My principal research interests lie at the intersection of the social history of health and women and development. I explore how health practices, beliefs, and institutions are shaped by social, cultural, and gendered dynamics, with particular attention to women’s roles as both caregivers and agents of development. My work also examines how spaces associated with death and memory — such as cemeteries — offer valuable insights into public health systems, disease patterns, and community responses to mortality. Focusing on Abeokuta in southwest Nigeria, I have investigated how cemeteries reflect broader historical trends in sanitation, urban governance, and public health interventions, revealing the complex relationship between environment, health, and society.

O.O. Thompson, A.S. Afolabi, O.G.F. Nwaorgu & R.R Aduradola (2020) ‘Oku Mi Ko Gbodo Sun Ita’: (Mis)appropriation of burial sites and public cemeteries among indigenous people of Egba, South-western Nigeria’, Ethnic Studies Review, 43:1, 125-144.

O.O. Thompson, I.A. Jawondo & A.S. Afolabi (2019) ‘Drawing a line in the sand: British colonial response to the emergence and activities of indigenous prophets in Western Nigeria, c1931-1951’, Lagos Historical Review, 19, 53-70.

O.O. Thompson, M. Obi, E.O. Ademola, O.S. Aina, F.B. Alakija & B.J. Jinadu (2023) ‘“Whether human or animal, they must die by fire”; beliefs, campaigns and abuses against witchcraft beliefs in Nigeria’, Icheke Journal of the Faculty of Humanities, 21:2, 269-280.