Senior Scientist, KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network
Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Adjunct Scientist, Baycrest Health Sciences, Rotman Research Institute
KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network
550 University Avenue
Toronto, ON M5G 2A2
Phone: 416-597-3422 x7609
Email: pia.kontos@uhn.ca
Websites
http://www.uhnres.utoronto.ca/researchers/profile.php?lookup=56403
http://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/faculty-profile/kontos-pia/
Biosketch
Pia is a Senior Scientist at KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network, and Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Her research program represents a convergence of several key interests: 1) the use of critical social theory and qualitative research methods (participant observation, interviews, focus groups) to examine the norms and assumptions underpinning care practices in community and long-term care settings; 2) the development of a relational model of citizenship which integrates insights from the fields of embodiment and dementia, citizenship, and human rights to address issues of social justice and state responsibility regarding the recognition and entitlements of individuals living with dementia; and 3) the development, implementation, and evaluation of arts-based approaches (e.g. research-based theatre, film) to bridging her research on relationality, embodiment, and selfhood, with the practice and ethics of dementia care.
Research Interests
- Critical social theory applied to health, illness, and disability
- Embodiment theory
- Ethics
- Dementia and dementia care
- Qualitative and arts-based methodologies and practice
Sample Publications
Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Dupuis, S., Colobong, R., Gray, J., Jonas-Simpson, C., Serota, A. Projecting a critique of stigma associated with dementia on screen: The impact of a Canadian film on the importance of relational caring in the community. The Gerontologist; 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad045.
Kontos, P., Radnofsky, M., Fehr, P., Belleville, M.R., Bottenberg, F., Fridley, M., Massad, S., Grigorovich, A., Carson, J., Rogenski, K., Carpenter, K.S., Dupuis, S., Battalen, J., McDonagh, D., Fassbender, K., Whitehouse, P. Separate and unequal: A time to reimagine dementia. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 2021; 80(4): 1395-1399.
Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Kosurko, A., Bar, R.J., Herron, R.V., Menec, V., Skinner, M. Dancing with dementia: Exploring the embodied dimensions of creativity and social engagement. The Gerontologist 2020; 61(5): 714-723.
Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Colobong, R. Towards a critical understanding of creativity and dementia: New directions for practice change. International Practice Development Journal (Special Issue: Critical perspectives on person, care and aging) 2020; 10(Suppl, Article 3). DOI.org/10.19043/ipdj.10Suppl.003.
Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Dupuis, S., Jonas-Simpson, C., Mitchell, G., Gray, J. Raising the curtain on stigma associated with dementia: Fostering a new cultural imaginary for a more inclusive society. Critical Public Health 2020; 30(1): 91-102. DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2018.1508822.
Gray, J., Kontos, P. Working at the margins: Theatre, social science and radical political engagement. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance 2019, 24(3): 402-407. DOI: 10.1080/13569783.2019.1604125.
Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A. Rethinking musicality in dementia as embodied and relational. Journal of Aging Studies (Special Issue: Ageing Body and Society – Critical Perspectives, Future Challenges)2018; 45:39-48.
Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A. ‘Sleight of hand’ or ‘selling our soul’? Surviving as critical qualitative health researchers in a positivist world. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research 2018; 19(2), Art. 25.
