Kirstie McAllum is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha |the University of Canterbury in Aotearoa New Zealand. She uses engaged qualitative methods to study how paid and unpaid workers in health and social care contexts intersubjectively give meaning to their work and collectively construct workplace relationships that foster collaboration, compassion, and access to meaningful work for all. A recent research collaboration examines how the expertise of family caregivers from minority cultural groups living in Montreal, Canada is integrated into discussions with health professionals when deciding on an older adult’s care plan. Another project explores how incorporating “danced moments” into a palliative care unit transforms the use of space, the sense of self, and relationships with others. Kirstie joined the Carework Network Steering Committee in 2017 and helped organize the Second Global Summit in Toronto in 2019.

Select Publications:

McAllum, Kirstie, Marta M. Elvira and Marta Villamor Martin. 2024. “‘I only tell them the good parts:’ How relational others influence paid careworkers’ descriptions of their work as meaningful.” Management Communication Quarterly 38(1): 171-202. (Video summary)

Simpson, Mary, Kirstie McAllum, John Oetzel, Kay Berryman and Rangimahora Reddy. 2022. 

“Older Māori perspectives of end-of-life family care: Whānau carers as cultural knowledge holders, weavers and navigators.” Palliative Care and Social Practice 16: 1-16. 

McAllum, Kirstie, Mary Simpson, Christine Unson, Stephanie Fox and Kelley Kilpatrick. 2021. “The socialization of unpaid family caregivers: A scoping review.” Research on Aging, 43(7-8): 263-273.