Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Kathryn A. Nichol PhD, MHSc, BScN

Research Interests

healthy work environments; occupational health and safety; occupational skin disease, contact dermatitis; infection prevention and control; acute care hospitals; nurses; personal protective equipment; respiratory protection; facial protective equipment; communicable respiratory illness; adherence to safe work behaviours; barriers and facilitators of adherent behaviours; workplace violence prevention; sharps injury prevention; joint health and safety committee functioning and effectiveness; workplace safety culture; interactions between worker health and patient safety in healthcare; home care

Education

2010 PhD Medical Science, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto

1996 MHSc Occupational and Environmental Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

1989 BScN Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto

Certifications/Licenses

2025 Nonprofit Financial Stewardship, John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Executive Education, Issued Nov 2025, Credential ID 0000166887

2024 Certificate in Non-Profit Governance, Governance Professionals of Canada

2023 Rotman-ICD Governance Essentials Certificate, University of Toronto

2022 Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching, Royal Roads University, British Columbia

2020 San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Certificate, Provincial Health Services Authority British Columbia

2016 Certificate in Effective Governance in Quality and Patient Safety, Governance Centre of Excellence

2013 Rotman Executive Leadership Certificate, University of Toronto and University Health Network

1989 Registered Nursing License, College of Nurses of Ontario

Academic Appointments

Investigator, Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease

Member, Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease Advisory Committee

Professional Appointment

President and CEO, VHA Home HealthCare, Toronto

Current Grants

2025 – 2026   King EC, McKay SM, Nichol KA, Holness DL. Post-pandemic stewardship of personal protective equipment by home and community care organizations. Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease Subgrant, $10,000.

2025 – 2026   King EC, Saari M, Van Belle TVB, Sidhu PK, Giosa JL, Nichol KA, Holness DL. Post-pandemic facial protective equipment use by home care providers: Site 1. Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease Subgrant, $20,000, Apr 2025 – Mar 2026.

2025 – 2026   Saari M, King EC, Van Belle TVB, Sidhu PK, Giosa JL, Nichol KA, Holness DL. Post-pandemic facial protective equipment use by home care providers: Site 2. Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease Subgrant, $10,000, Apr 2025 – Mar 2026.

2024 – 2026   King EC, Holness DL, Kapoor K, Van hulle H, Nichol KA. Occupational hand dermatitis e-learning adaptation and evaluation for the food services sector. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. $139,217.28

Publications – Last 5 years

1. Van Belle, Evans C, King E, Giosa J, Zagrodney K, McKay S, Nichol K, & Holness D. Factors affecting self-reported facial protective equipment adherence by rehabilitation providers in home care during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic – A cross-sectional pilot study. Home Health Care Management & Practice (in review)

2. McKay S, Mondor L, Warren C, Bronskill S, Guilcher S, Senthinathan A, Zagrodney K, Nichol K, An D, King E. “How did adult homecare service delivery change in Ontario, Canada from 2013 – 2022?” Health Services Insights (in review).

3. Nizzer S, Wong M, McKay S, Nichol K. “Early impact of a co-designed playgroup for children with medical complexity: A mixed-methods pilot study.” Journal of Patient Experience (in press).

4. Rabeenthira P, Zagrodney K, King E, Nichol K, McKay S. “What Drove Clients’ Decisions to Pause Personal Homecare Services Before and During the Pandemic? Health Services Insights. April 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/11786329251335877.

5. Zagrodney KAP, Jaffe R, McKay SM, Mangal K, Van Belle TA, Nichol KA, King EC. Scheduling, income and childcare: unlocking the key drivers of home care personal support unplanned absences. Journal of Applied Gerontology. February 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648251316973

6. King EC, Van Belle TA, Zagrodney KAP, McKay SM, Giosa J, Holubiec I, Holness DL, Nichol KA. Factors Influencing Self-reported Facial Protective Equipment adherence among Home Care Nurses and Personal Support Workers – A multi-site cross-sectional study. American Journal of Infection Control. Oct 2024, 52(10): 1105-1113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2024.06.005

7. Van Belle TA, King EC, Roy M, Michener M, Hung V, Zagrodney KAP, McKay SM, Holness DL, Nichol KA. Factors influencing nursing professionals’ adherence to facial protective equipment usage: A comprehensive review, AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control, (2024) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2024.04.006.

8. Zagrodney K, King E, Simon D, Nichol K, McKay S. A good investment: Expanding capacity to care for older adults in the home and community care sector through increased Personal Support Worker wages. Canadian Journal on Aging. Epub ahead of print Sept. 18, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980823000557.

9. Nizzer S, Ruco A, Moreira N, Holness DL, Nichol K, King E, McKay S. “You have to be careful about every detail” – How the COVID-19 Pandemic Shaped the Experiences of Canadian Personal Support Workers Working in Home Care. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 65(9):p e604-e609, September 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002911.

10. Zagrodney K, King E, Mohammed E, Nichol K, Holness DL. Occupational Hand Dermatitis in HealthCare: Development and Evaluation of an Online Training E-module. Dermatitis. Epub ahead of print May 8, 2023. http://doi.org/10.1089/derm.2023.0012. (3rd Runner up in the 2023 Dermatitis Article of the Year initiative).

11. Zagrodney K, King E, Simon D, Nichol K, McKay S. Economic Evidence in Support of Home and Community Care Sector Investment: The Case for PSW Wage Parity in Ontario. Healthcare Policy 19(1) August 2023 : 23-31. doi:10.12927/hcpol.2023.27161.

12. Ruco A, Nichol K, Edwards B, Roy M, Morgan D, Holness DL, McKay S. Spot It, Prevent It: Evaluation of a Rapid Response Algorithm for Managing Workplace Violence Among Home Care Workers. Workplace Health Saf. 2022 Aug 17:21650799221110891. doi: 10.1177/21650799221110891. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35975760.

13. Nichol K, Ruco A, Holness DL. Construction sector joint health and safety committees: Can their effectiveness be assessed using the JHSC assessment eTool? Work. 2022;73(1):247-254. doi: 10.3233/WOR-205211. PMID: 35871379.

14. King E, Zagrodney K, McKay S, Holness DL and Nichol K. Determinants of nurse’s and personal support worker’s adherence to facial protective equipment in a community setting during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada: A pilot study. American Journal of Infection Control. Published: July 30, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2022.07.021.

15. Holness DL, King E, Nichol K, Zagrodney K. Occupational Dermatitis – What’s New? Journal of the Ontario Occupational Health Nurses. Spring Summer 2022, p. 17-20

16. Ruco A, Nichol K, Morassaei S, Bola R, Di Prospero L. Supporting discovery and inquiry: A Canadian hospital’s approach to building research and innovation capacity in point-of-care health professionals. Quality Management in Health Care: April 08, 2021 – Volume Publish Ahead of Print – Issue – doi: 10.1097/QMH.0000000000000294

17. McGilton K, Vellani S, Krassikova A, Robertson S, Irwin C, Cumal A, Bethell J, Bronskill S, Burr E, Keatings M, McKay S, Nichol K, Puts M, Singh A, Wodchis W, Sidani S. Understanding transitional care programs for older adults who experience delayed discharge: A scoping review. BMC Geriatr 21, 210 (2021). doi:10.1186/s12877-021-02099-9