Karen Lok Yi Wong is a PhD candidate and sessional lecturer. She is a registered social worker and researcher and has been practicing and researching in diverse settings related to older adults, such as community senior services centre, long-term care, and geriatric acute care. She is the recipient of the Inspiring Social Worker of the Year by the BC Association of Social Workers in 2021 and the Distinguished Service Award by the Canadian Association of Social Workers in 2024, which acknowledged her contribution to her advocacy work with people with dementia from diverse cultural communities. Karen’s PhD is funded by the SSHRC Doctoral Award, CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship, and AGE-WELL Michael F. Harcourt Policy Fellowship.

Research Interests

• Ageing and cultural, racial, immigration, and language diversity
• Lived experiences of people living with dementia and families
• Healthcare and social service systems and policies in aging
• Aging and technology
• Participatory action research

Peer-reviewed Publications (Selected)

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Hung, L., Santaella, P., Connelly, D., Sakamoto, M., Mann, J., Chan, I., Wong, K. L. Y., Upreti, M., Hundal, H., Yous, M. L., Collins, J. (accepted) Virtual Team-Based Care Planning for Older Adults with Dementia: Enablers, Barriers, and Lessons from Hospital-to-LTC Transitions. Journal of Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Wong, J., Wong, K. L. Y., Wen, K., Adekoya, A., Wallsworth, C., Mann, J., Wong, L., Gregorio, M., Hung, L. (2025) A Qualitative Study on Virtual Reality and Psychosocial Needs of Residents Living with Dementia in Long-Term Care. Digital Health. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251374160

Wong, K. L. Y., Hung, L. Wang, C., Pan, D., Liao, D., Ren, L. H., Berndt, A. (2025) The Perceived Impacts of Using Dementia-Friendly Videos to Support the Psychosocial Needs of People with Moderate to Severe Dementia in Care Settings: A Qualitative Exploratory Study. Digital Health. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251357490

Hung, L.; Chen, I.; Wong, J.; Zhao, Y.; Wong, K. L. Y.; Murad, S.; Jackson, L. (accepted) Facilitators and Barriers to Co-Designing Social Robots with Older Adults Living with Dementia: A Scoping Review. Digital Health.

Lin, M. C. M., Vasarhelyi, K., Wong, K. L. Y., Furuichi, H., Mann, J., Berndt, A., Lee, K., Hung, L. (2025) Engaging Community to Co-design Learning Health Systems: Lessons from Storytelling and Design Jam, a Community Case Study from British Columbia, Canada. Frontiers in Health Services. https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2025.1620659

Lam, M., Adhami, N., Du, O., Huntley, R., Abdulai, A. F., Wong, K. L. Y., Hung, L. (2025) Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in Academia. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research. DOI: 10.1177/08445621251347025

Wong, J., Wong K.L.Y., Ren, L. H., Yang, S., Hu, G., Notle, J., Hung, L. (2025) A case report on an older person’s resilience during and beyond the pandemic from a life course perspective. Perspectives, Journal of the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association. 46(1), 7-16.

Ito, H., Banh, H., Wong, K. L. Y., Wong, L., Allen, S., Hung, L. (2025) A critical reflection of an intergenerational, student-led team bringing social robots and research to older adults in the community. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2025.2507413

Hung, L., Wong, J., Wong, K. L. Y., Fehr, P.; Gierach, L.; Gregorio, M.; Jackson, L.; Johnson, G.; Leigh, C.; Mann, J.; Ong, E.; Rochford-Brennan, H.; Wighton, M. B. (2025) From Inclusion to Empowerment: Advancing Equity Through Co-Research with People Living with Dementia. Frontiers in Dementia. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/dementia/articles/10.3389/frdem.2025.1600162/full

Landy, A. Malcolm P., Wong, K. L. Y., Phinney, A. (2025) Coordinating Connection: establishing a dementia-inclusive digital community. BC Studies. https://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/bcstudies/article/view/199143

Ren, H. L., Wong, K. L. Y., Soni, A., Lee, K., Arora, S., Banco, J., Jankovic, M., Hung, L. (2025) Feasibility and Acceptability of Deploying A Collaborative Service Robot in Long-Term Care: Staff Experiences. Electronics. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14071247

Hung, L., Lam, J., Wong, K. L. Y., Wong, J., Ren, L. H., Chakraborty, N., Zhao, Y. (2025) Game On: Staff Insights into Gamified Exercise for Long-Term Care Residents Living with Dementia. Journal of Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Hung, L., Ma, C., Huang, C. Y., Wong, J., Wong, K. L. Y., Chew, K. H., Chao, Y. C., Hussein, A., Yuen, K., Ren, L. H., Zhao, Y. (2025) Facilitators, Barriers, and Impacts to Implementing Dementia Care Training for Staff in Long-Term Care Settings by Using Fully Immersive Virtual Reality: A Scoping Review. Frontiers in Virtual Reality. doi: 10.3389/frvir.2025.1552370

Hung, L., Wong, J. Wong, K. L. Y., Tan, K., Lou, V., (2025) “It’s always happy to see me”: Exploring LOVOT robots as companions for older adults.  Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering (RATE). https://doi.org/10.1177/20556683251320669

Hung, L., Boucher, N. A., Ren, H. R., Wong, K. L. Y., Wong, J. O.Y., Zhao, Y., Wu, T. (2025) Exploring the Sources and Experiences of Joy in Caregiving: Insights from Formal Caregivers in Long-Term Care. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2024.105437

Hung, L., Abdulai, A.-F., Soni, A., Wong, K. L. Y., Ren, L. H., Xia, R., & Davies, K. (2025). Students perspectives on the development and deployment of an AI-enabled service robot in long-term care. Journal of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies Engineering, 12, 20556683251313773. https://doi.org/10.1177/20556683251313773

Smith, C., Wong, K. L. Y., Dunn, S., Gregorio, M., Wong, L., Huynh, P., Hung, L. (2025) Behind the Frontlines: Insights for Supporting Mental Health and Staff Retention in the Long-Term Care Workforce. Healthcare. 13(1), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13010040

Hung, L., Wong, J., Wong, K. L. Y., Son, R. C. E., Van, M., Mortenson, W. B., Lim, A., Boger, J., Wallsworth, C., Zhao, Y. (2025) The use and impact of virtual reality programs supported by aromatherapy for older adults: A scoping review. Applied Sciences. 15(1), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15010188

Wong, K. L. Y. (2024) An Integration of Theory, Practice, and Research in Critical Gerontological Social Work: An Interview with Professor Deborah O’Connor. Gerontological Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2024.2446451

Wong, J., Wong, K. L. Y., Kan, W., Wu, C., Upreti1, M., Van, M., Temirova, A., Alfares, H., Wen, K., Sharma, V., Wallsworth, C., Mann, J., Wong, L., Hung, L. (2024) Facilitators and barriers to implementing virtual reality in long-term care from the staff perspectives. Frontiers in Dementia. https://doi.org/10.3389/frdem.2024.1462946

Acosta CG, Ye Y, Wong K. L. Y., Zhao Y, Lawrence J, Towell M, D’Oyley H, Mackay-Dunn M, Chow B, Hung L. (2024) Implementing AI-Driven Bed Sensors: Perspectives from Interdisciplinary Teams in Geriatric Care. Sensors. 24(21):6803. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24216803

Hung, L., Wong, K.L.Y., Rasekaba, T., Ren, L. H., Douglass, D., Slatter, S., Berndt, A., Blackberry, I., (2024) How can equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles be incorporated into research excellence with industry and community partners? Lessons learnt from Canada and Australia on projects with a dementia focus. BMC Research Involvement and Engagement. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-024-00644-5

Lee, S., Hung, L., Wong, J., Ren, L. H., Wong, K. L., Y., Yee, A. (2024) The Impact of Physical Environment on Resident’s Well-being and Staff Care Practice in Dementia Care Homes in Canada and the Netherlands. Journal of Aging and Environment. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26892618.2024.2409399

Wong, K. L. Y., Hung, L., Wong, J., Park, J, Alfares, H., Zhao, Y., Mousavinejad, A., Soni, A., Zhao, H. (2024) Adoption of Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Robots in Long-Term Care Homes by Healthcare Providers: A Scoping Review. JMIR Aging. https://doi.org/10.2196/55257

Wong, K. L. Y., Pan, D., Hung, L. (2024) Applying Nancy Fraser’s Framework on Three Dimensions of Justice in the Understanding of Justice in the Use of Technology with Older Adults with Moderate to Severe Dementia in Care Settings: Closing the Digital Divide. Journal of Technology in Human Services. 1-21. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15228835.2024.2376552

Wong, J., Hung, L., Bayabay, C., Wong, K. L. Y., Berndt, A., Mann, J., Wong, L., Jackson, L., Gregorio, M. (2024) A Critical Reflection on Using the Patient Engagement in Research Scale (PEIRS) to Evaluate Patient and Family Partners’ Engagement in Dementia Research. Frontiers in Dementia. https://doi.org/10.3389/frdem.2024.1422820

Wong, K. L. Y., Johnson, G., & O’Connor, D. (2024). Living with dementia: Exploring the intersections of culture, race, and dementia, stigma. Dementia, 23(6), 1001–1020. https://doi.org/10.1177/14713012241249796

Ren, L. H., Wong, K. L. Y., Wong, J., Kleiss, S., Berndt, A., Mann, J., Hussein, A., Hu, G., Wong, L., Khong, R., Fu, J., Ahmed, N., Nolte, J., Hung, L. (2024) Working with a Robot in Hospital and Long-Term Care Homes: Staff experience. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01983-0

Leung, Y. W., Kwong, E. W. Y., Wong, K. L. Y., So, J., Poon, F., Cheng, T., Chen, E., Molasiotis, A., Howell, D. (2024) Understanding Elderly Chinese Cancer Patients in a Multicultural Clinical Setting: Embracing Mortality and Addressing Misperceptions of Vulnerability. Current Oncology. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol31050197

Lauer, S., Wong, K. L. Y, Yan, M.C. (2024) Social infrastructure, community organizations, and friendship formation: A scoping review. Community Development Journal. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsae023

Young, E., Hung, L., Wong, J., Wong, K. L. Y., Yee, A., Mann, J., & Vasarhelyi, K. (2023). The perceptions of university students on technological and ethical risks of using robots in long-term care homes. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 10, 1268386. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2023.1268386

Hung, L., Wong, K. L. Y., Mann, J., Berndt, A., Wong, L., Wang, C., Liao, D., Pan, D., & Ren, H. (2023). The Perspective of Nurses and Healthcare Providers on the use of Television Videos with People with Moderate to Severe Dementia. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 08445621231208220. https://doi.org/10.1177/08445621231208220

Sakamoto, M., Guo, Y. P. E., Wong, K. L. Y., Mann, J., Berndt, A., Boger, J., Currie, L., Raber, C., Egeberg, E., Burke, C., Sood, G., Lim, A., Yao, S., Phinney, A., & Hung, L. (2023). Co-design of a digital app “WhatMatters” to support person-centred care: A critical reflection. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 38(10), e6014. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.6014

Wong, K. L. Y., Bayani, M., Mann, J., Berndt, A., Wong, L., Wang, C., Pan, D., & Hung, L. (2023). Using videos and films with people with major cognitive disorder living in care settings: A scoping review. Gerontechnology, 22(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2023.22.1.823.04

Hung, L., Mann, J., Wallsworth, C., Upreti, M., Kan, W., Temirova, A., Wong, K. L. Y., Ren, H., To-Miles, F., Wong, J., Lee, C., Kar Lai So, D., & Hardern, S. (2023). Facilitators and Barriers to Using Virtual Reality and its Impact on Social Engagement in Aged Care Settings: A Scoping Review. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/23337214231166355

Makolewski, J., & Wong, K. L. Y. (2023). The experience of teaching a Bachelor’s level social work practice course for the first time in the context of Covid-19. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 24(1), 57–66. https://journal.anzswwer.org/index.php/advances/article/view/279

(Note: equal first authorship)

Wong, K. L. Y., & Hung, L. (2023). Cultural adaptation in television technology for older adults with dementia in care settings. Frontiers in Dementia, 1, 1098446. https://doi.org/10.3389/frdem.2022.1098446

Wong, K. L. Y. (2023). Reflection of my experience on English as a Second Language user from a Social Work Perspective: Inclusiveness. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 28(3), 52–56. https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/1952

Fang, M. L., Walker, M., Wong, K. L. Y., Sixsmith, J., Remund, L., & Sixsmith, A. (2022). Future of digital health and community care: Exploring intended positive impacts and unintended negative consequences of COVID-19. Healthcare Management Forum, 35(5), 279–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/08404704221107362

Smith, C. B., Wong, K. L. Y., To‐Miles, F., Dunn, S., Gregorio, M., Wong, L., Tam, S., Huynh, P., & Hung, L. (2022). Exploring experiences of loneliness among Canadian long‐term care residents during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A qualitative study. International Journal of Older People Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/opn.12509

Wong, K. L. Y. (2022). The value of knowledge and persons living with dementia: A healthcare professional’s reflection. International Practice Development Journal, 12(2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.19043/ipdj.122.011

Wong, K. L. Y. (2022). How social workers can use an intersectionality lens to understand recent older refugees falling through the cracks in services: Using Vancouver, Canada, as an example. International Social Work, 002087282211369. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728221136969

Wong, K. L. Y., Smith, C., To-Miles, F., Dunn, S., Gregorio, M., Wong, L., Huynh, P., & Hung, L. (2022). Timely considerations of using the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale with older adults living in long-term care homes: A critical reflection. Journal of Long Term Care, 163–172. https://doi.org/10.31389/jltc.141

Wong, K. L. Y. (2021) How Do Social Workers Working in Long-term Care Understand Their Roles? Using British Columbia, Canada as an Example. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2021.1900479

Yan, M.C., Wong, K. L. Y. & Lai, D. (2019) Subethnic Interpersonal Dynamic in Diasporic Community: A Study on Chinese Immigrants in Vancouver. Asian Ethnicity, 20(4), 451-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2019.1613885

Chan, W. C. H., Wong, K. L. Y., Leung, M. M. M. & Lin, M. K. Y. (2018) Perceived Challenges in Pediatric Palliative Care among Doctors and Nurses in Hong Kong. Death Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2018.1478912

Chan, W. C. H., Tin, A. F., & Wong, K. L. Y. (2016). Effectiveness of an experiential workshop for enhancing helping professionals’ self-competence in death work in Hong Kong: a randomised controlled trial. Health & Social Care in the Community. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12407

Chan, W. C. H., Tin, A. F., Wong, K. L. Y., Tse, D. M. W., Lau, K. S., & Chan, L. N. (2016). Impact of death work on self: Existential and emotional challenges and coping of palliative care professionals. Health & Social Work, 41(1), 33–41. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlv077

Chan, W. C. H., Tin, A. F., & Wong, K. L. Y. (2015). Coping with existential and emotional challenges: Development and validation of the Self-competence in Death Work Scale. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 50(1), 99–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.02.012

Chan, W. C. H., To, S. M., & Wong, K. L. Y. (2015). Intimacy as a distinct construct: Validating the Intimacy Scale among older adults of residential care homes in Hong Kong. Open Family Studies Journal, 7(2), 60–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1874922401507010060

Peer-reviewed Book Chapters

Wong, K. L. Y. (2025) The transition from school to work, from one work setting to another: Guided by curiosity. In Transforming the Field Education Landscape Student Handbook on Field Education. Calgary: Calgary University Press. https://ucp.manifoldapp.org/read/f1d61403-bdc3-4962-83fb-8174daced8f7/section/368e7642-22e4-4553-b653-910f04cf4ba6#_idParaDest-16

Wong, K. L. Y. (2024). Seniors’ poverty in British Columbia, Canada: A social justice issue. In M. K. Shankardass (Ed.), Care of Older Persons: Emerging International Perspectives (1st ed., p. 12). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003528432

Wong, K. L. Y. (2022). Social work field education experience with non-social work field supervisors in community senior service setting. In J. Drolet, G. Charles, S. M. McConnell, & M. Bogo (Eds.), Transforming Social Work Field Education: New Insights from Practice Research and Scholarship (pp. 35–46). Calgary University Press. https://ucp.manifoldapp.org/projects/9781773854403/resource/tswfe-chapter2

Wong, K. L. Y. (2021). Seniors’ access to information and referral service using technology in British Columbia, Canada – Past learnings and learnings since COVID-19. In M. Pomati, A. Jolly, & J. Rees (Eds.), Social Policy Review 33: Analysis and Debate in Social Policy, 2021 (1st ed., pp. 161–179). Policy Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1tqcwr7

Peer-reviewed Conference Proceeding

Wong, K. L. Y., Sixsmith, A., & Remund, L., (2021). How do older adults gain digital literacy during COVID-19?: British Columbia as a case example. A Focus on Pedagogy: Teaching, Learning and Research in the Modern Academy (Vol. 28, No. 1, pp 73-82). Architecture, Media, Politics, Society. https://amps-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Amps-Proceedings-Series-28.1.pdf

Fang, M. L., Wong, K. L. Y., Remund, L., Sixsmith, J., & Sixsmith, A. (2021). Technology access is a human right! Illuminating intersectional, digital determinants of health to enable agency in a digitized era. Technology, Mind & Society 2021 Conference Proceedings. Technology, Mind & Society. https://assets.pubpub.org/uj9k7q12/51634519937682.pdf

Wong, K. L. Y. (2021). Chapter 34: Vancouver as an age-friendly city? From a social work perspective. In R. Lastman (Ed.), The City and Complexity: Life, Design Commerce in the Built Environment (Vol. 2, pp. 356–363). Architecture, Media, Politics, Society.

Research Grants

• Team Grant: Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) Phase III: Research Teams, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), 2025 – 2029, Co-Principal investigator
• Reach Program, Michael Smith Health Research BC (with Alzheimer’s Society), 2024-2025, Co-lead
• Reach Program, Michael Smith Health Research BC (with Pacific Public Health Foundation), 2024-2025, Co-lead
• Operating Grant (Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment in Aging (BCHIA): Implementation Science Team Grants: Evaluation of Programs, Services and Innovative Models of Care for People Impacted by Dementia), Canada Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), 2024-2025, Co-investigator
• Reach Program, Michael Smith Health Research BC, 2024-2025, Co-investigator
• Catalyst Grant (Policy Research for Health System Transformation), Canada Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), 2023 – 2024, Co-investigator
• Connection Grant, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), 2023-2024, Collaborator
• Health Innovation Funding Investment (HIFI) Award, UBC, 2022 – 2024, Co-investigator
• Incubator Grant, Institute of Social Science Research at the University of Dundee, Scotland, 2022-2023, Co-Investigator
• Direct Grant, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013-2014, Co-Investigator
• Research Grant, Hong Kong Children’s Cancer Foundation, 2013-2014, Co-Principal Investigator

Academic Awards, Fellowships, and Scholarships (Selected)

International Level

• Best Research Award, Psychologists in Long Term Care, 2023
• Publication of the Year Award, Health Policy PIA, International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART), 2023
• Research Scholar, Science and Technology for Aging Research (STAR) Institute, Simon Fraser University, 2021-present
• Scholarship, Socio-Legal Studies Association Conference, 2021
• Fellowship, Transforming the Field of Education Landscape Field Scholar Program, University of Calgary, 2020-2021

National Level

• Health System Impact Fellowship, Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) (co-funded by Michael Smith Health Research BC and Vancouver Coastal Health – VCH), 2024-2025
• Summer Program in Aging, Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), 2024
• Knowledge Translation Award, National Collaborating Centres for Public Health (NCCPH), 2023
• Linda Souter Humanities Award, Canadian Federation of University Women, 2023
• IODE War Memorial Doctoral Scholarship, IODE, 2023-2024
• Canada Graduate Scholarships — Doctoral (CGS D) Program, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), 2022-2025
• Michael F. Harcourt Policy Fellowship, AGE-WELL, 2022-2023
• Accelerate Fellowship, Mitacs, 2022-2023
• Schlegel-UW RIA Scholarship, Canadian Association of Gerontology, 2022
• Access Award, AGE-WELL, 2020-2021
• Scholarship, Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW), 2017-2019
• Outstanding Conference Proposal Award, Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE), 2016

Provincial Level

• Rising Star Award, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, 2024
• Laura Fowler Memorial Scholarship, Canadian Federation of University Women – South Delta, 2023
• Kes Chetty Education Award, MOSAIC BC, 2023
• Scholarship, Health Sciences Association BC, 2021-2022
• Doctoral Scholarship, Simons Foundation, 2021-2022
• Madden Memorial Education Fund, Health Sciences Association BC, 2021
• Murphy Battista LLP Scholarship, BC Association of Social Workers (BCASW), 2018-2021

University Level

• Public Scholar Initiatives, UBC, 2024-2025
• ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development, UBC Health, 2024
• People’s Choice Award, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) – UBC Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, 2024
• Outstanding Trainee Award, UBC IDEA Lab, 2023
• Fellowship, UBC Institute of Asian Research, 2022-2023
• Liu Scholar Fellowship, UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, 2021-2022
• President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award, UBC Graduate School, 2021-2024
• Graduate Award, UBC Faculty of Arts, 2022
• Doctoral Scholarship in Social Work, UBC School of Social Work, 2021-2022
• Mary Hill Master Scholarship, UBC School of Social Work, 2019-2020

Practice/Clinical Awards

• Distinguished Services Award, Canadian Association of Social Workers, 2024
• York Alumni Award (Health and Wellbeing), University of York, 2024
• Canadian Leadership in Aging Award, National Institute on Aging, 2023
• Equity Award (Diversity and Inclusion), UBC School of Social Work, 2021
• Inspiring Social Worker of the Year Award, BC Association of Social Workers and UBC, 2021
• Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice, Providence Healthcare, 2021

Dr. Deborah O’Connor