diff --git a/rosbag2_test_common/include/rosbag2_test_common/publication_manager.hpp b/rosbag2_test_common/include/rosbag2_test_common/publication_manager.hpp
index 9f1a03d902..b5cc6f3c64 100644
--- a/rosbag2_test_common/include/rosbag2_test_common/publication_manager.hpp
+++ b/rosbag2_test_common/include/rosbag2_test_common/publication_manager.hpp
@@ -110,50 +110,62 @@ class PublicationManager
     std::chrono::duration<DurationRepT, DurationT> timeout = std::chrono::seconds(10),
     size_t n_subscribers_to_match = 1)
   {
-    rclcpp::PublisherBase::SharedPtr publisher = nullptr;
-    for (const auto pub : publishers_) {
-      if (!std::strcmp(
-          std::get<rclcpp::PublisherBase::SharedPtr>(pub)->get_topic_name(),
-          topic_name))
-      {
-        publisher = std::get<rclcpp::PublisherBase::SharedPtr>(pub);
-        break;
-      }
-    }
-
+    auto publisher = get_publisher_for_topic(topic_name);
     if (publisher == nullptr) {
       return false;
     }
 
-    if (publisher->get_subscription_count() +
-      publisher->get_intra_process_subscription_count() >= n_subscribers_to_match)
-    {
+    if (publisher_has_matching_subscriptions(publisher, n_subscribers_to_match)) {
       return true;
     }
 
-    auto sleep_time = std::chrono::milliseconds(10);
-
-    if (timeout < std::chrono::seconds(1)) {
-      sleep_time = timeout;
-    }
+    auto graph_event = pub_node_->get_graph_event();
+    (void)graph_event->check_and_clear();
 
     using clock = std::chrono::steady_clock;
-    auto start = clock::now();
+    const auto deadline = clock::now() + std::chrono::duration_cast<clock::duration>(timeout);
+    constexpr auto max_wait_slice = std::chrono::milliseconds(100);
 
-    do {
-      std::this_thread::sleep_for(sleep_time);
-
-      if (publisher->get_subscription_count() +
-        publisher->get_intra_process_subscription_count() >= n_subscribers_to_match)
-      {
+    while (clock::now() < deadline) {
+      if (publisher_has_matching_subscriptions(publisher, n_subscribers_to_match)) {
         return true;
       }
-    } while ((clock::now() - start) < timeout);
 
-    return false;
+      const auto now_time = clock::now();
+      if (now_time < deadline) {
+        auto remaining =
+          std::chrono::duration_cast<std::chrono::nanoseconds>(deadline - now_time);
+        if (remaining > max_wait_slice) {
+          remaining = max_wait_slice;
+        }
+        pub_node_->wait_for_graph_change(graph_event, remaining);
+      }
+      (void)graph_event->check_and_clear();
+    }
+
+    return publisher_has_matching_subscriptions(publisher, n_subscribers_to_match);
   }
 
 private:
+  rclcpp::PublisherBase::SharedPtr get_publisher_for_topic(const char * topic_name) const
+  {
+    for (const auto & pub : publishers_) {
+      auto publisher = std::get<rclcpp::PublisherBase::SharedPtr>(pub);
+      if (!std::strcmp(publisher->get_topic_name(), topic_name)) {
+        return publisher;
+      }
+    }
+    return nullptr;
+  }
+
+  static bool publisher_has_matching_subscriptions(
+    const rclcpp::PublisherBase::SharedPtr & publisher,
+    size_t n_subscribers_to_match)
+  {
+    return publisher->get_subscription_count() +
+           publisher->get_intra_process_subscription_count() >= n_subscribers_to_match;
+  }
+
   std::shared_ptr<rclcpp::Node> pub_node_;
   using PublicationF = std::function<void (bool)>;
   std::vector<std::pair<rclcpp::PublisherBase::SharedPtr, PublicationF>> publishers_;