Kelly O’Neil, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Fellow
Kelly.ONeil@MSVU.CA
Kelly O’Neil is a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the NSCA and a CIHR Post-Doctoral Fellow with Nova Scotia Health Continuing Care. Dr. O’Neil holds a PhD in Educational Studies from St. Francis Xavier University (2024). Her doctoral thesis centred on the inclusion of older women from across Nova Scotia in the development of an audio podcast that explored their experiences of learning, personal identities, and histories. She also holds a Master’s degree in Gerontology and Family Studies from MSVU (2019). Her master’s research on housing insecurity among older women living with a low income in Halifax Regional Municipality garnered the university’s Graduate Thesis Award. She previously obtained a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Dalhousie University (2011) with an emphasis on critical, anti-oppressive practice.
Dr. O’Neil has extensive experience facilitating focus groups, conducting interviews, synthesizing findings, and reporting research results using language that is sensitive to a wide range of audiences. She has used various means of sharing research findings outside of an academic environment including an audio podcast and hand- illustrated booklets.
A passionate qualitative researcher, Dr. O’Neil has been a valuable member of the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging’s research team since 2017, working on projects focused on older workers, family/friend caregiving, and dementia education. Her current work with NSCA involves development of a webinar to share findings from the Homecare Pathways project.