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What we're working on
At the Building Workforce Capacity for Health and Well-Being research group, we explore workplace factors that can achieve staffing stability in aged care settings. Our goal is to uncover important information to co-develop and strengthen knowledge, resources and abilities to create a psychologically healthy and safe work environments where nurses and healthcare workers want to remain working.
-Jen & Dr. Sun
Welcome to Building Workforce
Capacity for Health & Well-Being
Gerontological Nursing • Health Workforce • Research
Gerontological nurses work in collaboration with older adults, their families, and care teams to provide care specifically to meet the health needs of the aging population.
The World Health Organization estimates a shortage of 11 million health workers by 2030*. This is particularly concerning as older adults are one of the fastest-growing age groups and will require knowledgeable and skilled care that addresses the unique needs of the aging population.
At the Building Workforce Capacity for Health and Well-Being research group, we explore workplace factors that can achieve staffing stability.
Expected benefits of our research include improved quality and continuity of care, lower turnover to decrease hiring and onboarding costs, and to promote a safe and healthy work environment that can ensure resident/client/patient needs receive consistent and reliable care.
*WHO (2025). Health workforce. World Health Organization.https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-workforce#tab=tab_1
Project Highlights
Psychological Health and Safety Retention Factors in Long-Term Care
This doctoral research advances upon previous research that explored staffing stability in LTC with staff, student, and leader participants to better understand elements of psychological health and safety workplace factors to improve workforce retention in long-term care.
Part of this research has been funded by the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association
Enhancing Staffing Stability in Long-Term Care
This study aimed to describe elements of recruitment and retention from the perspectives of nurses and personal support workers to understand better how organizations can transform LTC into a place where people want to work and choose to remain working. Findings have been published in the Journal of Nursing Care Quality
This study was supported by a WeRPN RPN Research Fellowship, Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship, and CityStudio Durham
