Kimberly Sue Van Haitsma

Kimberly Sue Van Haitsma is a Professor at the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, specializing in geriatric nursing and long-term care systems. Her research fundamentally centers on improving quality of life for nursing home residents through evidence-based, person-centered approaches with particular focus on dementia care.

Her primary research domains include person-centered care implementation, dementia management strategies, and preference-based care systems. She pioneered the Preferences for Everyday Living Inventory (PELI) to systematically incorporate resident preferences into care planning. Current work investigates neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia, recreational therapy impacts on pain/function, and implementation science for evidence-based practices in long-term care. Her fingerprint analysis reveals dominant expertise in Nursing Home Residents (52%), Person-centred Care (42%), and Dementia (24%) research.

Analysis of her 2025 publications demonstrates cohesive research trajectories: clinical trial development for psychosocial dementia interventions (IPPI Program), resident preference-outcome linkages, and implementation frameworks for evidence-based care. Key trends show increasing methodological sophistication in longitudinal outcome measurement, integration of patient-reported outcomes in long-term care, and transdisciplinary approaches bridging nursing, geriatrics, and implementation science. Her work consistently targets modifiable factors in nursing home environments to reduce behavioral symptoms and improve functional outcomes.