Maximizing the health benefits of Canada’s largest population health intervention

Maximizing the health benefits of Canada’s largest population health intervention: The expansion of urban trail networks
Nudging large segments of a population towards a healthier lifestyle is becoming a popular strategy for cities to support the health of their citizens. The most popular strategy in Canadian cities at the moment is the implementation of urban trails, tracks of land, dedicated for walking and cycling that are separate from roads and traffic. The optimal recipe for implementing these trails, in ways that are fair for all members of a city, remains a mystery. This talk will describe the use of causal epidemiological studies and implementation science to help determine the best way to maximize the health benefits of Canada’s investment in urban trails.
Objectives:
-Review the existing knowledge around urban trails and health outcomes
-Review the challenges associated with studying the built environment
-Examine current best practices for triangulating data to study urban trail expansion
-Discuss on-going studies across Canada to create empirical evidence for the health benefits associated with urban trail expansion
About this speaker:
Dr. McGavock’s research program focuses on the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes in youth, with a particular focus on physical activity. Studies in his lab range from studying the effectiveness and implementation of urban trails on cardiometabolic disease, to clinical trials of novel behavioral interventions for adolescents living with diabetes to the application of causal methods to uncover the role of the built environment and early life origins of adolescent cardiometabolic diseases.