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Casey House collaboratively studies the care of people living with HIV and contributes to best practices in health care and health equity. We partner with leading academics and organizations to conduct research, generate unique insights, and transfer knowledge through conference presentations, journal articles and community education events.

Research at Casey House adheres to GIPA principles, is ethical, rigorous and client-centred. To learn more about research in progress, access the full text of publications, or suggest ideas for future research projects, contact Yasser Ismail, director of data strategy and knowledge.

Multipurpose Resilience Assessment Tool

The Multipurpose Resilience Assessment Tool (MRAT) is the hospital’s standardized intake, follow up, program planning and evaluation tool. Utilizing the principles of transformative evaluation, the MRAT was designed by an interprofessional working group as an integrated client engagement, assessment and follow up tool that also generates holistic health data.

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PUBLISHED RESEARCH

Improving care for people with complex health needs

Health care utilization in medically complex people living with HIV before and after community facility admission

How can being in a holistic health environment reduce the severity of complex health needs from further developing, and how could this shift in client wellbeing translate into mitigated provincial cost-savings?

People living with HIV and multiple comorbidities have high rates of health service use, which as a result, has a higher associated cost on our health care system. This longitudinal comparison study published in CMAJ Open (2021) evaluates how clients utilize the health care system before and after admission to a community facility focused on HIV care.

Continuing care after hospital discharge

The lived experience of the hospital discharge “plan”: A longitudinal qualitative study of complex patients in the Journal of Hospital Medicine (2017)

Clients leaving inpatient programs can struggle to maintain their health and care plans. This paper calls for a closer look at hospital discharge plans for complex patients and how hospitals can facilitate a smooth transition back in the community. This paper was chosen as the ‘editor’s pick’ in the January issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

Role of exercise in HIV care

Are you ready? Exploring readiness to engage in exercise among people living with HIV and multimorbidity in Toronto, Canada: a qualitative study in BMJ Open (2016)

Exercise can help people manage the challenges associated with HIV and multiple morbidities. This paper explores readiness to engage in exercise and the factors that influence it, and the role of health and social service providers in promoting exercise.

Casey House includes physiotherapy in our health services.

Role of physical therapy in HIV care

Where and how does physical therapy fit? Integrating physical therapy into interprofessional HIV care in Disability and Rehabilitation (2018)

The role of physical therapy in HIV care is multidimensional and client-centered and can address health challenges in physical, social and psychological health domains. This paper includes a Framework of Physical Therapy Role in HIV Care that can be used by rehabilitation professionals working with people living with HIV.

HIV care for people living with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder

“I’m Just Forgetting and I Don’t Know Why”: Exploring How People Living With HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder View, Manage, and Obtain Support for Their Cognitive Difficulties in Qualitative Health Research (2018)

While HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) is common, the lived experience is not well-understood. This paper explores how adults with HAND view, manage, and obtain support for cognitive difficulties.

Strategies for adults aging with HIV

Use of Living Strategies among Adults Aging with HIV in Canada: Comparison by Age-Group Using Data from the HIV, Health and Rehabilitation Survey in
Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (2018)

As people living with HIV age, they can experience a higher prevalence and earlier onset of multiple morbidities compared to the general population. This paper examines the type and frequency of strategies used by adults living with HIV to manage their health needs.

Improving access to harm reduction for people who use drugs

Providing access to safer injection and safer inhalation supplies

Distribution of harm reduction kits in a specialty HIV hospital in American Journal of Public Health (2018)

Casey House first implemented a harm reduction kit distribution program to decrease harms from re-use of injection and smoking equipment among our clients. This paper points to the promise of hospital-based harm reduction services and its public health significance.

Delivering harm reduction services

Perspectives of healthcare workers about the delivery and evaluation of harm reduction services for people living with HIV who use substances in Cogent Medicine

Harm reduction programs reduce the negative outcomes associated with substance use and are becoming increasingly common across the continuum of healthcare services. This paper explores the perspectives of frontline healthcare workers and the benefits and challenges of providing harm reduction programming.

Barriers to health care for people who use drugs

“Maybe if I stop the drugs, then maybe they’d care?”- hospital care experiences of people who use drugs in Harm Reduction Journal (2019)

People who use drugs face significant barriers to care. This paper explores their experiences at all stages of hospital care and the importance of decreasing stigma and approaches to pain management in improving the quality of care.

Integrating lived experience in health care

Engaging people with lived experience in HIV care

Picturing Participation: Exploring engagement in HIV service provision, programming and care was a community-based participatory research project that used photography and other creative mediums to reflect on the meanings of engagement in the HIV sector. The online gallery and report helps communities think more deeply about how to support and foster diverse forms of engagement and inspire conversation. This project was co-led by Casey House and Sarah Switzer, in collaboration with several universities, Toronto People with AIDS Foundation and the Empower program at Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre.

Engaging people with lived experience in community-based research

A blended learning curriculum for training peer researchers to conduct community-based participatory research in Action Learning: Research and Practice (2018)

While there is an impetus to engage patients in health research, there was limited insight into how to effectively train peer researchers. This paper explores the effectiveness of blended learning curriculum and how reciprocity between academic and peer researchers led to stronger collaboration.