Sanaz Riahi

Sanaz Riahi is Vice President, Clinical, Practice and Chief Nursing Executive at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores). Dr. Riahi joined Ontario Shores in 2009, and since that time has held progressive leadership roles, most recently Vice-President, Practice, Academics and Chief Nursing Executive.

Dr. Riahi works collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders, maximizing the use of technology, to support, promote and advance quality interprofessional practice environment to optimize outcomes for patients, staff and the organization.

Her recent accomplishments include leading Ontario Shores in the achievement of HIMSS Davies Award of Excellence, HIMSS EMRAM Stage7 revalidation, placing Ontario Shores as the first hospital in Canada to receive these awards in recognition of its Electronic Health Record System. Other key activities where she has provided corporate leadership includes recovery-oriented initiatives, implementation of a patient portal in mental health care, and implementation of clinical practice guidelines leveraging technology.

Dr. Riahi is an active researcher and educator who has done numerous presentations and has publications in the areas of nursing education, the minimization of seclusion and restraint and the implementation of Clinical Practice Guidelines. She has received numerous individual and team awards for her clinical achievements and nursing leadership including the 2015 Emerging Leader in Health Informatics Award, Canadian Health Informatics Award, COACH.

Prior to Ontario Shores, she worked in various nursing positions at Baycrest Centre for Geriatrics in Toronto and Mount Carmel Health System in the United States.

She is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Toronto.

Research Practice Areas

Restraint Minimization, Recovery, Clinical Aggression, Digital Health

Areas of Research

Exploring provider and client experiences with electronic cognitive behavioural therapy. 
Investigators: Rudoler, D., Riahi, S., Vizza, J. & Jackson, O.

Perceptions of and behaviours towards patient and visitor aggression in healthcare organizations (PERoPA): The nurse managers’ perspective. Investigators: Hahn, S., Heckemann, B., Peter, K., Gerdtz, M., Hamilton, B., Riahi, S., DeSanto Iennaco, J. & Duxbury, J.

Ontario Shores Health Check Patient Portal (Patient Portal) Benefits Evaluation
Principle Investigator: Sarah Kipping
Co-Investigators: Riahi, S., Hernandez, A., Nguyen, T. & Islam, F.

Education and Training for Preventing and Minimizing Workplace Aggression Directed Toward Healthcare Workers. Cochrane Collaborative Review.
Reviewers: Hills, D.J., Ross, H.M., Pich, J., Hill, A.T., Dalsbø, T.K., Riahi, S., Guay, S., Martinez-Jarreta, B.

The National Nursing Quality Report In Canada (NNQR-C)
Principle Investigator:  Dr. Lianne Jeffs
Site Principle Investigators: Sanaz Riahi
Co-investigators: Dr. Barb Mildon 

A Phenomenological Exploration of ‘Last Resort’ in the Use of Restraint in Mental Health Settings
Principle Investigator: Sanaz Riahi
Co-investigators: Professor Joy Duxbury & Dr. Gill Thomson

The National Nursing Quality Report Initiative
Principle Investigators: Dr. Barbara Mildon & Sanaz Riahi
Co-investigators: A. Sutherland-Boal, S. VenDeVelde-Coke, D. Doran, K.Velji 

Tool to Support Reducing Patient on Staff Violence Related Injuries
Principle Investigator: Dr. Benjamin C. Amick III & Sanaz Riahi
Co-Investigator: Henrietta Van hulle

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Crisis Intervention Training on Staffs’ Perspective on Causation & Management of Violence & Aggression
Principle Investigators: Sanaz Riahi & Andrea Porter
Co-investigators: Dr. Barbara Mildon

Understanding Patients and Staffs’ Perspective on Causation & Management of Violence & Aggression   
Principle Investigator: Sanaz Riahi

Recent Publications

Horsburgh, S., Riahi, S., Pauley, T., Paul, S., Duff-Woskosky, A., Desai, C., Bartfay, W., Gamble, B. & Freeman, J. (2022). Creation of a Clinical Demonstration Unit (CDU): Embedding Academic Research into Point of Care on a Geriatric Unit. Healthcare Quarterly. 

Kipping, S., Riahi, S., Velji, K., Pritchard, C. & Earle, J. (2022). Implementation of Nurse Practitioner as Most Responsible Provider Model of Care in a Specialized Mental Health Setting in Canada. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, DOI: 10.1111/inm.13010.

Strudwick, G., Riahi, S. & Hardiker, N.R. (2022). Opportunities and Challenges in Digital Health Advancement IN White Delaney, C., Weaver, C.A., Sensmeier, J., Pruinelli, L., Weber, P., Trautman, D., Mate, K. & Catton, H. (eds.). Nursing and Informatics for the 21st Century – Embracing a Digital World, 3rd Edition. Productivity Press.

Geoffrion, S., Hill, D.J., Ross, H.M., Pich, J., Hill, A.T., Dalsbo, T.K., Riahi, S., Martinez-Jarretta, B. & Guay, S. (2020). Education and Training for Preventing and Minimizing Workplace Aggression Directed Toward Healthcare Workers. Cochrane Systematic Review – Intervention,  https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011860.pub2.

Riahi, S., Thomson, G. & Duxbury, J. (2020). A Hermeneutic Exploration of Last Resort in the Use of Restraint. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12761

Rocheleau, J.N., Shaughnessy, K., Courtice, E., Reyes, R., Huijbregts, T., Gahir, R., Kpping, S., Riahi, S. & Fischler, I. (2018). Evaluating a Mobile Digital Health Platform as an Adjunct to Patients’ Mental Healthcare Using Longitudinal, Mix-Methods Study Design. Research Methods Cases.

Hernandez, A., Riahi, S., Stuckey, M. I., Mildon, B. A. & Klassen, P. E. (2017). Multidimesional approach to restraint minimization: The journey of a specialized mental health organization. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 26(5): 482-490.

Riahi, S., Fischler, I., Stuckey, M., Klassen, P., & Chen, J. (2017). The value of electronic medical record implementation in Mental Health care: A case study. JMIR Medical Informatics, 5(1): e1.

Fischler, I., Riahi, S., Stuckey, M. I., & Klassen, P. E. (2016). Implementation of a clinical practice guideline for schizophrenia in a specialist mental health center: an observational study. BMC Health Services Research, 16(a):372.

Kipping, S., Stuckey, M. I., Hernandez, A., Nguyen, T., & Riahi, S. (2016). A web-based patient portal for mental health care: benefits evaluation. Journal of Medical Internet Research, doi:10.2196/jmir.6483

Riahi, S., Dawe, I. C., Stuckey, M. I., & Klassen, P. E. (2016). Implementation of the six core strategies for restraint minimization in a specialized mental health organization. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 54(10), 32-39.