Petra Mäkelä

I am a social scientist with clinical training. I draw on sociology of health and illness, health services research, and implementation science. I have experience in theory-guided evaluations, interactions between evidence, policy and practice, and co-productive approaches to research. These interests developed through my service improvement activities as a rehabilitation physician in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. In 2019, I completed a Professional Doctorate alongside my clinical work, addressing a policy and practice gap in conceptualisations of support for self-management. Since my transition into academia, I have gained experience in public health, and health & social care services research, at the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, before moving to Northumbria University in 2024. I also work clinically with the NGO Medical Justice.

My research interests encompass:

• Health and social care integration, including workforce development
• Complex intervention development, implementation and evaluation
• The lived experience of people who draw on care and support
• Trauma-informed approaches for forced migrants
• Knowledge mobilisation, particularly through academic-policy engagement.

I am interested in discussing PhD supervision in these (or related) areas, with potential applicants.