Rate My Professor Jonathan Kennedy

Dr Jonathan Kennedy is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice at the University of Otago, Wellington, where he serves as Postgraduate Primary Health Care Programme Leader, Undergraduate Programme Leader, and 4th Year Module Convenor. As a general practitioner at Newtown Union Health Service in Wellington, he has acted as the designated doctor for the refugee team since 2005, coordinating care for newly arrived and established refugees and their families alongside a nurse and social worker. Kennedy earned his MBChB from the University of Otago in 1997, followed by postgraduate diplomas in Obstetrics (Dip Obs), Child Health (DCH), and Public Health (DPH), a BSc, and Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (FRNZCGP) in 2007. His career includes clinical teaching for University of Otago medical students since 2008, international field experience with Médecins Sans Frontières in South Sudan and Sri Lanka in the early 2000s, and prior medical work in the Solomon Islands. He retains links with the Wellington public health unit and contributes to governance at Newtown Union Health Service to support continuity of care for vulnerable populations in Wellington South.

Kennedy's research interests center on the interface between primary health care and public health, particularly the primary health care needs of refugee and migrant arrivals to New Zealand. He participates in collaborative research projects within the department and beyond. Notable publications include "Developing integrated extended pharmacist roles and services for equitable access and outcomes in primary healthcare: A realist evaluation" (Officer et al., International Journal of Health Policy & Management, 2025), "Primary care clinicians' perspectives on migraine management in Aotearoa New Zealand: A qualitative study" (Randerson et al., Journal of Primary Health Care, 2025), "Consequences of barriers to primary health care for children and caregivers" (Jeffreys et al., SSM - Population Health, 2022), and "Refugee-like migrants have similar health needs to refugees" (Kennedy et al., BJGP Open, 2020). In 2024, he co-authored "Refugee Health Care: A Handbook for Health and Social Care Providers." Kennedy has served as an expert consultant for the World Health Organization's Health and Migration Programme on "Refugee and Migration Health: Global Competency Standards for Health Workers." In recognition of 20 years at Newtown Union Health Service, including roster duties and expertise for public health, he received the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners Community Service Medal in 2025. He co-convenes the distance-taught postgraduate paper GENA720 Refugee and Migrant Health.