Anna Garnett, PhD

Anna Garnett

Assistant Professor

Contact information


Education

  • BA, BScN, MSc, PhD (McMaster)

Graduate Program Supervision

  • Nursing MScN | PhD
  • Health and Rehabilitation Sciences MSc
  • Health Information Sciences |

Research In Profile

Professor Anna Garnett’s program of research centers on the care of older adults living with chronic disease and their caregivers. Informed by a health equity lens her research includes an emphasis on the equitable access to and delivery of services that support the health and well-being of vulnerable older adults and their families. This includes the use of digital approaches to improve care delivery and to support the physical and social relational well¬being between older adults and their family members.

Within her program, Professor Garnett’s research also explores health system issues, including development of evidence-informed strategies to promote the recruitment and retention of health providers working in older adult care contexts.

Professor Garnett has a clinical background in community and palliative nursing, and research expertise in quantitative and qualitative methodologies. She teaches in the undergraduate and graduate programs with expertise in digital health and leadership and management.

Featured Publications and Projects

Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals

  • Garnett, A., Pollock, H., Prentice, K., Floriancic, N., Donelle, L., Hand, C., Babenko-Mould, Y., Oudshoorn, A., & Forchuk, C. (2024). Health provider experiences in supporting social connectedness between families and older adults living in long-term care homes. SAGE Open Nursing.
  • Garnett, A., Hui, L., Oleynikov, C., & Boamah, S. (2023). Compassion fatigue in health providers: A scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 23, 1336.
  • Garnett, A., Yurkiv, H., Booth, R., Connelly, D., & Donelle, L. (2023). Virtual presence for social connectedness in long-term care: A protocol for a qualitative multi-methods study. JMIR Research Protocols, 12, e50137.
  • Garnett, A., Sangrar, R., Harvey, K., Weldrick, R., Hatzifilalithis, S., Kalu, M., Dunford, E. C., Patocs, A., & Kajaks, T. (2023). Silos to synergy: Experiences of an interdisciplinary trainee network. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 23(3), 21-38. doi:10.14434/josotl.v23i3.34013
  • Garnett, A., Pollock, H., Floriancic, N., Prentice, K., Donelle, L., Hand, C., Babenko-Mould, Y., Oudshoorn, A., & Forchuk, C. (2023). Social connectedness between family caregivers and older adults living in long-term care in the context of COVID-19. Canadian Journal on Aging.
  • Knipping, D., Garnett, A., & Jiang, B. (2023). Access use of services by caregivers of older adults: A scoping review of cultural and linguistic diversity. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 42(7), 1672-1686.
  • Garnett, A., Prentice, K., Booth, R., Donelle, L., Orange, J. B., & Webster, F. (2023). Social isolation in community-dwelling older adults during COVID-19: Understanding the role of resilience. Inquiry, 60, 1-12.
  • Connelly, D., Garnett, A., Snobelen, N., Guitar, N. A., Flores Sandoval, C., Sinha, S., Claver, J., Pearson, D., Smith Carrier, T. (2022). Resilience among the Ontario Registered Practical Nurse workforce in long-term care homes during COVID-19: A grounded theory study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78, 4221-4235.
  • Garnett, A., Connelly, D. M., Yous, M., Hung, L., Snobelen, N., Hay, M., Furlan-Craievich, C., Snelgrove, S., Babcock, M., Ripley, J., Hamilton, P., Sturdy-Smith, C., & O’Connell, M. (2022). Nurse-led virtual delivery of PIECES in Canadian long-term care homes to support the care of older adults experiencing behavioural expressions during COVID-19: A qualitative descriptive study. JMIR Nursing, 5(1), e42731.
  • Garnett, A., Northwood, M., Ting, J., & Sangrar, R. (2022). Mobile health interventions to support caregivers of older adults: An equity-focused systematic review. JMIR Aging, 5(3), e33085.

Visit for a comprehensive list of publications.

Current Grants and Research Projects

  • Principal Investigator: A. Garnett. Co-investigators: J. Elliott, V. Smye, L. Donelle, L. Comer. (2024-2025). Understanding the impact of a nurse practitioner led virtual transitional care model on older adults and their families. WSS CIHR Grants $23,864.00
  • Principal Investigator: D. Connelly. Co-investigators: N. Guitar, K. Prentice, A. Garnett, T. Smith-Carrier, V. Smye, D. Pearson, W. Sun, J. Calver, S. McKay, E. King, & S. Ali (2022-2025). An analysis of an Educational Bridging Program targeting growth in the nursing workforce within Ontario home and community care and long-term care home settings. WeRPN: Registered Practical Nurses of Ontario. $1,489,207.00.
  • Co-Principal Investigators: A. Garnett, M. Savundranayagam. Co-investigtors: K. Johnson, B. Clark, S. Garcia, T. Machacek, A. McInnis (2022-2023). Pilot Test of a Novel Multidisciplinary Approach to Caregiver Education. McCormick Care Foundation. $100,000.00.
  • Principal Investigator: A. Garnett. Co-investigators: R. Booth, D. M. Connelly, L. Donelle (2022-2024). Implementing virtual presence technology for social connectedness in long-term care homes in a post-COVID world: The way forwards. SSHRC IDG. $64,279.00.
  • Principal Investigator: D. Connelly. Co-investigators: A. Garnett, L. Hung. Co-applicants/collaborators: H. Martin, S. Snelgrove, S.M. Salatino, N. L. Snobelen, M.L. Yous, R. Maunder, L. Schindel Martin, E. Nason, K. Le Clair. (2021-2023). COVID-19: Implementation of virtual P.I.E.C.E.STM for resident care planning with family to build and sustain team collaboration and resilience for the workforce in long-term care. CIHR-CFHI Implementation Science Teams: Strengthening Pandemic Preparedness in Long-term Care. $150,000.

Graduate Student Projects

  • Floriancic, Natalie (2021). MSc, Nursing

  • Pollock, Hannah (2021). MSc, Nursing

  • Knipping, Danielle (2024). MSc, Nursing

Visit for the repository's list of completed student theses and dissertations.

Graduate Student Opportunities

If you are interested in pursuing MSc or PhD studies with professor Garnett, please send a description of your research interests, outlining their alignment with professor Garnett’s program of research as well as a sample of your writing and recent transcripts to agarnet6@uwo.ca.

Additional Information

Academic Appointments and Research Affiliations

  • Lawson Health Research Institute (Associate Scientist)
  • Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging (Steering Committee)
  • Lawson Mental Health Research Group (Advisory Group Member)

Awards

  • Labatt Fellowship in Health Equity (2023-2025)

Professional Activities

  • Member, Canadian Nursing Informatics Association
  • Member, Canadian Association of Gerontology
  • Member, Gerontological Nursing Association Ontario
  • Gerontological Society of America