Dr Myriam Dell’Olio is a Lecturer in Primary Care at Hull York Medical School. She leads research on the knowledge work of person-centred care, which looks at how clinicians, patients and communities develop, use and share knowledge in UK primary care. She is currently Hull York Medical School lead for the ARC2 Delivering Care Closer to Home theme, which looks at how to support the shift of care from hospital into the community. She also leads the ICAHR Grant and Fellowship Workshop series and is a member of the departmental PPI strategy board.
Myriam trained as a Speech and Language Therapist at the University of Foggia, Italy. She then worked in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation service for children and adults with complex health and social needs. She went on to complete an MSc in Health and Society in the Netherlands, using life-course qualitative methods to explore the experiences of young adults with disabilities.
She completed her PhD in Medical Sciences at Hull York Medical School. Her PhD used phenomenological methods to define person-centred primary care from the perspective of people living with complex, chronic conditions. From this work she developed the concept of epistemic reciprocity: how patients and clinicians build and share knowledge together in consultations. Researchers outside the UK have since used the concept, including in work on deep listening in the US, reflective practice in Japan and chronic pain care in Switzerland.
After her PhD, she worked as a Research Fellow and led the evaluation of CATALYST. CATALYST was a career development programme in advanced generalist medicine for new-to-practice GPs across Humber Coast and Vale. Her evaluation shaped how the programme developed, and the programme went on to win the University of Hull Knowledge Exchange Partnership Award. It was also a finalist for HSJ Workforce Initiative of the Year 2024.
Her methodological expertise is in qualitative research, including ethnography, interpretative phenomenological analysis, thematic and framework analysis, and qualitative evidence synthesis. She also works on mixed-methods evaluation of complex interventions and on co-produced research with communities and public contributors. She holds Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) status.
Assessment co-lead for the Health and Society & Professionalism theme, MB BS programme.
Module teaching on the MB BS Phase 1 SSIP: ‘Understanding Dementia: Exploring Lived Experience through Research’.
Qualitative Methods sessions for Gateway Year.
Undergraduate and postgraduate research project and dissertation supervision.
View Myriam's publications on ORCID.
Selected publications
- Reeve, J., Megson, M., Boczko, R., Machin, A. and Dell’Olio, M. (2026). Generalist medicine: Shifting the focus from knowledge to knowledge-work. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice.
- Dell’Olio, M. and Reeve, J. (2024). Supporting the primary care workforce through training in advanced generalist practice: An evaluation of the Catalyst program. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 44(4), 242–248.
- Dell’Olio, M. and Reeve, J. (2024). Addressing hidden tensions and grey areas of general practice: a qualitative study of the experiences of newly qualified GPs attending a course on generalist medicine. British Journal of General Practice.
- Dell’Olio, M., Whybrow, P. and Reeve, J. (2023). Examining the knowledge work of person-centred care: Towards epistemic reciprocity. Patient Education and Counseling, 107, 107575.
- Dell’Olio, M., Pask, S., Seymour, J. and Reeve, J. (2020). What do the healthcare experiences of people with long-term conditions tell us about person-centred care? A systematic review. European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare, 7(4), 596–613.
Myriam works with academic, NHS and community partners across the UK and internationally, including ICB colleagues, VCSE organisations, Patient Participation Groups and public contributors.
Current and recent collaborations include:
- ARC2 Care Closer to Home theme: HYMS theme lead, working with colleagues at the University of Sheffield and the University of Southampton.
- Optimal TIMES: a collaboration between Hull York Medical School and the University of Exeter.
- PRISM Network: An international community of practice for sharing knowledge and improving the teaching and learning of generalist medicine across countries and health systems.
- Co-supervisor for Doctoral Student – Ms Molly Megson
- PhD Research Title: The knowledge-shaping practices of PPI partners in dementia research, examined through the lens of epistemic injustice
Myriam is happy to discuss supervision with students interested in qualitative research in primary care settings. Topics range from workforce training, motivation and recruitment to clinical decision-making, community engagement and person-centred care.
Selected conference presentations
- Dell’Olio, M. (2026). Making knowledge-work visible to help sustain future primary care: Optimising the implementation of evidence in routine general practice. Oral presentation, 54th SAPC Annual Scientific Meeting, University of St Andrews, 24–26 June 2026.
- Uduh, E., Rebecca, D. and Dell’Olio, M. (2026). Bridging communities and primary care staff to improve research involvement: What works, what gets in the way, and what can shape future practice. Workshop, 54th SAPC Annual Scientific Meeting, University of St Andrews, 24–26 June 2026.
- Dell’Olio, M. (2025). Optimising the implementation of research evidence in general practice: findings from the Optimal TIMES study. Poster, BJGP Research and Publishing Conference, Manchester, 21 March 2025.
- Dell’Olio, M. (2023). Supporting and retaining new to practice GPs through training in advanced generalist medicine: An evaluation of the Catalyst programme. Oral presentation, 51st SAPC Annual Scientific Meeting, Brighton, 18–20 July 2023.
- Dell’Olio, M. (2022). Examining the knowledge work of primary care consultations to strengthen person-centred primary care. Oral presentation, SAPC North Conference, University of Sheffield, November 2022.
- Dell’Olio, M. (2020). What do the healthcare experiences of people with long-term conditions tell us about person-centred care? A systematic review. Invited oral presentation, European Society for Person Centered Healthcare Annual Conference, University of West London, February 2020.
Knowledge exchange
- Presented findings from the Research Engagement Network project at the Hull York Medical School Allam Medical Lecture 2026
- Co-hosted community workshops for the Humber and North Yorkshire Research Engagement Network, bringing together Patient Participation Groups, patient support groups, VCSE organisations, primary care staff and ICB representatives to identify shared priorities for local primary care research