Dr Kathleen Chell - Donor Research Network

Dr. Kathleen Chell

Featured Researcher

Kathleen is an active researcher within the nonprofit and social change sector. Having completed her PhD from Queensland University in Technology in 2016, Kathleen brings a marketing perspective to understanding and improving individual engagement in donation and other pro-social behaviours that benefit nonprofit organisations, society and the environment.

She combines qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in her current research looking at the use of technology to communicate, engage and recognise donors, social context and encouraging people to talk about donation activity.

Quick facts about Kathleen

What’s something that no one would guess about you?

My go to karaoke song is ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ by ACDC

What was the last TV show you binge-watched?

Charmed (reboot). I am a HUGE fan of the original series, but once the storyline changed enough, the reboot was very good as well!

What are your career highlights so far?

Receiving an ARC linkage grant on donors-recruit-donors strategies

Are you more of a "work to live" or a "live to work" type of person?

I love my job but also love to get away, so I’m probably both

Cats or dogs?

Dogs! I have two dog-kids (Bella and Bertie) that are always there to remind me when to take a break from work

Kathleen has been working on a program of research around the use of non-cash incentives to encourage blood donation. In her DoRN Week of Talks presentation, Kathleen summarises the studies and methods undertaken so far, and shares some of the key insights and conclusions that she and her colleagues have drawn across the program.

To access Kathleen’s talk for free, please click on the video below.

Q & As

The DoRN Week of Talks provided a unique opportunity to engage in an easy and convenient Q & A with presenters. Below we have listed the questions that we received for Kathleen, along with her answers.

Could you give some more insight in "health check" as a possible incentive for blood donation. Does this entail a free health check visit, or is this some sort of health report that includes information from the donation itself (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate etc.)? What type of information is part of this health check?

We define a health check as screening of health indicators (e.g., cholesterol, blood pressure) conducted as part of the standard blood donation process, and such health information would then be provided to donors. Other research on health checks has also included tests for infectious diseases (e.g., AIDS, HIV). Research has also shown a disconnect between attitudes and behaviour in response to health check incentives; in that, a lot of donors view health checks positively, but don’t necessarily donate blood to receive it (see Goette L, Stutzer A, Yavuzcan G, et al. Free cholesterol testing as a motivation device in blood donations: evidence from field experiments. Transfusion 2009; 49:524-31).