Alisa Grigorovich, PhD

Associate Professor, Recreation and Leisure Studies

Alisa Grigorovich

Office: STH 348
905 688 5550 x5387
[email protected]

Learn more at the Dynamic Aging Research Lab

Alisa Grigorovich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. Her research program focuses on the interrelationship of leisure, aging and wellbeing, with particular attention to uncovering how inequality and social exclusion is perpetuated and maintained. A core aspect of her scholarship involves translation of research findings into arts-based and digital knowledge innovations to advance social inclusion of older adults and carers from historically excluded and marginalized groups.

She is currently engaged in interdisciplinary and community-oriented research in two areas:

1) Technology to enhance wellbeing and quality of care

2) Leisure for human flourishing in dementia care

Research Interests

  • 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

Publications

Selected Papers  

  1. Kokorelias, K. M, Grigorovich, A., Harris, M. T., Rehman, U., Ritchie, L., Levy, A., Denecke, K., McMurray, J. (2024). Longitudinal co-adaptation of older adults with wearables and voice-activated virtual assistants: Scoping review. JMIR, 26, e57258. https://jmir.org/2024/1/e57258
  2. Kokorelias, K. M., McMurray, J., Chu, C. H., Astell, A., Grigorovich, A., Kontos, P., Babineau, J., Bytautas, J., Ahuja, A., Iaboni, A. (2024). Technology-enabled recreation and leisure programs and activities for older adults with cognitive impairment: A rapid scoping review. JMIR Neurotechnology, 3, e53038. https://neuro.jmir.org/2024/1/e53038
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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       
  10. 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/   
  11. 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   
  12. 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   
  13. 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  
  14.  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    
  15. 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    
  16. 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    
  17. 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   
  18. 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  
  19.  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)    
  20.  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 
  21.  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   
  22.  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.   

 Book chapters 

  1. 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.  
  2.  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.  
  3.  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. 
  4.  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.  
  5.  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.  
  6.  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).  
  7.  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.  

Teaching

Graduate

Current Issues in Gerontology 

Mental Health and Aging 

 Undergraduate 

Foundations in Gerontology 

Leisure and Aging

Professional affiliations and accreditation/certification

  • 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 

 

Academic Distinctions and Awards

  • 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

Graduate Student Opportunities

I am currently accepting graduate students with complimentary research interests.

Other

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: 

  1. Dementia in new light
  2. Dementia Isolation Toolkit 
  3. Out at Home 
  4. Transdisciplinarity Game Night