Dr Caroline Kamau-Mitchell

Overview

Highlights

• I research the occupational health of doctors, and the implications of illnesses and mental disorders for patients returning to or finding work. My research has had an impact on how several hospitals support the occupational health of doctors based on an intervention developed through a randomized-controlled trial e.g., the Royal Berkshire hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham, BARTS Health NHS Trust, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay, and the NHS Practitioner Health Programme, a confidential service for doctors in distress. I engage with stakeholders in medicine and the UK government. One of my reports in inspired Parliament to change legislation, and I have influenced government inquiries into occupational health issues such as the impact of long covid on the UK workforce.

  My research has been covered in The Guardian, Times and BBC, with some articles ranking in the top 5% of outputs within Altmetrics in terms of their impact. I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, and I lead Birkbeck's Brainstorming Grants Group (BGG), a learning programme for academics featuring speakers who are global pioneers such as Nobel Prize winners and Fellows of the Royal Society.

  I have published many journal articles, 2 books, and I am currently working on a third book.

• Sample publications:

  Kamau-Mitchell, C. (2025) Body cameras and panic alarms for doctors could help deter violence and harassment. BMJ (British Medical Journal) 2025;388:r529 [Impact factor = 93.7]

  Kamau-Mitchell, C. (2024) Global implications of deprivation, hospitalization, and mortality. Quarterly Journal of Medicine, 117(6), 476–477. [Impact factor = 13.3].

  Kamau-Mitchell, C. Bin Waleed, K. and Gallagher, M.M. (2024). Global meta‐analysis of physicians' experiences of workplace sexual harassment by patients. Internal Medicine Journal, 54(10, 1760-1764 

  Kamau-Mitchell, C. & Lopes, B. (2023) Importance of occupational support for NHS patients with mental illness. Occupational Medicine, 73(9), 528–531. [Impact factor = 5.1]

  Kamau-Mitchell, C., & Lopes, B. (2023). Mental illness and unemployment-related mortality. The Lancet Psychiatry, 10(8), 583-584. [Impact factor = 30.8]

  Kamau-Mitchell, C. (2021). GPs need awareness about post-covid ME/CFS. British Medical Journal (BMJ), 374, 12;374:n1995 [Impact factor = 93.7]

• Kamau, C. (2019). Five ways media training helped me to boost the impact of my research. Nature, 567(7748):425-426. [Impact factor = 64.8]

  Kamau, C. (2017). Postpartum depression or psychosis and return to work. The Lancet Psychiatry, 4(2), 96-97. [Impact factor = 30.8]

  Kamau, C. (2017). Preparing patients with cancer who work and treatment responsiveness. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 7(1), 94-97.

  Kamau, C. (2015). Should clinical experience be a precondition for a job in NHS management? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 108(4), 120-1. [Impact factor = 16.3]

  Kamau, C. (2014).  Effects of experimental inductions for newly qualified doctors on competence at clinical procedures. Clinical Medicine, 14(4), 380-5.

Supervision and teaching

Supervision

My past PhD students include Dr. Asta Medisauskaite, a senior research fellow at UCL's medical school, Dr. Eduardo Dias, and Dr. Camelia Oancea, a machine learning engineer at Airbus Defence and Space. As principal supervisor, my doctoral students are:

• Bethan Norfor
• Carolann Edwards OBE
• Chris Attoe
• Humaira Anwer
• Lorraine Anderson-Cole
  
• Peter Wyllie

I second supervise the following doctoral students:

• Anna Niemczewska
• Ioana Parry
• Johanna Van Osch
• Krystle Thomas Vedat

My doctoral students research topics such as the occupational health of medical doctors and nurses, supporting doctors returning to work after sickness absence, distress among lawyers, management of ambulance care, and workplace factors relevant to patient care. I supervise many MSc dissertations each year on various topics.