Overview
Background
Professor John Cairney is the Head of School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences. He is an academic leader in the field of paediatric exercise medicine and child health research and is particularly well-known for his work on developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and its impact on the health and well-being of children. Prof John Cairney started at UQ in January 2020.
Until the end of 2019, he was the Director of Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto and Director of the Infant and Child Health (INCH) Research Laboratory at both the University of Toronto and McMaster University. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University and a core scientist with the Offord Centre for Child Studies, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster University, and the independent Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
Professor Cairney completed his PhD studies at the University of Western Ontario and has held academic appointments at Brock University, the University of Toronto and McMaster University before his current UQ role. He has held, among other research leadership positions, a Canada Research Chair in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and a Professorship in Child Health, and subsequently a Research Chair, in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University.
Professor Cairney has been the recipient of ~$A17 million in research grants as a principal investigator and has some 310 published works with a Scopus h index of 51 (Aug 2022).
Professor Cairney is a former President of the North American Society of Pediatric Exercise Medicine.
Availability
- Professor John Cairney is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Research interests
-
Physical activity and health
Professor Cairney's broad interest is in the association between physical activity and health (physical and mental), with a specific interest in the role that physical activity plays in the health and quality of life of children with chronic disease.
Research impacts
From 2012-2015, Professor John Cairney co-led the evaluation of the multi-ministerial Children’s Mental Health Strategy in Canada, and since 2013 he has been the Scientific Lead of the screening arm of the Special Needs Strategy for Children in Ontario. These roles have allowed him to influence policy development in Ontario.
Works
Search Professor John Cairney’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Journal Article
The acceptability and feasibility of a preschool intervention targeting motor, social, and emotional development
James, Maeghan E., Bedard, Chloe, Bremer, Emily and Cairney, John (2020). The acceptability and feasibility of a preschool intervention targeting motor, social, and emotional development. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 8 319, 319. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00319
2020
Journal Article
A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of exercise on individuals with intellectual disability
St. John, Laura, Borschneck, Gregory and Cairney, John (2020). A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of exercise on individuals with intellectual disability. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 125 (4), 274-286. doi: 10.1352/1944-7558-125.4.274
2020
Journal Article
Art meets sport: What can actor training bring to physical literacy programs?
Barnett, Lisa M., Dennis, Rea, Hunter, Kate, Cairney, John, Keegan, Richard J., Essiet, Inimfon A. and Dudley, Dean A. (2020). Art meets sport: What can actor training bring to physical literacy programs?. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (12) 4497, 1-12. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17124497
2020
Journal Article
A longitudinal examination of enjoyment of physical education in children with developmental coordination disorder through a physical literacy lens
St. John, Laura, Dudley, Dean and Cairney, John (2020). A longitudinal examination of enjoyment of physical education in children with developmental coordination disorder through a physical literacy lens. Prospects, 50 (1-2), 127-139. doi: 10.1007/s11125-020-09469-y
2020
Journal Article
Effect of acute exercise on prefrontal oxygenation and inhibitory control among male children with autism spectrum disorder: an exploratory study
Bremer, Emily, Graham, Jeffrey D., Heisz, Jennifer J. and Cairney, John (2020). Effect of acute exercise on prefrontal oxygenation and inhibitory control among male children with autism spectrum disorder: an exploratory study. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 14 84, 84. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00084
2020
Journal Article
A pragmatic feasibility trial examining the effect of job embedded professional development on teachers’ capacity to provide physical literacy enriched physical education in elementary schools
Wright, Chris, Buxcey, John, Gibbons, Sandy, Cairney, John, Barrette, Michelle and Naylor, Patti-Jean (2020). A pragmatic feasibility trial examining the effect of job embedded professional development on teachers’ capacity to provide physical literacy enriched physical education in elementary schools. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (12) 4386, 1-20. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17124386
2020
Journal Article
Acute and outpatient service utilisation prior to, during, and following enrolment in community-based mental health treatment among children and youth in Central Ontario: a proof of concept for cross-sectoral data linkage
Gatov, Evgenia, Muir, Lindsay, Mowat, Vicki, Elkader, Alex, Yang, Julie, Kopp, Alexander and Cairney, John (2020). Acute and outpatient service utilisation prior to, during, and following enrolment in community-based mental health treatment among children and youth in Central Ontario: a proof of concept for cross-sectoral data linkage. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 56 (6) jpc.14779, 928-935. doi: 10.1111/jpc.14779
2020
Journal Article
Conclusions from surveys may not consider important biases: a systematic survey of surveys
Santesso, Nancy, Barbara, Angela M., Kamran, Rakhshan, Akkinepally, Sita, Cairney, John, Akl, Elie A. and Schünemann, Holger J. (2020). Conclusions from surveys may not consider important biases: a systematic survey of surveys. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 122, 108-114. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2020.01.019
2020
Journal Article
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) predict increased arterial stiffness from childhood to early adulthood: Pilot analysis of the Niagara Longitudinal Heart Study
Rafiq, Talha, O’Leary, Deborah D., Dempster, Kylie S., Cairney, John and Wade, Terrance J. (2020). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) predict increased arterial stiffness from childhood to early adulthood: Pilot analysis of the Niagara Longitudinal Heart Study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 13 (4), 505-514. doi: 10.1007/s40653-020-00311-3
2020
Journal Article
Motor coordination and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in emerging adults: mediating effect of physical self-concept
Li, Yao-Chuen, Chirico, Daniele, Graham, Jeffrey D., Kwan, Matthew Y. W. and Cairney, John (2020). Motor coordination and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in emerging adults: mediating effect of physical self-concept. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (11), 3748. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17113748
2020
Journal Article
Physical literacy profiles are associated with differences in children's physical activity participation: A latent profile analysis approach
Brown, Denver M. Y., Dudley, Dean A. and Cairney, John (2020). Physical literacy profiles are associated with differences in children's physical activity participation: A latent profile analysis approach. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 23 (11), 1062-1067. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2020.05.007
2020
Journal Article
Outcomes and feasibility of a 12-week physical literacy intervention for children in an afterschool program
Bremer, Emily, Graham, Jeffrey D. and Cairney, John (2020). Outcomes and feasibility of a 12-week physical literacy intervention for children in an afterschool program. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (9) 3129, 3129. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17093129
2020
Journal Article
Validity of the Early Years Check-In (EYCI) in a cross-sectional sample of families
Clark, Heather, Nair, Kalpana, Veldhuizen, Scott, Campbell, Wenonah, Rivard, Lisa, Rodriguez, M. Christine and Cairney, John (2020). Validity of the Early Years Check-In (EYCI) in a cross-sectional sample of families. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 8 157, 157. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00157
2020
Journal Article
Methods and design for the ADAPT study: application of integrateD approaches to understanding physical activity during the transition to emerging adulthood
Kwan, Matthew Y. W., Dutta, Pallavi, Bray, Steven R., Brown, Denver M. Y., Cairney, John, Dunton, Genevieve F., Graham, Jeffrey D., Rebar, Amanda L. and Rhodes, Ryan E. (2020). Methods and design for the ADAPT study: application of integrateD approaches to understanding physical activity during the transition to emerging adulthood. BMC Public Health, 20 (1) 426. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-08484-0
2020
Journal Article
A longitudinal study of sport participation and perceived social competence in youth
Bedard, Chloe, Hanna, Steven and Cairney, John (2020). A longitudinal study of sport participation and perceived social competence in youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 66 (3), 352-359. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.09.017
2020
Journal Article
The synergistic effect of poor motor coordination, gender and age on self-concept in children: a longitudinal analysis
Brown, Denver M.Y. and Cairney, John (2020). The synergistic effect of poor motor coordination, gender and age on self-concept in children: a longitudinal analysis. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 98 103576, 103576. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103576
2020
Journal Article
Association of sedentary behaviour on internalizing problems in children with and without motor coordination problems
Bulten, Rheanna, Brown, Denver, Rodriguez, Christine and Cairney, John (2020). Association of sedentary behaviour on internalizing problems in children with and without motor coordination problems. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 18 100325, 100325. doi: 10.1016/j.mhpa.2020.100325
2020
Journal Article
Adaptive behavior moderates health-related pathways in children with autism spectrum disorder
Bremer, Emily and Cairney, John (2020). Adaptive behavior moderates health-related pathways in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50 (2), 491-499. doi: 10.1007/s10803-019-04277-6
2020
Book Chapter
Physical education-based physical activity interventions
Dudley, Dean, Beighle, Aaron, Erwin, Heather, Cairney, John, Schaefer, Lee and Murfay, Kenneth (2020). Physical education-based physical activity interventions. The Routledge handbook of youth physical activity. (pp. 489-503) edited by Timothy A. Brusseau, Stuart J. Fairclough and David R. Lubans. New York, NY USA: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003026426-30
2020
Journal Article
'Intervening early': agendas and rationalisations for children's developmental health
Cressman, Celine, Miller, Fiona A., Guttmann, Astrid, Cairney, John and Hayeems, Robin (2020). 'Intervening early': agendas and rationalisations for children's developmental health. Evidence and Policy, 16 (3), 413-428. doi: 10.1332/174426419X15675223005790
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor John Cairney is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
The motor development of preschool children in the digital age
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Interventions to increase physical activity in children and youth with Autism
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Stewart Trost, Dr Michalis Stylianou, Dr Jessica Hill
-
Doctor Philosophy
Examining the Efficacy of Attentional Focus Instruction on Typically and Atypically Developing Young Learners Performing a Postural Control Task
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sean Tweedy, Dr Gregore Iven Mielke
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Development and Evaluation of a Self-Report Instrument to Measure Early Childhood Educators¿ Physical Literacy Capabilities, Knowledge, and Practices
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Michalis Stylianou
-
Doctor Philosophy
Movement Interventions to improve mental well-being in individuals who have experiences trauma
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kai Wheeler
-
Doctor Philosophy
Health literacy of rheumatic heart disease within non-family based care
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Mr Carl Francia, Dr Kai Wheeler
-
Doctor Philosophy
Innovating physical literacy in childhood through the co-design of the MobMoves program
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Murray Phillips, Dr Kai Wheeler
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the Cultural Determinants of Physical Literacy in Diverse Communities
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kai Wheeler
-
Doctor Philosophy
Co-designing trauma informed practices for Exercise Physiologists working with children
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kai Wheeler
-
Doctor Philosophy
Developing a Motor Assessment Tool that is Feasible for Autistic Children with High Support Needs
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Sean Tweedy, Associate Professor Emma Beckman
Media
Enquiries
For media enquiries about Professor John Cairney's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team: