Rebecca Mackay, Dalhousie University

Research

Discharge Communication Intervention Co-Design Theory Based Interventions Emergency Practice Environments Integrated Knowledge Translation Patient And Caregiver Communication Pilot Test Usability Testing

Latest papers

Usability testing of two co-designed discharge communication tools for use in pediatric emergency departments: findings from the EDUCATE study.
BMC pediatrics · 2026
Co-designing interventions to improve emergency department discharge communication with youths, parents and healthcare providers: a process evaluation.
International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025
Implementing Electronic Discharge Communication Tools in Pediatric Emergency Departments: Multicountry, Cross-Sectional Readiness Survey of Nurses and Physicians.
JMIR human factors · 2023

All 7 publications

Latest funding

Examining the Effectiveness and Implementation of a Patient-Managed Discharge Communication Tool: A Mixed Methods Hybrid Type 1 Design Study
CIHR · 2023 · Co-investigator
$1,419,076
Co-design of a patient/caregiver discharge communication tool for emergency practice settings
CIHR · 2019 · Principal investigator
$99,953
Partnering with parents and youth to co-design discharge communication interventions for pediatric emergency care
CIHR · 2018 · Principal investigator
$623,475

All 5 grants and awards

7 publications.

01

Usability testing of two co-designed discharge communication tools for use in pediatric emergency departments: findings from the EDUCATE study.

Somerville M, Wozney L, Gallant AJ, Plint A, Vogel K, Mackay R, Rowe S, Cassidy C, Delahunty-Pike A, Curran JA

BMC pediatrics2026

DOI: 10.1186/s12887-026-06916-1 PMID: 42026579

02

Co-designing interventions to improve emergency department discharge communication with youths, parents and healthcare providers: a process evaluation.

Gallant AJ, Curran JA, Somerville M, Wozney L, Cassidy C, Delahunty-Pike A, Mackay R, MacPhee S, Burns E, Wong H, Doyle M, Plint A, Zemek R

International journal of nursing studies advances2025

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2025.100362 PMID: 40600235

03

Implementing Electronic Discharge Communication Tools in Pediatric Emergency Departments: Multicountry, Cross-Sectional Readiness Survey of Nurses and Physicians.

Curran J, Wozney L, Tavender E, Wilson C, Ritchie KC, Wong H, Gallant A, Somerville M, Archambault PM, Cassidy C, Jabbour M, Mackay R, Plint AC

JMIR human factors2023

DOI: 10.2196/46379 PMID: 37819696

04

Children, young people and parent engagement in health intervention design and implementation: A scoping review.

Crowther D, McCulloch H, Wong H, Mackay R, Johnson C, Chorney J, Ritchie K, Lawrence L, Bishop A, Helwig M, Curran J

Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy2023

DOI: 10.1111/hex.13572 PMID: 36346148

05

Electronic Discharge Communication Tools Used in Pediatric Emergency Departments: Systematic Review.

Wozney L, Curran J, Archambault P, Cassidy C, Jabbour M, Mackay R, Newton A, Plint AC, Somerville M

JMIR pediatrics and parenting2022

DOI: 10.2196/36878 PMID: 35608929

06

Codesigning discharge communication interventions with healthcare providers, youth and parents for emergency practice settings: EDUCATE study protocol.

Curran JA, Cassidy C, Bishop A, Wozney L, Plint AC, Ritchie K, Straus SE, Wong H, Newton A, Jabbour M, MacPhee S, Breneol S, Burns E, Chorney J, Lawton J, Doyle M, MacKay R, Zemek R, Penney T, Grimshaw J, Pediatric Emergency Research Canada (PERC)

BMJ open2020

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038314 PMID: 32398342

07

Partnering with parents to advance child health research.

Curran JA, Bishop A, Chorney J, MacEachern L, Mackay R

Healthcare management forum2018Senior author

DOI: 10.1177/0840470417744568 PMID: 29400092

Examining the Effectiveness and Implementation of a Patient-Managed Discharge Communication Tool: A Mixed Methods Hybrid Type 1 Design Study

Co-investigatorCIHR2023Project Grant

Principal investigators: Curran, Janet; Archambault, Patrick; Bohn, Vanessa; Burns, Emma C; Cassidy, Christine E; Sinclair, Douglas E; Wells, Robert; Wright, Bruce

Keywords: Co-Design; Discharge Communication; Emergency Practice Settings; Hybrid Type 1 Effectiveness Implementation Design; Interrupted Time Series; Mixed-Methods; Patient-Managed Tools; Patient-Oriented Research

$1,419,076

Co-design of a patient/caregiver discharge communication tool for emergency practice settings

Principal investigatorCIHR2019Catalyst Grant: Patient-Oriented Research

Principal investigators: Curran, Janet; Elliott Rose, Annette J; Hurley, Katrina; Mackay, Rebecca J; Penney, Tanya L; Wozney, Lori M

Keywords: Discharge Communication; Emergency Practice Environments; Integrated Knowledge Translation; Intervention Co-Design; Patient And Caregiver Communication; Pilot Test; Theory Based Interventions; Usability Testing

$99,953

Partnering with parents and youth to co-design discharge communication interventions for pediatric emergency care

Principal investigatorCIHR2018Project Grant

Principal investigators: Curran, Janet; Mackay, Rebecca J; MacPhee, Shannon

Keywords: Discharge Communication; Intervention Co-Design; Parent Engagement; Pediatric Emergency Care; Process Evaluation; Theory Based Interventions; Usability; Youth Engagement

$623,475

PED-UCATE - Pediatric Emergency Department Use of Communication Technologies to Activate Transitions Home Effectively

Co-investigatorCIHR2018Operating Grant: Transitions in Care - Best and Wise Practices Grants

Principal investigators: Wozney, Lori M; Curran, Janet

Keywords: Discharge Planning; Ehealth; Emergency Department; Environmental Scan; Implementation Science; Knowledge Exchange; Patient Education; Pediatrics; Technology - Ict; Transitions In Care

$99,731

Building a strategy to support parent partnership in patient-oriented research in the Maritimes

Co-investigatorCIHR2016Patient-Oriented Research Collaboration Grants

Principal investigators: Curran, Janet; McGrath, Patrick J

Keywords: Co-Designing Interventions; Integrated Knowledge Translation; Parent Partnership In Research; Patient And Family Centred Care

$20,204

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
Pediatrics
College of Pharmacy
Community Health and Epidemiology
Emergency Medicine
Department of Medicine
Other

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

Christine Cassidy

Faculty

5 shared papers, latest 2026

Lori Wozney

School of Nursing

4 shared papers, latest 2026

Andrea Bishop

College of Pharmacy

3 shared papers, latest 2023

Janet Curran

School of Nursing

3 shared papers, latest 2023

Mona Jabbour

Pediatrics

3 shared papers, latest 2023

Jill Chorney

Community Health and Epidemiology

3 shared papers, latest 2023

Emma Burns

Faculty

2 shared papers, latest 2025

Amy Plint

Pediatrics

2 shared papers, latest 2026

Shannon MacPhee

Emergency Medicine

2 shared papers, latest 2025

Roger Zemek

Faculty

2 shared papers, latest 2025

Tanya Penney

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2020

Jeremy Grimshaw

Department of Medicine

1 shared papers, latest 2020

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 mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2019

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Discharge Communication Dear Professor Mackay, 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 "Usability testing of two co-designed discharge communication tools for use in pediatric emergency departments: findings from the EDUCATE study." (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.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Co-design of a patient/caregiver discharge communication tool for emergency practice settings" (2019), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. 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]