Margee Kerr, PhD is a Part-time Faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kerr earned her PhD from University of Pittsburgh where she specialized in the sociology of health and illness. Her interdisciplinary research examines the intersections between health, society, and individual experience, with particular attention to how social structures influence health outcomes and healthcare delivery. Her work and research spans diverse areas within medical sociology including working on initiatives to address systemic disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, and research on "recreational fear," exploring the cultural and psychological mechanisms through which individuals and societies benefit from engaging in controlled ‘scary’ experiences. In addition to teaching, Dr. Kerr works with a global health organization dedicated to improving chronic respiratory care through upstream, system-level interventions. This work reflects her broader commitment to understanding how structural changes in healthcare delivery can improve patient outcomes.
Courses Taught at Pitt
- SOC 0471 - Deviance and Social Control
- SOC 0477 - Medical Sociology
- SOC 1450 - Health and Illness
Representative Publications
• Evans A, VanWyk J, Kerr M, et al. (2025). Practical strategies for achieving system change in the US: lessons and insights from the CONQUEST quality improvement programme. Primary Health Care Research & Development; 26:e50. doi:10.1017/S1463423625100170.
• Kerr, M., Tarabichi, Y. … Price, D. (2023). Patterns of care in the management of high-risk COPD in the US (2011-2019): an observational study for the CONQUEST quality improvement program. Lancet regional health. Americas, 24, 100546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2023.100546.
• Kerr, M., Siegle, G. J., & Orsini, J. (2018). Voluntary arousing negative experiences (VANE): Why we like to be scared. Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000470
• Kerr, Margee & Linda McRobbie Rodriguez (2021) Ouch: Why Pain Hurts, and Why It Doesn’t Have To. London, Bloomsbury Press.
• Kerr, Margee (2015) Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear. New York, PublicAffairs Books.