Emily Jenkins

Biography

 Emily Jenkins’ research focuses on one of the most significant health issues facing our populations, mental health and illness. Having worked with both youth and adult populations and across the health spectrum, her most recent study involved collaboration with communities to identify the contextual factors, or social and structural influences of young peoples’ experiences of emotional distress and resilience. This evidence was then used in a partnership with youth to develop, implement and evaluate a mental health intervention driven by young peoples’ needs and experiences. This work contributed to a theory driven and evidence-informed framework to guide research and practice aimed at enhancing mental health through collaborative strategies that incorporate scientific evidence as well as experiential knowledge and community identified needs. This approach is aimed at overcoming a significant obstacle encountered within the research community – slow or absent uptake or utilization of evidence due to limited relevance of research findings for certain populations as well as poor accessibility of research evidence within community settings. Through this program of research, Emily seeks to contribute to an emerging area of research aimed at developing strategies to enhance the application of evidence in order to foster the mental health of Canadians.

Research Interest

 Nursing