About MacSphere

MacSphere is McMaster University's Institutional Repository. MacSphere brings together the institution's scholarly works under one umbrella to preserve and provide ongoing open access to them. MacSphere works have been selected and deposited by members of the McMaster community as part of our collective committment to sharing our knowledge with the world.

MacSphere is supported and hosted by the McMaster University Libraries.

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Students wishing to deposit their PhD or Masters thesis, please follow the instructions outlined by the School of Graduate Studies.

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Recent Submissions

Supporting the evaluation of patient engagement in health system organizations
(2026) Dafel, Andrea; Abelson, Julia; Health Policy
Patient engagement is increasingly recognized as an important aspect of patient-centred care. As patient engagement has evolved, a greater emphasis has been placed on evaluating these efforts. Evaluation is essential to understand what elements of engagement are effective, what isn’t working and areas for improvement. Despite the various evaluation tools available, there remains limited practical guidance to support health system organizations in carrying out evaluation efforts. This thesis aims to understand how health system organizations can be effectively supported in evaluating their patient engagement initiatives by 1) summarizing how health system organizations approach evaluation efforts, 2) identifying common challenges associated with evaluation and supports that help to foster evaluation efforts and 3) how to improve an evaluation tool to increase its usability to better support evaluation practices. These studies offer practical guidance to support health system organizations in their patient engagement evaluation efforts, including developing robust and comprehensive evaluation plans.
Findings of the 2025 McMaster Textbook Affordability Survey
(2026-04) Bekele, Rebecca; Harding, Katie; Kehoe, Joanne
Textbook prices have increased significantly over the past few decades at a rate that has been well above the rate of inflation. In addition to textbooks, other course materials such as online homework platforms and required software may also be unaffordable for students. Students often must make difficult decisions about whether to purchase course materials, and these decisions can have serious consequences for their learning and their grades. High course materials costs can lead to inequity in the classroom, with some students able to afford access to important learning resources and others going without. In Fall 2025, we surveyed undergraduate students from all faculties at McMaster to determine how much money McMaster students are spending on course materials, whether they are forgoing purchasing required textbooks and other required course materials, what they are doing instead, and how they are affected by high course material costs. This report documents our findings about the affordability of textbooks and other course materials based on the 2,757 responses received from undergraduate students at McMaster.
Anemia-Induced Bleeding Risk and Red Blood Cell Transfusion Strategies in Acute Leukemia
(2026) Modi, Dimpy; Arnold, Donald; Health Sciences
Characterization of Lanthanide Loaded Polymeric Nanoparticles Using Time-Resolved Fret
(2026) Ziyue (Joyce) Xie; Hildebrandt, Niko; Engineering Physics
The Accuracy and Usability of a Novel Continuous Non-Invasive Wearable Vital Signs Monitor
(2026) Ouellette, Carley; McGillion, Michael; Clinical Health Sciences (Nursing)
Background. Postoperative changes in vital signs (VS) can signal impending complications. While continuous, non invasive wearable monitoring can support frontline nurses’ detection of patients’ physiologic deterioration, current clinical grade wearables are often limited by restricted multiparameter monitoring, cumbersome designs, insufficient regulatory clearance for ambulatory use, and limited user centred development. Objectives. To validate the accuracy of the multiparameter Vitaliti™ Continuous Vital Signs Monitor (CVSM) against regulatory reference standards (e.g., International Organization for Standardization) for heart rate (HR), continuous non invasive blood pressure (CNIBP), SpO₂, pulse rate (PR), respiration rate (RR), and temperature in ambulatory healthy adults, and to assess device usability and wearability among surgical patients, caregivers, nurses, and physicians in Canada and Norway. Methods. Thirty-nine adults wore the Vitaliti™ CVSM alongside Health Canada approved reference devices during 60-second, time synchronized sessions across static (sitting, standing, supine) and active (walking, head motion) conditions. Sample size requirements varied by VS (18–23 participants). Agreement was assessed using Bland–Altman analysis. User testing (N = 65) included structured task analyses, while Canadian patients wore the device for up to 72 hours postoperatively. Usability outcomes and qualitative interview feedback were analyzed. Results. HR met regulatory accuracy criteria across all conditions. CNIBP met regulatory requirements in seated, supine, and head motion conditions but did not meet sample size requirements in all analyses. PR and SpO₂ met validation thresholds in static and most motion conditions. RR showed acceptable agreement under metronome paced breathing conditions but reduced precision with movement. Temperature measurements demonstrated acceptable agreement when seated; however, accuracy thresholds were exceeded in supine conditions. User testing demonstrated high task completion and perceived clinical value, with device removals primarily due to sleep related discomfort from the earpiece sensor and fit. Conclusions. The Vitaliti™ CVSM demonstrated promising regulatory aligned accuracy and was well received across user groups. Further validation and iterative design refinements informed by end-user feedback are required prior to clinical implementation

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