About

About Us

We are a research group within the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Department of Family Practice. We focus on people, places, and communities to support opportunities for everyday activity and social engagement.

Where We Focus

People and Places

By 2068, a quarter of Canadians will be aged 65 years+: It is the fastest growing age group. Mobility is essential for people to live and move independently. With aging, illness, or trauma, mobility loss can impact the person, their family, and society.

As activity and social interventions have great potential to support people, it is important to create and test simple ways for adopting active living. We focus on health and social models of care which aim to support people’s autonomy.

Our Team

We prioritize working with people and communities to co-create practical solutions for “what matters most” to them.

Gurkirat

Trainee

he/him/his

Gurkirat’s focuses on social prescribing and older adults in team-based primary care, and developing resources and training programs to enhance community well-being, with a specific focus on supporting diverse underserved groups, including newcomers and refugees.

Hadil

Trainee

she/her/hers

Hadil’s research interests center around the intersection of social prescribing, knowledge mobilization, and physical activity, with a focus on their collective potential for effective disease prevention strategies.

Isis Kelly

Trainee

she/her/hers

Isis is a post-doctoral fellow with research interests in exercise, sedentary behavior, and systematic reviews and meta-analysis.

Juliana

Trainee

she/her/hers

Juliana is a PhD student in Experimental Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She holds a BSc in Kinesiology, a MSc in Rehabilitation Science, and a MSc in Physiotherapy. Today she works clinically in long-term care, and her research focuses on aging care and the delivery of physiotherapy in long-term care settings.

Thomas

Trainee

he/him/his

Thomas’ research interests lie in the links between health and urban mobility, and the role of social prescribing in increasing the mobility of older adults. His projects in the lab include developing community asset maps to facilitate social prescribing in BC, and leading a systematic review that explores the roles of volunteers in diabetes management and social prescribing.

Maureen C. Ashe

Professor

she/her/hers

Maureen is a professor in Family Practice at The University of British Columbia, Canada Research Chair in Community Mobility, and a physiotherapist. Her research interest is on interventions to support engagement in daily life activities, with a special interest in implementation evaluation and science, and behavior change theory and techniques. Maureen also investigates the role of the built (indoors and outdoors) and social environments, and community mobility; and health and social models of care, such as reablement and social prescribing.

Ongoing Studies

We often recruit participants to take part in our research studies. Please find current opportunities below.

Research Study

This is a research study conducted by the Community Mobility Lab at the University of British Columbia. The Principal Investigator for the study is Professor Maureen C. Ashe (maureen.ashe@ubc.ca)
 
We are looking for people to provide insights and feedback on an educational course focused on hip fracture recovery.
 
We recognize the important role that family and friends play in supporting older adults during their recovery from a hip fracture. In response, we have developed an online course designed to give caregivers some knowledge and skills for this journey.
 
To make sure the course meets the needs of caregivers, we invite feedback from everyone, regardless of whether they have personal experience with hip fractures.
 
Your input will be helpful in shaping the content and delivery of the program.

Please use this link to start the survey which has the online link to the course.
https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dollKMPo5ZB2fC6

Email us for more details: community.mobilitylab@ubc.ca

    Email for Details

    Social prescribing and Healthy Aging Research Experience: A Volunteer Intergenerational Program (SHARE-VIP)

    Social prescribing and Healthy Aging Research Experience: A Volunteer Intergenerational Program (SHARE-VIP).

    Social prescribing in British Columbia connects older people with community services to address unmet social needs. Our research aims to work with community organizations, health and social providers, older people, and student volunteers, aiming to promote intergenerational connections and support university students to learn about aging, research, and primary health care through the SHARE program.

    We are looking for people to provide Insights and feedback on a volunteer training program.
    • We are conducting a survey and interviews (using phone or online) to ask questions about how to create and deliver the volunteer training program.
    • We would like to hear from you if you delivery or manage social prescribing or are a university student interested in volunteering.
    • The survey is for university students (and will take about 15-20 minutes). The interviews are for university students and/or people working in social prescribing. The interviews should take about 30 minutes and we will ask questions about the content and delivery of a volunteer training program.
    • The feedback will help to shape the content and delivery of the future program.

      The Principal Investigator of this study is Professor Maureen C. Ashe from The University of British Columbia.

      Email us for more details: community.mobilitylab@ubc.ca
    Email for Details

    Return to Everyday Activities in the Community and Home (REACH) 3.0

    We created REACH to reduce sitting time, boost physical activity, and improve balance and strength through a 6-session program delivered in small groups over 6 weeks. The program includes education, individualized activity plans, and self-monitoring, teaching goal-setting and incorporating activity into daily life routines.

    Coming Soon!
      Email for Details

      Student/Trainee Opportunities

      We sometimes have openings in our lab for undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Please email us about current opportunities.

      Get in Touch

      What’s On?

      There are lots of upcoming events on health aging at the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging at UBC

      See Upcoming Events

      Our Work

      Have a look at our projects focused on practical solutions to re-connecting with people and communities.

      About Our Work

      Photos by Addie: Many of the photos on this website are from Addie.

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