Peer-Reviewed Publications
Investing in research and innovation is a high priority for VHA Home HealthCare (VHA). Below are the peer-reviewed publications our research and innovation team have worked on in previous years. Publishing in peer-reviewed journals allows VHA's researchers to share their findings with the academic community and contribute to ongoing dialogues to advance knowledge, foster innovation, and maintain high standards within the scientific community.
To see more of VHA's academic productivity, visit our Research Grants page.
2025
Zagrodney KAP, King EC, & McKay SM (2025). Two gateways to understanding the health workforce: insights from working with organizational and population-level data. Healthcare Management Forum. DOI: 10.1177/08404704251361919
Moreira N, Nizzer S, McKay SM, Holness DL, & King EC (2025). Who Meets the Emotional Support Needs of Home Care Workers? Characterizing Help-Seeking Practices and Preferences in the Workplace. Journal of Applied Gerontology. DOI: 10.1177/07334648251381410
Zagrodney KAP, Jaffe R, McKay SM, Mangal K, Van Belle TA, Nichol KA, & King EC (2025). Scheduling, Income, and School Closures: Unlocking the Key Drivers of Home Care Personal Support Unplanned Absences Through Time-to-Event Regression Analysis. Journal of Applied Gerontology. DOI:10.1177/07334648251316973
Nizzer S, Moreira NA, Mohammed ECTL, Bruno F, McKay SM, Holness DL, & King EC (2025). Workplace Challenges and Support Needs Experienced by Nurse Leaders in Home and Community Care During the COVID‑19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study. Inquiry. DOI:10.1177/00469580251329794
Rabeenthira P, Zagrodney KAP, King EC, Nichol KA, & McKay SM (2025). What Drove Clients' Decisions to Pause Personal Homecare Services Before and During the Pandemic? Health Services Insights. DOI:10.1177/11786329251335877
Wong MC, D’Souza JE, Nizzer S, Heer T, Providence G, Fry D, Li-James S, Sundaralingam B, De Biasio L, Chan TA, Woode P, & King EC (2025). The VHA Interprofessional Collaboration Competency Framework for Home Healthcare: Development and Implementation Requirements in Ontario, Canada. Home Health Care Management & Practice. DOI:10.1177/10848223251354881
Krassikova A, Yeung L, Bethell J, Puts M, McKay SM, Guilcher S, Kuluski K, & McGilton KS (2025). Unpacking the dynamics of transitional care units in Ontario, Canada. Gerontologist. DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnaf155
Nowrouzi‑Kia B, King EC, Edwards B, Nizzer S, Yazdani A, Gohar B, Bani‑Fatemi A, Howe A, Fayyaz Y, Ubhi S, & Chattu VK (2025). Examining Factors Associated with Job Satisfaction Among Homecare Rehabilitation Professionals Transitioning Out of the COVID‑19 Pandemic in Ontario, Canada. International Perspectives on Health Equity. DOI:10.1108/IPHEE-12-2024-0056
2024
Edwards B, Perera E, King EC, McKay SM, & Ruco A (2024). Enhancing Physical Activity Recommendations to Support Cognition in Homecare: A Quality Improvement Project. Home Health Care Management and Practice. DOI: 10.1177/10848223241247837
King EC, Chan J, Benn A, Van Belle TA, Michener M, & McKay SM. (2024). Shifting the Safety Culture: Evaluation of a Novel Approach to Understanding and Responding to Workplace Harassment and Violence Experienced by Homecare Workers. Workplace Health & Safety. DOI:10.1177/216507992412321
King EC, Van Belle TA, Zagrodney KAP, McKay SM, Giosa J, Holubiec I, Holness DL, & Nichol KA. (2024) Factors influencing Self-reported Facial Protective Equipment adherence amongst Home Care Nurses and Personal Support Workers – A multi-site study. American Journal of Infection Control. DOI:10.1016/j.ajic.2024.06.005
Nizzer S, Baliga S, McKay SM, Holness DL, & King EC (2024). Sustaining a Workforce: Reflections on Work from Home and Community Care Nurses Transitioning out of the COVID-19 Pandemic. SAGE Open Nursing, 10, 1-13. DOI:10.1177/23779608241264162
Van Belle TA, King EC, Roy M, Michener M, Hung V, Zagrodney KAP, McKay SM, Holness DL, & Nichol KA. (2024) Factors influencing nursing professionals’ adherence to facial protective equipment usage: A comprehensive review. American Journal of Infection Control. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2024.04.006
Bruno F, Nizzer S, Moreira NA, Martin T, King EC, & McKay SM (2024). Developing and Retaining Homecare Nurses Through Employer-Based Tuition Assistance Programs: A Mixed Methods Study. Journal of Community Health Nursing. DOI:10.1080/07370016.2024.2314077
Connelly DM, Garnett A, Prentice K, Hay ME, Guitar NA, Snobelen N, Smith-Carrier T, McKay SM, King EC, Calver J, & Sinha S (2024). Resilience for working in Ontario Home and Community Care: Registered Practical Nurses need the support of themselves, family and clients, and employers. BMC Journal of Health Services Research. DOI:10.1186/s12913-024-11635-3
Connelly DM, Guitar NA, Garnett A, Smith-Carrier T, Prentice K, Calver J, King EC, McKay SM, Pearson D, Sinha S, & Snobelen N (2024). A Leave of Absence Might Not Be a Bad Thing: Registered Practical Nurses Working in Home Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Home Health Care Management and Practice. DOI:10.1177/10848223241232408
Connelly DM, Guitar NA, Van Belle TA, McKay SM, King EC (2024). Factors Influencing Nurses’ Decisions to Leave or Remain in the Home and Community Care Sector During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Healthcare 2024, 12, 2212. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12222212
Howe A, Tan J, Khan R, Li A, Edwards B, King EC, Nizzer S, Gohar B, Yazdani A, Bani-Fatem A, Chattu V, Sinclair L, Kay M, & Nowrouzi-Kia B (2024). The effects of occupational and mental stress among home care rehabilitation professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic: An exploratory qualitative study. Home Health Care Management and Practice. DOI:10.1177/10848223231225246
Kalles EA, King EC, & Holyoke P (2024). How High Performing Personal Support Workers Set and Maintain Boundaries When Providing Care: A Case Study in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Applied Gerontology. DOI:10.1177/07334648241263500
Nowrouzi-Kia B, King EC, Edwards B, Nizzer S, Yazdani A, Gohar B, Bani-Fatemi A, Howe AS, Fayyaz Y, Alam B, Khan R, & Chattu VK (2024). Burnout and occupational stress of home care rehabilitation professionals transitioning out of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. DOI:10.1177/03080226241269251
Rand M, Pelchat J, Levine IC, Montgomery RE, Greene RM, King EC, Pong SM, & Novak AC (2024). Efficacy of installation of temporary bathing transfer aids by older adults. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. DOI:10.1177/23337214241237119
Senthinathan A, Tadrous M, Hussain S, Ahmad A, Chu C, Craven C.B, Jaglal SB, Moineddin R, Cadel L, Noonan VK, Shepherd J, McKay SM, Tu K, & Guilcher SJT (2024). COVID-19 and Mortality in the Spinal Cord Injury Population: Examining the Impact of Sex, Mental Health, and Injury Etiology. Healthcare. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12192002
Senthinathan A, Tadrous M, Mmath SH, McKay SM, Moineddin R, Chu C, Jaglal SB, Shepherd J, Cadel L, Noonan VK, Craven BC, Tu K, & Guilcher SJT. (2024). Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homecare services among individuals with traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injuries. Spinal Cord. DOI: 10.1038/s41393-024-00999-2
Shaw J, Nizzer S, & McKay SM. (2024). Technology, Aging and Home and Community Care: Picking the Right Problems to Solve. Healthcare Papers. DOI:10.12927/hcpap.2024.27400
2023
King EC, Zagrodney KAP, McKay SM, Holness DL, & Nichol KA (2023). Determinants of nurse's and personal support worker’s adherence to facial protective equipment in a community setting during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada: A pilot study. Am J Infect Control. 2022: S0196-6553(22)00577-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.07.021
King EC, Zagrodney KAP, Rabeenthira P, Van Belle TA, & McKay SM (2023). Why did home care Personal Support service volumes drop during the COVID-19 pandemic? The contributions of client choice and Personal Support Worker availability. Health Services Insights. DOI: 10.1177/11786329231210692
McKay SM, Konan M, Tedesco S, Turriff T, Michener M, & King EC (2023). Optimizing weekend schedules in home health care: The Essential Care on Weekends for Personal Support Quality Improvement Project. Home Healthcare Management & Practice. DOI: 10.1177/10848223231183091
McKay SM, Mohammed ECTL, Roy M, Hung V, Wong M, Lum B, & King EC (2023). Is 911 The Answer? A retrospective review of emergency medical service use by home care providers. Health Services Insights. DOI: 10.1177/11786329231178767
Nizzer S, Ruco A, Moreira N, Holness DL, Nichol KA, King EC, & McKay SM (2023). “You have to be careful about every detail”: How the COVID-19 pandemic shaped the experiences of Canadian personal support workers working in home care. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002911
Zagrodney KAP, King EC, Simon D, Nichol KA, & McKay SM (2023). A good investment: Expanding capacity to care for older adults in the home and community care sector through increased Personal Support Worker wages. Canadian Journal on Aging. DOI: 10.1017/S0714980823000557
Zagrodney KAP, King EC, Mohammed ECTL, Nichol KA, & Holness DL (2023). Occupational Hand Dermatitis in HealthCare: Development and Evaluation of an Online Training E-module. Dermatitis. DOI: 10.1089/derm.2023.0012
Zagrodney KAP, King EC, Simon D, Nichol KA, & McKay SM (2023). Economic Evidence in Support of Home and Community Care Sector Investment: The Case for Ontario Personal Support Workers Wage Parity. HealthCare Policy. DOI: 10.12927/hcpol.2023.27161
Marani H, Allin S, McKay SM, & Marchildon P (2023). The financial risks of unpaid caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a self-reported survey in a Canadian jurisdiction. Health Services Insights, 16. DOI: 10.1177/11786329221144889
Moattari M, King EC, & Ruco A (2023). Whole versus hole: Enabling community nurses to implement holistic wound care. Journal of Wound Care. DOI: 10.12968/jowc.2023.32.11.748
Saragosa M, Nizzer S, McKay SM, & Kuluski K (2023). The hospital-to-home care transition experience of home care clients: an exploratory study using patient journey mapping. BMC Health Services Research. DOI: 10.1186/s12913-023-09899-2
Saragosa M, Zagrodney KAP, Rabeenthira P, King EC, & McKay SM (2023). How might we have known? Using administrative data to predict 30-day hospital readmission in clients receiving home care services from 2018 to 2021. Health Services Insights. DOI: 10.1177/11786329231211774
Senthinathan A, Tadrous M, Hussain S, Craven B. C, Jaglal S, Moineddin R, Shepherd J, Cadel L, Noonan V, McKay SM, Tu K, & Guilcher S (2023). Examining the impact of COVID-19 on health care utilization among persons with chronic spinal cord injury/dysfunction: a population study. Spinal Cord. DOI: 10.1038/s41393-023-00930-1
2022
King EC, Zagrodney KAP, McKay SM, Holness DL, & Nichol KA (2022). Determinants of nurse's and personal support worker's adherence to facial protective equipment in a community setting during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada: A pilot study. American Journal of Infection Control. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.07.021
McKay SM, King EC, & Nichol KA (2022). Create and Sustain a Culture of Curiosity: A Case Study of a Large Home Care Organization in Toronto, Canada. HealthCare Quarterly. DOI: 10.12927/hcq.2022.26940
Ruco A, Nichol KA, Edwards B, Roy M, Morgan D, Holness DL, & McKay SM (2022). Spot It, Prevent It: Evaluation of a Rapid Response Algorithm for Managing Workplace Violence Among Home Care Workers. Workplace health & safety. DOI: 10.1177/21650799221110891
Ruco A, Pinto AD, Ho JW, Nisembaum R, Bellicoso E, Hassen N, Hanna A, Muntaner C, & Holness DL (2022). Collecting occupation and hazards information in primary care using O*NET. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. DOI: 10.1002/ajim.23420
Zagrodney KAP, King EC, Nichol KA, & Holness DL (2022). Occupational Dermatitis – What’s New. OOHNA Journal.
Keilty K, Chu S, Balibi A, Wong MC, & McKay SM (2022). Case Study: Achieving “Hands-On” Practice for Remote Family Caregivers and Homecare Nurses of Children with Medical Complexity. Nursing Leadership. DOI: 10.12927/cjnl.2022.26754
Levine IC, Lau ST, King EC, & Novak AC (2022). Consumer perspectives on grab bars: A Canadian national survey of grab bar acceptability. Frontiers in Public Health 10:915100 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.915100
2021
Jensen M, Junod C, Fatemi N, Liew K, Ulaj E, Bean C, Nixon SA, & McKay SM (2021). Navigating the Grey Zone of Physiotherapy Assistant Autonomy in Home Care: Perspectives of Physiotherapists and Physiotherapy Assistants. Physiotherapy Canada. DOI: 10.3138/ptc-2021-0003
Marani H, McKay SM, & Marchildon G (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on the organization of personal support work in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Long Term Care. DOI: 10.31389/jltc.70
McGilton K, Vellani S, Krassikova A, Robertson S, Irwin C, Cumal A, Bethell J, Bronskill S, Burr E, Keating, M, McKay SM, Nichol KA, Puts M, Singh A, Wodchis W, & Sidani S (2021). Understanding transitional care programs for older adults who experience delayed discharge: A Scoping Review. BMC Health Services Research. DOI: 10.1186/s12877-021-02099-9
Ruco A, Nichol KA, Morassaei S, Bola R, & Di Prospero L (2021). Supporting discovery and inquiry: A Canadian hospital’s approach to building research and innovation capacity in point-of-care health professionals. Quality Management in Healthcare Journal. DOI: 10.1097/qmh.0000000000000294
2020
Nizzer S, Ryan S, & McKay SM (2020). The little things: Exploring perceptions and experiences of client and family-centred care through photovoice. Patient Experience Journal. 2020; 7(1):31-43. DOI: 10.35680/2372-0247.1368.
Downey S, McKay SM, & Feng P (2020). Towards Value in an Integrated Care Environment: Early Lessons from an Ontario Health Team. Healthcare Papers. 2020 Feb 29;19(1):11-8. DOI: 10.12927/hcpap.2020.26159
Gordon D, McKay SM, Marchildon G, Bhatia RS, & Shaw J (2020). Collaborative Governance for Integrated Care: Insights from a Policy Stakeholder Dialogue. International Journal of Integrated Care, 2020; 20(1): 3, 1-11. DOI: 10.5334/ijic.4684
Kim B, McKay SM, & Lee J (2020). Consumer-Grade Wearable Device for Predicting Frailty in Canadian Home Care Service Clients: Prospective Observational Proof-of-Concept Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2020. DOI: 10.2196%2F19732
Plummer C, Ruco A, Smith KA, Chandler J, Ash P, McMillan S, Di Prospero L, & Nichol KA (2020). Building capacity in health professionals to conduct quality improvement: evaluation and insights from a collaborative multi-organizational program. Journal of Nursing Care Quality. DOI: 10.1097/ncq.0000000000000520
2019
2018
Bethell J, Puts M, Sattar S, Andrew M, Clarke B, Cowan M, DeAngelis C, Elliott J, Fitch M, Frank C, Hominick K, Keatings M, McElhaney J, McKay SM, Pitters E, Ploeg J, Sidani S, & McGilton K (2018). The Canadian Frailty Priority Setting Partnership: Research priorities for older adults living with frailty. Canadian Geriatrics Journal, 22(1), 23-33. DOI: 10.5770/cgj.22.336
Duncan A, Guan Q, Senthinathan A, Wojtak A, Seddon G, & McKay SM (2018). The economics of home safety assessments: How researchers used existing research data to complete an economic evaluation. Occupational Therapy Now, 20(4), 18-20. https://caot.ca/document/6248/OTNow_July_18.pdf#page=20
Nichol KA, McKay SM, Ruco A, & Holness DL (2018). Testing the Hand Dermatitis Screening Tool in the Home Health Care Sector. Home Health Care Management & Practice, 30(4), 179-186. DOI: 10.1177/1084822318780012
2016
Pauley T, Gargaro J, Chenard G, Cavanaugh H, & McKay SM (2016). Home-based diabetes self-management coaching delivered by paraprofessionals: A randomized controlled trial. Home Health Care Services Quarterly, 35(3-4), 137-154. DOI: 10.1080/01621424.2016.1264339
Shaw J, Bastawrous M, Burns S, & McKay SM (2016). System issues leading to ‘found on floor’ incidents: A multi-incident analysis. Journal of Patient Safety, 00(00), 1-6. DOI: 10.1097/PTS.0000000000000294
Shaw J, Glenns B, Kierney C, & McKay SM (2016). Interprofessional Team Building in Palliative Home Care Setting: Use of a Conceptual Framework to Inform a Pilot Evaluation. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 30(2): 262-264. DOI: 10.3109/13561820.2015.1115395