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Dr. O’Leary received his Ph.D. at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto and his MSW at York University, Faculty of Social Work. Dr. O’Leary’s research and teaching interests are informed by his 15-plus years of social work practice as a prisoners’ rights advocate, a community mental health worker, and as a hospital-based social worker. His research focus is inclusive of harm reduction/substance use; equitable healthcare practice/services; and identity construction.
2022 – 2024. Striving to include and retain gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men with crystal meth use lived experience in social health programming and services; Funder: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Principal Investigator.
2021 – 2024. Developing an innovative approach to treating methamphetamine use disorder among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men; Funder: Ontario HIV Treatment Network. Co-Investigator.
2020 – 2021. Engaging people living with HIV/AIDS who use drugs and other stakeholders in community-based knowledge generation to guide harm reduction service design and delivery; Funder: Ontario HIV Treatment Network. Co-Investigator.
2016 – 2021. Day Health Programs for complex care delivery: Using implementation science and participatory methods to evaluate success and ethical care delivery for people living with HIV; Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Co-Investigator.
2016 – 2018. At the intersection of clinical ethics and harm reduction: Clinician perspectives on reducing discharges against medical advice for substance using patients; Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Co-Investigator.
Rudzinski, K., O’Leary, W., Perri, M., Guimond, T., Guta, A., Chan Carusone, S., & Strike, C. (2023). Community reinforcement approach (CRA) supported with structured recreation therapy: Experiences of people living with HIV in a pilot substance use treatment program at a specialty hospital. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2023.208974
O'Leary, W., Brennan, D.J., & Ashcroft, R., Chan Carusone, S., Guta, A., & Strike, C. (2022). A structuration theory guided analysis of the hospitalization experience for people living with HIV who use drugs: My rules and their rules. International Journal of Drug Policy. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103743
Rudzinski K., Ceranto A., Strike C., Azmila A., Baltzer Turje R., Cardow A., Guta A., O’Leary W., Hyshka E., Ibáñez-Carrasco F., Kucharski E., McDougall P., McKnight I., Medina, C., Morley L., Murcia Monroy D., Sipione J., Valentine D., Vose, K., and Chan Carusone S. (2022). Twelve characteristics of client-centred supervised consumption services (SCS): A toolkit for service design, delivery, and evaluation. Toronto. Report available at: Twelve-characteristics-of-client-centred-SCS-toolkit.pdf (catie.ca)
Rudzinski, R., Chan Carusone, S., Ceranto, A., Ibáñez-Carrasco, F., Valentine, D., Guta, A., Hyshka, E., O’Leary, W., Cardow, A., & Strike, C. (2022). Philanthropic donor perspectives about providing harm reduction services for people living with HIV/AIDS in a hospital setting. Harm Reduction Journal,19(124). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-022-00711-8
Rudzinski, K., Xavier, J., Guta, A., Chan Carusone, S., King, K, Switzer, S., O’Leary, W., Baltzer Turje, R., Harrison, S., de Prinse, K., Simons, J., & Strike, C. (2021). Feasibility, acceptability, concerns, and challenges of implementing supervised injection services at a specialty HIV hospital in Toronto, Canada: perspectives of people living with HIV. BMC Public Health 21(1482). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11507-z
Strike, C., Robinson, S., Guta, A., Tana, D., O'Leary, W., Cooper, C., Upshur, R., Chan Carusone, S. (2020). Illicit drug use while admitted to hospital: patient and health care provider perspectives. PlosOne 15 (3):e0229713.
Chan Carusone, S., Guta, A., Robinson, S., Tan, D. H., Cooper, C., O’Leary, W., & Strike, C. (2019). “Maybe if I stop the drugs, then maybe they’d care?” - hospital care experiences of people who use drugs. Harm Reduction Journal, 16(1), 16.
Miscovic, M., Chan Carusone, S., Guta, A., O’Leary, W., dePrinse, K., & Strike, C. (2018) Distribution of harm reduction kits in a specialty HIV hospital in Canada. American Journal of Public health, doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304600
O’Leary, W., Strike, C., Sagar Rohailla, R., Barnes, M., McDougall, P., Baltzer Turje, R., & Chan Carusone, S. (2018). Perspectives of healthcare workers about the delivery and evaluation of harm reduction services for people living with HIV who use substances. Cogent Medicine, 5(1), doi.org/10.1080/2331205X.2018.1461005
Chan Carusone, S., O’Leary, W., McWatt, S., Stewart, A., Craig, S., & Brennan, D. (2017). The lived experience of the hospital discharge ‘plan’: a longitudinal qualitative study of complex patients. Journal of Hospital Medicine, 12(1),1-5.
Brennan, D.J., McWatt, S., O’Leary, W., Carusone, S.C., Stewart, A., & Craig, S.L. (2015). Living through the transition: The impact of complex care needs on the hospital to community transition. Canadian Journal of Infectious Disease and Medical Microbiology, 26(Supp B.), 30.
O’Leary, W. (2015). Constructing a ‘teacher’ identity: Influence and impact of doctoral studies on the development of a teaching practice. Canadian Social Work, 17(1), 28-39