Assistant Professor, Recreation and Leisure Studies
Alisa Grigorovich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. Her research program focuses on the socio-cultural dimensions of aging, with particular attention to wellbeing, social inclusion, and the use of technology in long-term, home, and community care settings. She is currently engaged in interdisciplinary research across two interconnected areas:
1) Technology for aging well and caregiving
2) Arts and leisure in dementia care
- Gerontechnologies
- Leisure, aging, and care
- Leisure, health, and wellness
- Sexual and gender diversity in later life
- Critical social theory applied to aging and disability
- Community-based research
- Arts-based and digital knowledge translation
Selected Journal Articles
- Berridge, C., Grigorovich, A. (2022). Algorithmic harms and digital ageism in the use of surveillance technologies in nursing homes. Frontiers in Sociology, 7, 1-20. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2022.957246
- Kia, H., Rutherford, L., Jackson, R., Grigorovich, A., Lopez, C. Scheim, A., Bauer, G. (2022). Impacts of COVID-19 on transgender and non-binary people in Canada: A qualitative analysis of responses to a national survey. BMC Public Health, 1284, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13684-x Co-Author
- Iaboni, A., Quirt, H., Engell, K., Kirkham, J., Stewart, S., Grigorovich, A., … & Maxwell, C. (2022). Barriers and facilitators to person-centred infection prevention and control: results of a survey about the Dementia Isolation Toolkit. BMC geriatrics, 22 (74), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-02759-4 Co-Author
- Kirkham, J., Shorey, C. L., Iaboni, A., Quirt, H., Grigorovich, A., Astell, A., … & Maxwell, C. J. (2022). Staff perceptions of the consequences of COVID‐19 on quality of dementia care for residents in Ontario long‐term care homes. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5725 Co-Author
- Kokorelias, K. M., Cronin, S. M., Munce, S., Eftekhar, P., McGilton, K. S., Vellani, S., Colella, T., Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Furlan, A., Salbach, N. M., Jaglal, S., Chan, B., & Cameron, J. I. (2022). Conceptualization of frailty in rehabilitation interventions with adults: a scoping review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2021.2012844 Co-Author
- Grigorovich, A., Kontos, P., Jenkins, A., Kirkland, S. (2022). Moving towards the promise of participatory engagement of older adults in gerotechnology. The Gerontologist, 62(3), 324-331. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab026 Principal Author
- Kosurko, A., Herron, R., Grigorovich, A., Bar, R. J., Kontos, P., Menec, V., Skinner, M. W. (2022). Dance wherever you are: The evolution of multi-modal delivery for social inclusion of rural older adults. Innovation in Aging, 6(2), 1-12 https://academic.oup.com/innovateage/advance-article/doi/10.1093/geroni/igab058/6502305 Co-Author
- Grigorovich, A., Kontos, P., Heesters, A., Schindel Martin, L., Gray, J., Tamblyn Watts, L. (2022) Dementia and sexuality in long-term care: Incompatible bedfellows? Dementia: the international journal of social research and practice, 21(4), 1077-1097. https://doi.org/10.1177/14713012211056253n Principal Author
- Grigorovich, A., Min, X., Lam, N., Pakosh, M., Chan, B. (2021). A systematic review of economic analyses of home-based telerehabilitation. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2021.2019327 Principal Author
- Estrella, M. E., Kirsh, B., Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Colantonio, A., Chan, V., Nalder. E. J. (2021). Critical characteristics of housing and housing supports for individuals with a concurrent traumatic brain injury and mental health and/or substance use challenges: A Qualitative study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(2), 1-19.10.3390/ijerph182212211
- Kontos, P., Radnofsky, M., Fehr, P., Belleville, M. R., Bottenberg, F., Fridley, M., Massad, S., Grigorovich, A., … Whitehouse, P. (2021). Separate and unequal: A time to reimagine dementia. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 80 (4), 1395-1399. https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad210057
- Grigorovich, A., Kontos, P., Jenkins, A., Kirkland, S. (2021). Moving towards the promise of participatory engagement of older adults in gerotechnology. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab026
- Grigorovich, A., Kulandaivelu, Y., Newman, K., Iaboni, A., Khan, S., Iaboni, A., McMurray, J. (2021). Factors affecting the implementation, use, and adoption of Real-Time Location System Technology for persons living with cognitive disabilities in long-term care homes: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(1). https://www.jmir.org/2021/1/e22831/
- Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Kosurko, A., Bar, R. J., Herron, R. V., Menec, V., & Skinner, M. (2021). Dancing with dementia: Exploring the embodied dimensions of creativity and social engagement. The Gerontologist, 61(5), 714-723. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa129
- Sandberg, L., Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H., & Grigorovich, A. (2020). Regulating, fostering and preserving: The production of normate sexualities through cognitive ableism and cognitive othering. Culture, Health and Sexuality. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2020.1787519
- Grigorovich, A., & Kontos, P. (2020). Towards responsible implementation of monitoring technologies in institutional care. The Gerontologist, 60(7), 1194–1201. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnz190
- Kosurko, A., Herron, R., Skinner, M., Bar, R., Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., & Menec, V. (2020). Opportunities and challenges of digital delivery of Sharing Dance Seniors for social inclusion. Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations, 22(2), 23-37. https://doi.org/10.21018/rjcpr.2020.2.298
- Grigorovich, A. (2020). Governing ‘risky’ sexualities: Representations of dementia and sexuality in the news media. Disability Studies Quarterly, 40(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v40i3.6877
- Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., & Colobong, R. (2020). Towards a critical understanding of creativity and dementia: New directions for practice change. The International Practice Development Journal, 10, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.19043/ipdj.10Suppl.003
- Wada, M., Grigorovich, A., Fang, M. L., Sixsmith, J., & Kontos, P. (2020). An exploration of experiences of transdisciplinary research in aging and technology. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 21(1), 1-27. http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/fqs-21.1.3332
- Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Dupuis, S., Jonas-Simpson, C., Mitchell, G., & Gray, J. (2020). Raising the curtain on stigma associated with dementia: Fostering a new cultural imaginary for a more inclusive society. Critical Public Health, 30(1), 91-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2018.1508822
- Grigorovich, A., & Kontos, P. (2020). Problematizing sexual harassment in long-term residential care: The need for a more ethical prevention strategy. Canadian Journal on Aging, 39(1), 117-127. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980819000199)
- Grigorovich, A., & Kontos, P. (2019) A critical realist exploration of the vulnerability of staff to sexual harassment in residential long-term care. Social Science & Medicine, 238, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112356
- Grigorovich, A., Kontos, P., & Kontos, A. P. (2019). The “violent resident”: A critical exploration of the ethics of resident-to-resident aggression. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 16(2), 173-183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-019-09898-1
- Grigorovich, A., Fang, M. L., Sixsmith, J., & Kontos, P. (2019). Defining and evaluating transdisciplinary research: Implications for aging and technology. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 14(6), 533-542. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2018.1496361
- Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Colobong, R., Miller, K.L., Nesrallah, G., Binns, M.A., Alibhai, S.M.H., Parsons, T., Jassal, S.V., Thomas, A., & Naglie, G. (2018). Fit for Dialysis: A qualitative exploration of the impact of a research-based film for the promotion of exercise in hemodialysis. BMC Nephrology, 19, 1-11. doi: 10.1186/s12882-018-0984-4.
- Kontos, P., & Grigorovich, A. (2018). Integrating citizenship, embodiment, and relationality: Towards a reconceptualization of dance and dementia in long-term care. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 46(3), 717-723.
- Grigorovich, A., & Kontos, P. (2018). Advancing an ethic of embodied relational sexuality to guide decision-making in dementia care. The Gerontologist, 58(2), 219-225.
- Kontos, P., & Grigorovich, A. (2018). Rethinking musicality in dementia as embodied and relational. Journal of Aging Studies, Special Issue (Aging, Body and Society: Key Themes, Critical Perspectives), 45, 39-48. doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2018.01.006. Principal Author
Book chapters
- Grigorovich, A., & Kontos, P. (2021). A critical rethinking of sexuality and dementia: A Prolegomenon to future work in dementia studies and critical disability studies. In R. Shuttleworth and L. Mona (Eds.), Handbook of Sexuality and Disability (pp. 85-105). Routledge.
- Grigorovich, A., Kontos, P., Sixsmith, J., Fang, M.L., & Wada, M. (2021). An introduction to transdisciplinary working. In A. Sixsmith, A., J. Sixsmith, A. Mihailidis, and M. L. Fang (Eds.) Knowledge, innovation and impact: A guide for the engaged health researcher (pp. 25-32). Springer.
- Fang, M.L., Grigorovich, A., Wada, M., Kontos, P., & Sixsmith, J. (2021). Building partnerships and co-creating with diverse stakeholders. In A. Sixsmith, A., J. Sixsmith, A. Mihailidis, and M. L. Fang (Eds.) Knowledge, innovation and impact: A guide for the engaged health researcher (pp. 47-582). Springer.
- Wada, M., Grigorovich, A., Kontos, P., Fang, M.L., & Sixsmith, J. (2021). Addressing real-world problems through transdisciplinary working. In A. Sixsmith, A., J. Sixsmith, A. Mihailidis, and M. L. Fang (Eds.) Knowledge, innovation and impact: A guide for the engaged health researcher (pp. 69-78). Springer.
- Sixsmith, J., Fang, M.L., Grigorovich, A., Wada, M., & Kontos, P. (2021). Working together as a transdisciplinary team. In A. Sixsmith, A., J. Sixsmith, A. Mihailidis, and M. L. Fang (Eds.) Knowledge, innovation and impact: A guide for the engaged health researcher (pp. 121-130). Springer.
- Kosurko, A., Skinner, M., Herron, H., Bar, R., Grigorovich, A., Menec, V., & Kontos, P. (2021). Rural gerotechnology: Arts-based insights into rural ageing and the use of technology. In Skinner, M., Winterton, R., & Walsh, K. (Eds.), Rural Gerontology: Towards Critical Perspectives on Rural Ageing (pp.323-335). Routledge: London (ISBN 9780367894795).
- Grigorovich, A. (2020). Satisfaction not guaranteed: Broadening the discourse on quality improvement in the home care system. In E. Mykhalovskiy, J. Choiniere, H. Armstrong, and P. Armstrong (Eds.), Health matters: Evidence, critical social science, and health care in Canada (pp. 131-151). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Graduate
Current Issues in Gerontology
Mental Health and Aging
Undergraduate
Foundations in Gerontology
- Affiliate Scientist, KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network
- Academic Fellow, Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research, University of Toronto
- Member, Socio-Gerontechnology Network
- Member, Multi-species Perspectives on Dementia: International Research Network
- Member, Canadian Association on Gerontology
- 2022 Award for Excellence in Teaching for Early Career Faculty, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON.
- 2022 Betty Havens Prize for Knowledge Mobilization. Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada
I am currently accepting graduate students with complimentary research interests.
To bridge research with practice and reduce stigma in aged care settings, I develop and evaluate arts-based and digital knowledge translation initiatives.
Examples of this work include the following links: