​Dr. Bethell is an Affiliate Scientist at the KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network. As an epidemiologist, she is interested in using large health administrative and survey datasets for research and reporting on health outcomes. To date, her work in this area has been focused on topics related to mental health, injuries and prescription medication use. She is also interested in the area of social connection, and in particular, how it impacts health among older adults and those living in long-term care homes. She is also interested in patient engagement in research, particularly research related to dementia, and co-leads the Engagement of People with Lived Experience of Dementia (EPLED) program as part of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA).

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Jennifer Bethell, BSc, MSc, PhD

Research Interests

  • Mental health

  • Health services research

  • Epidemiology

  • Social connection

  • Older adults

  • Patient engagement in research

Postdoctoral Fellowships

  • Sunnybrook Research Institute/Acute & Intensive Care Outcomes Research Network (AICORN)/ICES “Acute pain management and long-term opioid use after surgery” [Supervisor: Dr. Hannah Wunsch]

  • Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network
    “Canadian Dementia Priority Setting Partnership”
    [Supervisor: Dr. Kathy McGilton]

Research Training

  • PhD (Epidemiology) – University of Toronto, 2012 Dalla Lana School of Public Health Thesis: ‘Child and adolescent emergency department presentations for self-harm: Population based data from Ontario, Canada’ [Supervisors: Drs. Anne Rhodes and Sue Bondy)

  • MSc (Biostatistics) – University of Toronto, 2005 Department of Public Health Sciences,

  • ​Faculty of Medicine BSc (Biology) – Acadia University, 1996

Affiliations

  • Affiliate Scientist, KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network

  • Assistant Professor (Status-only), Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation | University of Toronto

  • Adjunct Scientist, ICES

Current Research Funding

Project title: The Association Between Loneliness and Cognitive Decline and The Roles Personality Traits May Play
Funding agency: Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Funding program: Catalyst Grant: Analysis of CLSA Data
Funding period: from March 2020 to February 2021
Principal investigator(s): Jennifer Bethell
Co-investigator(s), knowledge user(s) and other partner(s): Melissa Andrew; Katherine McGilton; Debra Morgan; Megan O'Connell; Natalie Phillips; Jennifer Walker; Walter Wittich

Project title: The Relationship Between Social Connectedness and Mental Health for Residents of Long-Term Care Homes: Knowledge Synthesis and Mobilization
Funding agency: Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Funding program: Operating Grant: Knowledge Synthesis: COVID-19 in Mental Health & Substance Use
Funding period: from May 2020 to October 2020
Principal investigator(s): Jennifer Bethell
Co-investigator(s), knowledge user(s) and other partner(s): Jessica Babineau; Monica Bretzlaff; Cathleen Edwards; Josie-Lee Gibson; Debbie Hewitt Colborne; Andrea Iaboni; Dee Lender; Katherine McGilton; Denise Schon; Katelynn Viau Aelick

Project title: Planning for patient engagement in biomedical research
Funding agency: Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Funding program: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support
Funding period: from 2022-06-01 to: 2023-05-31
Principal investigator(s): Jennifer Bethell
Co-investigator(s), knowledge user(s) and other partner(s): Gibbings, Derrick James ; Hanna, Joseph ; Kehtari, Tarlan ; Kelly, Catherine Ann ; Kurrasch, Deborah ; Lau, Meghan Tze Ming ; Loughlin, Rosette Fernandez ; Mattar, Pierre Adel ; McAiney, Carrie Ann ; McLellan, Emily Marie ; Myers, Karen Eileen ; Schuurmans, Carol Janine ; Slavcev, Roderick Adrian ; Thelker, Christine

Project title: Social connection in long-term care home residents (SONNET)
Funding agency: Alzheimer’s Association and Brain Canada
Funding program: Advancing Research on Care and Outcome Measurement (ARCOM)
Funding period: from March 2022 to February 2024
Principal investigator(s): Jennifer Bethell, Andrew Sommerlad
Co-investigator(s), knowledge user(s) and other partner(s): Madalena Liougas, Gill Livingston, Katherine McGilton, Sube Banerjee, Kirsten Corazzini, David Edvardsson, Hannah O'Rourke.

Project title: Empowering Ontario’s long-term care residents to shape the place they call home

Funding agency: Canadian Frailty Network and Perley Health

Funding program: Springboard Grants Program: Early Career Researcher Grant

Funding period: from November 2022 to June 30, 2024

Principal investigator(s): Jennifer Bethell

Co-investigator(s), knowledge user(s) and other partner(s): Beryl Collingwood, Julia Fineczko, Jim Gilhuly, Katherine McGilton, Melissa McVie, Carrie McAiney, Gale Ramsden, Dee Tripp