisciplinary social scientist who utilises qualitative and ethnographic approaches to study healthcare, drawing on theory from medical sociology, social psychology, and science and technology studies.

She is interested in the organisation and delivery of healthcare and how this shapes the experiences of those working in and receiving care. Her current work involves the sociological study of technologies in healthcare, with a focus on how technological innovations restructure labour, affect patient-professional relations, and reshape notions of ‘good care’.

Jackie joined the department in 2022 to support the ethnographic work in the Together-2 study. Together-2 is a mixed-methods evaluation of video and hybrid group consultations in general practice (NIHR-funded), with collaborators from the Universities of York and Exeter (2022-2024). The work builds on previous research on video group consultations in Covid-19 (Health Foundation-funded study), as well as face-to-face group consultations in secondary care for young adults living with diabetes in socio-economically deprived settings (NIHR-funded study).

Prior to joining Oxford, she held several research and teaching positions at Imperial College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). During her previous post-doc role, she developed a cross-university programme of work to study patient-provider relations in the context of remote general practice, and won Imperial’s Seeds for Success competition for her proposed work.

Jackie completed her PhD in 2021 at Imperial College (in collaboration with LSE). Her thesis examined complaints and their handling in the NHS, with a focus on how patient and family narratives of harm can be used to drive organisational change in healthcare institutions.

Jackie is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has taught and supervised at postgraduate level. Her teaching has included topics such as culture, sensemaking, and communication in healthcare organisations, patient knowledge, and critical data studies.