Deborah O'Connor, University of British Columbia

Research

Dementia Qualitative Methods Social Citizenship Social Inclusion Stigma

Latest papers

Consent and Meaningful Inclusion of People Living with Dementia: Insights from Canadian Dementia Researchers.
Canadian Journal on Aging · 2026
Assessing mental capacity in the context of abuse and neglect: A relational lens.
International journal of law and psychiatry · 2024 · first author
Living with dementia: Exploring the intersections of culture, race, and dementia, stigma.
Dementia (London, England) · 2024 · senior author

All 16 publications

Latest funding

Understanding the Intersection of Ageism, Ableism, and Racism in the Healthcare Systems: From the Experiences of Access to Services of Racialized Older Adults Living with Dementia
CIHR · 2023 · Supervisor
Do you really know what I want?: Voices of people with dementia in shared decision-making about living well to the end of life
CIHR · 2018 · Co-investigator
$191,250
Putting Social Citizenship into Practice: Reducing Stigma and Promoting Social Inclusion of People with Dementia
CIHR · 2018 · Principal investigator
$669,376

All 6 grants and awards

16 publications.

01

Consent and Meaningful Inclusion of People Living with Dementia: Insights from Canadian Dementia Researchers.

Grenier A, O'Connor D, Tamblyn Watts L, Sanders E, Imahori D, James K, Mann J

Canadian Journal on Aging2026

DOI: 10.1017/s0714980825100470

02

Assessing mental capacity in the context of abuse and neglect: A relational lens.

O'Connor D, Braun J, Marriette N, Purser K

International journal of law and psychiatry2024First author

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2024.102027 PMID: 39461050

03

Living with dementia: Exploring the intersections of culture, race, and dementia, stigma.

Wong KLY, Johnson G, O'Connor D

Dementia (London, England)2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1177/14713012241249796 PMID: 38656188

04

Consent and Inclusion of People Living with Dementia (PLWD) in Research: Establishing a Canadian Agenda for Inclusive Rights-Based Practices.

Grenier A, O'Connor D, James K, Imahori D, Minchopoulos D, Velev N, Tamblyn-Watts L, Mann J

Canadian Journal on Aging20249 citations

DOI: 10.1017/s0714980824000217

05

"I didn't know it was going to be like this.": unprepared for end-of-Life care, the experiences of care aides care in long-term care.

Booi L, Sixsmith J, Chaudhury H, O'connor D, Surr C, Young M, Sixsmith A

BMC palliative care2023

DOI: 10.1186/s12904-023-01244-y PMID: 37689687

06

Participatory action research: An exploration from a Freirean perspective of research involving people with dementia.

O'Connor D, Sakamoto M, Phinney A, Chaudhury H, Mann J

International journal of geriatric psychiatry2023First author

DOI: 10.1002/gps.5985 PMID: 37622384

07

Conceptualizing citizenship in dementia: A scoping review of the literature.

O'Connor D, Sakamoto M, Seetharaman K, Chaudhury H, Phinney A

Dementia (London, England)2022First author

DOI: 10.1177/14713012221111014 PMID: 35768395

08

Emergency assistance in situations of abuse, neglect, and self-neglect: exploring the complexity and challenges.

Yip SH, O'Connor D, Shakeri Shemirani F, Brown A, Hyman J

Journal of elder abuse & neglect2022

DOI: 10.1080/08946566.2022.2070317 PMID: 35470776

09

'I wouldn't choose this work again': Perspectives and experiences of care aides in long-term residential care.

Booi L, Sixsmith J, Chaudhury H, O'Connor D, Young M, Sixsmith A

Journal of advanced nursing2021

DOI: 10.1111/jan.14948 PMID: 34235778

10

Family care across diverse cultures: Re-envisioning using a transnational lens.

Andruske CL, O'Connor D

Journal of aging studies2020Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaging.2020.100892 PMID: 33272452

Understanding the Intersection of Ageism, Ableism, and Racism in the Healthcare Systems: From the Experiences of Access to Services of Racialized Older Adults Living with Dementia

SupervisorCIHR2023Summer Program in Aging

Principal investigators: Wong, Karen Lok Yi

Keywords: Aging; Culture; Dementia; Immigration Status; Race

Do you really know what I want?: Voices of people with dementia in shared decision-making about living well to the end of life

Co-investigatorCIHR2018Project Grant

Principal investigators: Cox, Susan M

Keywords: Aging; Arts-Based Methods; Dementia; End Of Life; Ethics; Knowledge Translation; Living Well; Narrative; Shared Decision-Making; Social Citizenship

$191,250

Putting Social Citizenship into Practice: Reducing Stigma and Promoting Social Inclusion of People with Dementia

Principal investigatorCIHR2018Project Grant

Principal investigators: Phinney, Alison; Mann, Jim; O'Connor, Deborah

Keywords: Dementia; Qualitative Methods; Social Citizenship; Social Inclusion; Stigma

$669,376

Boundaries and Borderlands: Negotiating Care Work in Long-term Residential Settings

Co-investigatorCIHR2013Operating Grant

Principal investigators: Baumbusch, Jennifer L

Keywords: Care Work; Critical Ethnography; Informal Caregivers; Intersectionality; Long-Term Residential Care; Power Relations

$390,096

Dementia, personhood and decision-making; Examining the interface

Principal investigatorSSHRC2006Aid to Research Workshops and Conferences in Canada

Principal investigators: O'Connor, Deborah L.

Keywords: Dementia; person-centred; decision-making; capacity/competence; ethical issues; interdisciplinary; social supports; networking

$21,000

Reconceptualizing family support groups: how do they work?

Principal investigatorSSHRC2001Standard Research Grants

Principal investigators: O'Connor, Deborah

Keywords: family care; support groups; elderly; community care

$51,180

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

School of Nursing
Nursing
Gerontology
Medicine
Social Work
Urban Studies
Audiology and Speech Science
Other

Co-authors at University of British Columbia, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Jim Mann

School of Nursing

4 shared papers, latest 2026

Alison Phinney

School of Nursing

3 shared papers, latest 2023

Andrew Sixsmith

Urban Studies

2 shared papers, latest 2023

Laura Tamblyn Watts

Institute for Human Development, Life Course & Aging

1 shared papers, latest 2024

Elisabeth Drance

School of Nursing

1 shared papers, latest 2015

Jeff Small

Audiology and Speech Science

1 shared papers, latest 2015

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mention

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Dementia Dear Professor O'Connor, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Consent and Meaningful Inclusion of People Living with Dementia: Insights from Canadian Dementia Researchers." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

Deborah O'Connor

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Consent and Meaningful Inclusion of People Living with Dementia: Insights from Canadian Dementia Researchers.

Assessing mental capacity in the context of abuse and neglect: A relational lens.

Living with dementia: Exploring the intersections of culture, race, and dementia, stigma.

Consent and Inclusion of People Living with Dementia (PLWD) in Research: Establishing a Canadian Agenda for Inclusive Rights-Based Practices.

"I didn't know it was going to be like this.": unprepared for end-of-Life care, the experiences of care aides care in long-term care.

Participatory action research: An exploration from a Freirean perspective of research involving people with dementia.

Conceptualizing citizenship in dementia: A scoping review of the literature.

Emergency assistance in situations of abuse, neglect, and self-neglect: exploring the complexity and challenges.

'I wouldn't choose this work again': Perspectives and experiences of care aides in long-term residential care.

Family care across diverse cultures: Re-envisioning using a transnational lens.

Understanding the Intersection of Ageism, Ableism, and Racism in the Healthcare Systems: From the Experiences of Access to Services of Racialized Older Adults Living with Dementia

Do you really know what I want?: Voices of people with dementia in shared decision-making about living well to the end of life

Putting Social Citizenship into Practice: Reducing Stigma and Promoting Social Inclusion of People with Dementia

Boundaries and Borderlands: Negotiating Care Work in Long-term Residential Settings

Dementia, personhood and decision-making; Examining the interface

Reconceptualizing family support groups: how do they work?

Frequent collaborators

Jim Mann

Habib Chaudhury

Alison Phinney

Andrew Sixsmith

Amanda Grenier

Amanda M Grenier

Elaine Wiersma

Mariko Sakamoto

Laura Tamblyn Watts

Elisabeth Drance

Jennifer Baumbusch

Jeff Small