Patrick O'Byrne

Patrick O’Byrne RN-EC PhD is a Full Professor of Nursing at the University of Ottawa. His research and clinical work as a nurse practitioner focus on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Dr. O’Byrne’s work includes the provision of HIV medications to prevention HIV transmission (known as pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis), and the delivery of culturally sensitive and appropriate nursing services for members of the groups most affected by sexually transmitted infections and HIV. He holds an OHTN Research Chair in Public Health and HIV Prevention. Dr. O’Byrne is also the principal investigator for the GetaKit Study, which is the first project to offer free at-home HIV self-testing in Canada.

Click here for a full list of Dr. O'Byrne's work.

• Public health nursing
• Marginalized populations
• Sexual health
• Sexually transmitted infections and HIV
• HIV prevention
• Critical theory and Politics
• Nursing
• Intersection of health and law

• O’Byrne P, Musten A, Orser L*, Buckingham S. (2021). Automating STI/HIV risk assessments: Development and testing of an online clinical algorithm. International Journal of STD & AIDS.

• Razmjou S, Charest M*, O’Byrne P, MacPherson PA. (Accepted). Pre-exposure prophylaxis among men who have sex with men: A real world view with benefits beyond HIV risk reduction. International Journal of Sexual Health.
• Haines M*, O’Byrne P. (Accepted). Injectable opioid agonist treatment: An evolutionary concept analysis. Research in Nursing & Health.
• Haines M*, O’Byrne P, MacPherson P. (Accepted). Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: Barriers and facilitators to healthcare access. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.
• O’Byrne P, Musten A, Orser L*, Inamdar G, Grayson MO, Francoeur M, Lachance S, Paulin V. (Accepted). At-home HIV self-testing during COVID: Overview of the GetaKit Project in Ottawa. Canadian Journal of Public Health.
• O’Byrne P, Vandyk A, Orser L, Haines M. (Accepted). The nurse-led PrEP-RN clinic: Task shifting HIV prevention to public health nurses. BMJ Open.
• O’Byrne P, MacPherson PA, Orser L*. (Accepted). Discussing current syphilis case definitions: A proposal for a probable infectious case. Public Health Nursing.
• Kitson C, O’Byrne P. (Accepted). The experience of violence among homeless women who use injection drugs: An exploratory qualitative study. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research.
• Kitson C, O’Byrne P. (Accepted). The process of injection drug use among homeless women: A qualitative study. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 35(2),.
• Don A, O’Byrne P. (Accepted). Exploring how children with intellectual disability are stratified within service navigation in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
• Orser L*, O’Byrne P. (Accepted). Exploring the effectiveness of public health counselling following an HIV diagnosis among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. Journal of Research in Nursing.
• Orser L, O’Byrne P. 2021. HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among women with infectious syphilis: Examining patient characteristics and HIV-related risks. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 32(1), 45-51.
• O’Byrne P, Orser L*, Vandyk A. 2020. Immediate PrEP after PEP: Results from an observational nurse-led PEP2PrEP study. Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, 19, 1-7.
• Friedman DS, O’Byrne P P. 2020. Extragenital testing increases case detection of Neisseria gonorrhea and Chlamydia trachomatis: The Impact of implementing nucleic acid amplification testing. Canadian Communicable Disease Report, 46(9), 285-291.
• O’Byrne P, Tilley L, Friedman DS, Orser L. 2020. Inconclusive syphilis results: A retrospective review of public health results. Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, 5642952, 1-5.
• O’Byrne P. 2020. HIV PEP and primary care: A review for nurse practitioners. NP Current, 6, 9-17
• O’Byrne P, Hollett M, Campbell B. (2020). A nurse practitioner leadership model for sexual health clinics: Staff feedback about implementation and operations. Nurse Leader. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2019.11.016north_eastexternal link
• O’Byrne P, Orser L*, Haines M*. (2020). Active-offer nurse-led PrEP (PrEP-RN) referrals: Analysis of uptake and reasons for declining. AIDS & Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02745-9north_eastexternal link
• O’Byrne P. (2020). Interpreting an RPR of 1:4 in a female patient. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2019.12.012north_eastexternal link
• O’Byrne P, Orser L*, Haines M*, Holmes D. (2020). Active-offer PrEP for HIV prevention: Control, discipline, and public health practice. Critical Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2019.1690633north_eastexternal link
• Orser L*, O’Byrne P, Bourgault A, Scherling N. (2020). Syphilis diagnosis, staging, and treatment: An algorithm to facilitate management in clinical practice. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. https://doi:10.1097/JXX.0000000000000370north_eastexternal link
• O’Byrne P, Orser L*. (2020). Avoiding missed opportunities to screen for HIV. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. http://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000274north_eastexternal link.
• O’Byrne P, Orser L*, Jacob JD. (2020). The costs of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) care delivery: Comparing specialists, primary care, and PrEP-RN. Sexuality Research & Social Policy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-019-00391-3north_eastexternal link.
• O’Byrne P, MacPherson PA. 2020. Painful penile lesions and testicular pain in a 45-year-old HIV-positive man: a possible case of syphilitic epididymitis. The Nurse Practitioner, 45(4), 14-17.
• Pearson Jeske C*, O’Byrne P. 2019. Perceptions and experiences of methadone maintenance treatment: A qualitative descriptive research study. Journal of Addictions Nursing, 30(4), 248-253.
• O’Byrne P, Jacob JD. 2019. The evolution of HIV prevention: From discipline to control. Advances in Nursing Science, 42(4), E1-E10.
• O’Byrne P, Orser L*. 2019. Express testing for sexually transmitted infections: Clinical results. Journal of Research in Nursing, 24(7), 541-547.
• O’Byrne P, MacPherson PA. 2019. Clinical updates: Syphilis. British Medical Journal, 365, I4159.
• *solicited manuscript
• O’Byrne P. 2019. HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP): A quick guide for primary care practice. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 15(8), 564-567.  
• Orser L*, O’Byrne P. 2019. Implementing a nurse-led HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis service (PrEP-RN) in a public health unit STI clinic. Health Reform Observer, 7(2), Article 3, 1-11.
• O’Byrne P. 2019. HIV PEP and nursing scholarship: A reflection on critical theory and social justice. Witness: Canadian Journal of Critical Nursing Discourse, 1(1), 28-38.
• O’Byrne P, MacPherson PA, Orser L*, Jacob JD, Holmes D. 2019. PrEP-RN: Clinical considerations and protocols for nurse-led PrEP. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 30(3), 301-311.
• O’Byrne P, Jacob JD, Orser L*, Bourgault A, Lee S. 2019. Responding to critiques of the Canadian PrEP guidelines: Increasing equitable access through a nurse-led active-offer PrEP service (PrEP-RN). Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 28(1), 5-16.
• O’Byrne P. 2019. Population health and social governance: A review, an update, some clarifications, and a response. Qualitative Health Research, 29(5), 731-8.
• *solicited manuscript
• O’Byrne P, Pearson Jeske, C*. 2019. Methadone maintenance treatment as social control: Analyzing patient experiences. Nursing Inquiry, 26(2), e12275.
• O’Byrne P, Orser L*, Jacob JD. 2019. The “side effects” of PEP use: Forced reflections and introspections on sexual decision-making. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice: An International Journal, 33(2), 196-208.
• O’Byrne P. 2019. Rigour after gonorrhea treatment in a 55-year-old man. Canadian Family Physician, 65(2), 112-115.
• O’Byrne P, MacPherson PA, Kitson C*, Bourgault A. 2019. Consideration of sexually transmitted infections in the differential diagnosis: Case studies. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 31(1), 65-71.
• Watts J*, O’Byrne P. 2019. “I don't care if you think I'm gay ... that won't make me either promiscuous or HIV positive”: HIV, stigma, and the paradox of the gay men's sexual health clinic – An exploratory study. Advances in Nursing Research, 47, 1-3.