Implementation and scale-up of health promoting interventions—a lifespan approach

Research in healthy aging – a lifespan approach

Professor McKay is known internationally for her study of: (i) myriad factors (e.g. physical activity) that influence the health of children and mobility, social connectedness and overall health of older adults; (ii) design, implementation/scale-up and evaluation at sccale of effective community-based health promoting interventions, and (iii) knowledge mobilization. Professor McKay convenes highly effective, interdisciplinary research teams. She connects academic scholars with cross-sectoral community and government stakeholders to “move research into action” to enhance the health of children and older adults. Professor McKay led eight CIHR and Peter Wall Institute of Advanced Studies teams that focused on aspects of older adult health (>$10M grant funding) in different settings (e.g. home, community, built environment).

Building interdisciplinary teams

At UBC, Professor McKay is Active Aging Research Team lead scientist. Based on her >15-year collaboration with BC Min of Health she currently leads a multi-level partnership (researchers, government, health authorities and NGOs) to enact Active Aging BC (ABC). ABC has engaged 32,466 seniors in targeted health promoting programs, trained 1,820 health leaders and facilitated 113 organizations to deliver and partner on ABC initiatives. Professor McKay’s team is currently scaling up and evaluating ABC’s signature program–Choose to Move –across BC. Choose to Move effectively enhanced physical activity, mobility and decreased social isolation and loneliness in older adults who participated.

Professor McKay was inaugural Director (2006-16), Centre for Aging SMART, a multidisciplinary, $40M CFI funded centre that aimed to enhance mobility and health across the life course. More recently she co-led UBC’s Healthy Aging Research Excellence cluster that convened 200 researchers, 50 trainees and 50 community partners across 10 academic disciplines to ignite collaboration in healthy aging research.

Leadership in implementation science

Professor McKay leads an Implementation Science Team (MSFHR funded) at UBC. She has hosted three international implementation and scale-up science think tanks in Canada (2017, 2019) and Australia (2018). She is on the Editorial Board of the newly minted implementation science journal, Implementation Research and Practice.

Recognition and awards

In recognition of her academic scholarship and community engagement, Professor McKay received a CIHR Knowledge Translation Award, a YWCA Woman of Distinction Award. and was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2018).