Tracey O'Sullivan

Associate Professor Room: THN202B Phone: (613) 562-5800 ext. 8898 Fax: (613) 562-5632 E-mail: tosulliv@uOttawa.ca
Biography Tracey O'Sullivan is a Professor in the Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences program, in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and is cross-appointed with the School of Nursing. She obtained her Ph.D. in Exercise Science in 2002, from Queen's University, with an interdisciplinary dissertation focused on health promotion for middle age and older women. Prior to joining the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. O’Sullivan spent several years at the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Population Health doing research on family caregiving, and workplace health and social supports for health care workers during disasters. She was also a co-investigator on a randomized controlled trial on health education in primary care. Dr. O’Sullivan joined the Faculty of Health Sciences as a full time faculty member in 2007. Her research program focuses on the social determinants of population health, with particular emphasis on support mechanisms to enhance coping and resilience among high risk populations, using a function-based approach. Specific projects focus on professional and family caregivers, community supports to assist people with physical or cognitive limitations, and promoting health and resilience through the workplace. Dr. O’Sullivan is an appointed Scientist with the Elisabeth Bruyère Research Institute, Health of the Elderly Research Group. She is also a member of several international networks focusing on the psychosocial dimensions of emergency management, including the Psychosocial Task Force of the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM), and the CBRNE Research Technology Initiative (CRTI) Psychosocial Community of Practice. Dr. O’Sullivan was awarded the Faculty of Health Sciences 2009 Award of Excellence in Education, in recognition of her research and teaching. University degrees

Research Interests

• Resilience and psychosocial stressors
• Family caregiving for persons with Dementia or recovering from stroke
• Occupational supports for employed family caregivers and essential service personnel
• Emergency preparedness and resilience-oriented interventions to reduce vulnerability
• Disaster response and high risk populations

Selected Publications

• O'Sullivan, T.L., Fortier, M. Faubert, C., Culver, D., Blanchard, C., Reid, R. & Hogg, W. (in press) Patient Lived Experiences of the Physical Activity Counseling (PAC) Project, Journal of Health Psychology, Manuscript accepted for publication September 2009.
• O’Connor, E., O’Sullivan, T., Amaratunga, C., Thille, P., Phillips, K.P., Carter, M. & Lemyre, L. (2009) Risk Communication with Nurses during Infectious Disease Outbreaks: Learning from SARS, Journal of Emergency Management, vol 7(5), 48-56.
• O'Sullivan, T.L., Amaratunga, CA., Phillips, K.P., Corneil, W., O'Connor, E., Lemyre, L., & Dow, D. (2009). If Schools Are Closed, Who Will Watch Our Kids? … Family Caregiving and Other Sources of Role Conflict Among Nurses During Large Scale Outbreaks. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 24(4), 321-325.
• O’Sullivan, TL. (2009). Support for Families Coping With Stroke or Dementia: Special Consideration for Emergency Management, Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 134(3-4), 197-201.
• O’Sullivan, TL., Dow, D., Turner, MC., Lemyre, L., Corneil, W., Krewski, D., Phillips, KP, & Amaratunga, CA. (2008). Disaster and Emergency Management: Canadian Nurses’ Perceptions of Preparedness on Hospital Front Lines. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 23(3), s11-s18.
• Fortier, M.S, Hogg, W., O'Sullivan, T.L., Blanchard, C., Reid, R.D., Sigal, R.J., Boulay, P., Doucet, E., Sweet, S., Bisson, E. & Beaulac, J. (2007) The Physical Activity Counseling (PAC) Randomized Controlled Trial: Rationale, Methods, and Interventions, Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, 32, 1170-1185.
• Blanchard, C.M., Fortier, M., Sweet, S., O’Sullivan, T., Hogg, W., Reid, R., & Sigal, R. (2007) Do Barrier and Task Self-Efficacy Mediate the Effect of a Physical Activity Counseling Intervention in a Primary Care Setting? Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 34(3), 323-328.
• O’Sullivan, T.L., Amaratunga, C., Hardt, J., Gibson, D., Phillips, K., & Corneil, W. (2007). Are We Ready?  Evidence of Support Mechanisms for Canadian Health Care Workers in Multi-Jurisdictional Emergency Planning, Canadian Journal of Public Health, 98(5), 358-363.
• Amaratunga, C.A., O’Sullivan, T.L., Phillips, K.P., Lemyre, L., O'Connor, E., Corneil, W., & Dow, D. (2007) Ready Aye Ready? Support Mechanisms for Health Care Workers in Institutional Emergency Planning: Gap Analysis of Three Hospital Emergency Plans, Journal of Emergency Management, July / August, 23-38.
• Fortier, M.S., Sweet, S., O’Sullivan, T.L., & Williams, G.C. (2007). A Self-Determination Process Model of Physical Activity Adoption in the Context of a Randomized Controlled Trial, Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 8(5), 741-757.
• Amaratunga, C.A. & O’Sullivan, T.L. (2006). In The Path of Disasters: Psychosocial Issues for Preparedness, Response and Recovery, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 21(3), 139-144.