Dr Aisling McGrath is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences at South East Technological University and a researcher within the Centre for Health Behaviour Research. Her work sits at the intersection of health behaviour change, implementation science, and applied public health, with sustained engagement in community-based health promotion, physical activity promotion, and health equity research.

Her research focuses on identifying and evaluating strategies to engage socially disadvantaged and underserved groups in health-promoting activities, including gendered, and men's health interventions. A core strand of her work involves the design, implementation, and evaluation of complex, real-world interventions using mixed methods, participatory research, economic evaluation, co-design approaches, and implementation science frameworks. She has particular expertise in the evaluation of community-based physical activity and mental health initiatives and the scalability of health promotion programmes such as 'Sheds for Life'.

My research contributes to practical improvements in health promotion for underserved communities by developing, evaluating, and scaling evidence-based interventions that enhance health and wellbeing, and health equity.

• Implementation and scale-up of complex health interventions

• Engaging socially disadvantaged and underserved populations in health research

• Communtiy based and participatory approaches for health promotion

• Men's health,  gender-specific and gender-transformative health promotion

• Real-world intervention evaluation and co-design

• Application of mixed methods in health research

Current Postgraduate Students 

I teach across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Exercise Science, Public Health and Health Promotion, with a focus on health behaviour change, physical activity promotion, epidemiology, health screening, motivational interviewing, and applied health promotion practice. My teaching is strongly research-informed and grounded in real-world application, drawing directly on my research in implementation science, community-based intervention design, and evaluation.

I integrate participatory and experiential learning approaches into my teaching, encouraging students to engage critically with contemporary public health challenges, health inequalities, and the translation of evidence into practice. I place particular emphasis on developing students’ skills in applied research methods, critical appraisal, and ethical, equity-focused practice.

I coordinate and supervise undergraduate and postgraduate research projects, supporting students to design and deliver high-quality applied research aligned with community, clinical, and policy priorities. I also contribute to curriculum development across programmes, including the integration of public health and health promotion principles within interdisciplinary programmes such as the MPharm degree.

Through sustained collaboration with government departments, NGOs, sporting organisations, and international partners, my work has contributed to improved health and wellbeing outcomes for underserved and socially disadvantaged populations.

A key area of impact has been the translation of research into national policy and practice. I led the development of Ireland’s first National Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Pregnant and Postpartum Women and co-authored the National Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for People Living with Chronic Conditions, supporting consistent, evidence-based practice across clinical, community, and policy environments.

My research has also informed national discourse on men’s health and health equity. As a co-author of the Movember Institute’s Real Face of Men’s Health report, my work directly influenced political debate and policy prioritisation, contributing to increased recognition of men’s health as a public health issue in Ireland. At community level, my research underpins the national scale-up of co-designed interventions such as Sheds for Life, supporting sustainable delivery of health promotion initiatives across all counties in Ireland.