Jennifer O'Neil

Jennifer O’Neil is a physiotherapist and assistant professor in the physiotherapy program of the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa. Her research program focuses on improving access to effective rehabilitation interventions with innovative service delivery methods. Using technology, her doctoral thesis examined the implementation of intensive home-based telerehabilitation programs for people living with a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. Since then, she has investigated the implementation of a telehealth fall prevention program for francophone communities living in minority situations across Canada (Marche vers le futur). She guided an international participatory research planning project in Uganda and continues to explore the use of telerehabilitation for people living with neurological conditions in Canada and abroad. From a global health perspective, using participatory approaches and mixed methodology, Professor O’Neil aims to improve health equity and access to rehabilitation services globally.

Please contact Professor O’Neil for PhD or postdoctoral position opportunities or thesis supervision.

• Global health, health equity and access to rehabilitation services
• Service delivery, telehealth, telerehabilitation, virtual care
• Co-designed, person-centred, mixed-method and participatory approaches
• Clinical implementation and knowledge mobilization

My research program aims to improve access to rehabilitation services for people living with complex rehabilitation needs or for equity-seeking groups by focusing on three areas of research and, most importantly, their intersections:

• Health equity and access: We seek to remove access barriers and align service provision with people’s rehabilitation needs to ensure equitable access to rehabilitation services.
• Rehabilitation service delivery, telehealth and telerehabilitation: We investigate the use of innovative models of care and methods to deliver high-quality rehabilitation services through various platforms, including telerehabilitation.
• Participation, co-design and implementation: In partnership with communities and people with lived experiences, we co-design human/community-centred solutions that are effective and rooted in social justice.

Lab website: Reachable Rehab Research Lab

See Jennifer O'Neil’s publications on ORCID and on her lab website.