Rate My Professor Judith McHugh

McHugh's research interests are primarily focused on public health and primary health care. Her publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on wellbeing, rural health, and the experiences of healthcare workers and aging populations in New Zealand. Notable works include 'Conceptualising wellbeing among health-care workers during the Covid-19 pandemic' (Health, 2025, co-authored with Paul Trotman, Helen D. Nicholson, and Kelby Smith-Han), which utilized interviews with 57 healthcare professionals across multiple countries to analyze wellbeing through Capability Theory, identifying key capabilities such as positive relationships, professional identity, and effective care provision. She also co-authored 'Rurality and latent precarity: Growing older in a small rural New Zealand town' (Journal of Rural Studies, 2023) and 'Wellbeing and health in a small New Zealand rural community: Assets, capabilities and being rural-fit' (Journal of Rural Studies, 2022), both with Chrystal Jaye, Fiona Doolan-Noble, and Lincoln C. Wood. These studies examine assets and challenges in rural communities, including precarity among older residents. Through her research and administrative contributions in the Division of Health Sciences' medical programs, McHugh supports teaching, clinical practice, and investigations into mental and psychological health aspects intertwined with primary care.