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Professor, School of Nursing, McMaster University

Bio
Dr. Jenny Ploeg began with the School of Nursing in 1988 as a Clinical Lecturer. She is currently a tenured professor, a graduate faculty member, Scientific Director of the Aging, Community and Health Research Unit, and an associate member of the Department of Health, Aging, and Society.
Select Publications

Ploeg, J., Markle-Reid, M., Fisher, A., Bookey-Bassett, S., Chambers, T., Kennedy, L., Morsy, M., Dufour, S. (2017). An exploration of experts' perceptions on the use of interprofessional education to support collaborative practice in the care of community-living older adults. Journal of Interprofessional Care, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2017.1347610

Ploeg, J., Markle-Reid, M., Valaitis, R., McAiney, C., Duggleby, W., Bartholomew, A., Sherifali, D. (2017). Web-based interventions to improve mental health, general caregiving outcomes, and general health for informal caregivers of adults with chronic conditions living in the community. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(7), e263. doi: 10.2196/jmir.7564

Markle-Reid, M., Ploeg, J., Fraser, K., Fisher, K., Bartholomew, A., Griffith, L., Miklavcic, J., Gafni, A., Thabane, L., Upshur, R. (2017). Community program improves quality of life and self-management in older adults with diabetes mellitus and comorbidity. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, online publication, p 1-11. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15173.

Ploeg, J., Matthew-Maich, N., Fraser, K., Dufour, S., McAiney, C., Kaasalainen, S., Markle-Reid, M., Upshur, R., Cleghorn, L., Emili, A. (2017). Managing multiple chronic conditions in the community: A Canadian qualitative study of the experiences of older adults, family caregivers and healthcare providers. BMC Geriatrics, 17, 40. doi: 10.1186/s12877-017-0431-6.

Ploeg, J., Denton, M., Hutchison, B., McAiney, C., Moore, A., Brazil, K., Tindale, J., Lam, A. (2017). Primary care physicians' perspectives on facilitating older patients' access to community support services: Qualitative case study. Canadian Family Physician, 63(1), e31-e43. PMC5257237

Markle-Reid, M., Ploeg, J., Fraser, K.D., Fisher, K.A., Akhtar-Danesh, N., Bartholomew, A., Gafni, A., Gruneir, A., Hirst, S.P., Kaasalainen, S., Kelly Stradiotto, K., Miklavcic, J., Rojas-Sadowski, C.A., Thabane, L., Triscott, J.A.C., Upshur, R. (2017). The ACHRU-CPP versus usual care for older adults with type-2 diabetes and multiple chronic conditions and their family caregivers: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 18, 55. doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-1795-9

Ploeg, J., Denton, M., Hutchison, B., McAiney, C., Moore, A., Brazil, K., Tindale, J., Wu, A., Lam, A. (2016). Primary health care providers' perspectives on facilitating older patients' access to community support services. Canadian Journal on Aging, 35(4), 499-512. doi: 10.1017/S0714980816000568

Ploeg, J., Markle-Reid, M., Davies, B., Higuchi, K., Gifford, W., Bajnok, I., McConnell, H., Plenderleith, J., Foster, S., Bookey-Bassett, S. (2014). Spreading and sustaining best practices for home care of older adults: A grounded theory study. Implementation Science, 9, 162. doi: 10.1186/s13012-014-0162-4 PMCID: PMC4225037

Ploeg, J., Kaasalainen, S., McAiney, C., Martin-Misener, R., Donald, F., Wickson-Griffiths, A., Carter, N., Sangster-Gormley, E., Schindel Martin, L., Brazil, K., & Taniguchi, A. (2013). Resident and family perceptions of the nurse practitioner role in long-term care settings: A qualitative descriptive study. BMC Nursing, 12(1):24. doi: 10.1186/1472-6955-12-24 PMCID: PMC3849937

Ploeg, J., Lohfeld, L., & Walsh, C. (2013). What is “elder abuse”? Voices from the margin: The views of underrepresented Canadian older adults. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 25(5), 396-424. doi: 10.1080/08946566.2013.780956

Ploeg, J., Skelly, J., Rowan, M., Edwards, N., Davies, B., Grinspun, D., Bajnok, I., & Downey, A. (2010). The role of nursing best practice champions in diffusing practice guidelines: A mixed methods study. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 7(4), 238-251. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-6787.2010.00202.x

Ploeg, J., Brazil, K., Hutchison, B., Kaczorowski, J., Dalby, D., Goldsmith, C, & Furlong, W. (2010). Effect of preventive primary care outreach on health-related quality of life among older adults at risk of functional decline: randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal, 340, 1480. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c1480 PMCID: PMC3191725


Honours

2015 McMaster University, Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Supervision Award
2015 Hamilton Council on Aging, 2015 Volunteer of the Year award
2014 Distinguished Fellow Adjunct Professor, Mohawk College, Convocation Speaker
2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faulty of Nursing, University of Toronto
2011 Best of Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing Award, Sigma Theta Tau 2011 International Award for Nursing Excellence (for paper titled The Role of Nursing Best Practice Champions in Diffusing Practice Guidelines: A Mixed Methods Study)

Grants

Innovative Community-Based Approaches to Promote Optimal Aging for Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions and their Caregivers. Ploeg, J., Markle-Reid, M. (PIs), Bournes, D., Anderson, C., Farrell, M., Paetkau, S., Akhtar-Danesh, N., Baptiste, S., Bender, D., Duggleby, W., Emili, A., Feldman, S., Forbes, D., Fraser, K., Gafni, A., Ganaan, R., Garnett, A., Ghosh, S., Gibson, M., Griffith, L., Gruneir, A., Hirst, S., Kaasalainen, S., Keefe, J., Matthew-Maich, N., McAiney, C., Patterson, C., Peacock, S., Rojas-Fernandez,C., Sadowski, C., Triscott, J., Upshur, R., Valaitis, R., Williams, A. CIHR, Community-Based Primary Healthcare Team Grant. April 2013-April 2018, $2,500,000.
Centre for Research in Community Interventions to Promote Optimal Aging at Home. Markle-Reid, M., and Ploeg, J. (PIs), Bender, D., Forbes, D., Fraser, K., Gafni, A., Ganaan, R., Griffith, L., Gruneir, A., Kaasalainen,S., Matthew-Maich, N., McAiney, C., Patterson, C., Rojas-Fernandez, C., Taberner, C., Thabane, L., Triscott, J., Upshur, R., Valaitis, R., Williams, A. Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Health System Research Fund Program Awards. April 2013-April 2016, $3,265,903.
The Impact of Caregiver Support Interventions for Vulnerable Populations. Markle-Reid, M., Ploeg, J., Valaitis, R. (Co-PIs), McAiney, C., Ganaan, R., Duggleby, W. Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, $300,000. April 2016-March 2017.
A Pragmatic Trial to Evaluate Hospital-to-Home Transitional Care Intervention Compared to Usual Primary Care for Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions and Depression. Markle-Reid, M., McAiney, C., (PIs) Price, D., Valaitis, R., Ploeg, J., Fisher, K., Kates, N., Lavis, J., Cairney, J., Thabane, L., Gafni, A., Vedel, I., Reid, R., Warry, W., Neufeld, E., Johnson, B., Heald-Taylor, G., Ogden, L. Ontario SPOR Support Unit Home & Community Care, February 1, 2016-June 30, 2018. $1,020,000.
The Neighborhood Team Development Program: Promoting Resident Centeredness in Long-Term Care. Boscart, V., Sidani, S. (Co-PIs), Heckman, G., Ploeg, J., Dupuis, S., d'Avernas, J., Harvey, D., Neves, P. CIHR Operating Grant. October 2014-September 2017, $666,972.

Research

Dr. Ploeg’s primary research interests include evaluation of community health services for older adults and their caregivers; best practice guideline implementation, sustainability and spread; and qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research. She has led numerous studies involving the design, evaluation and translation of innovative health promotion programs. In 2013, Dr. Ploeg, Dr. Markle-Reid and an interdisciplinary research team of investigators, clinicians, trainees and collaborators from across Canada, were awarded a combined $5.8 million to fund the new Aging, Community and Health Research Unit (ACHRU). The research program is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Signature Initiative in Community Based Primary Health Care ($2.5 million over 5 years) and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to develop and evaluate innovative, community-based primary health care interventions to promote optimal aging at home for older adults with multiple chronic conditions and to support their family caregivers. Seven interrelated studies set in Ontario and Alberta are using quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods designs to target older adults with multiple chronic conditions who have dementia, Type 2 diabetes and/or vascular conditions. The research unit offers an exceptional capacity building strategy for trainees. An integrated knowledge translation strategy, with regular knowledge exchange events, is being used to share study results with key stakeholders and implement successful programs more widely.
Courses
Graduate and Undergraduate Teaching

Dr. Ploeg’s teaching contributions are in both graduate and undergraduate studies. She supervises students in the School of Nursing Graduate Program and is Course Planner and Tutor in NUR 701 Theoretical Basis of Nursing Practice.
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Experience

  • –present
    Professor of Nursing, McMaster University