Emily Jenkins
PhD, MPH, RN
Professor, Associate Director, Research & Teaching Scholarship, and Canada Research Chair in Population Health Approaches to Mental Health and Substance Use
- Phone 1-604-822-4980
- Email emily.jenkins@ubc.ca
- Website Wellstream
- Address
MacIsaac Health Building
5280A – 5955 University Blvd.
Vancouver BC V6T 1Z1
Canada
Profile
Bio
Dr. Emily Jenkins is a Registered Nurse and Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia. She is the Scientific Director of Wellstream: The Canadian Centre for Innovation in Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use and holds the Canada Research Chair in Population Health Approaches to Mental Health and Substance Use.
Dr. Jenkins is recognized for her leadership in youth- and community-engaged research focused on promoting mental health and reducing harms related to substance use. Her work takes an upstream, strengths-based approach to understanding the social and structural contexts that shape young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and to developing and implementing interventions that are responsive to the realities of youth, families, and communities.
Through partnerships with young people, communities, policymakers, and practitioners, Dr. Jenkins leads interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research that generates actionable evidence and translates knowledge into meaningful changes in policy and practice. Her work is grounded in a commitment to ensuring that the voices and experiences of people most affected by mental health and substance use issues help shape the policies, programs, and systems designed to support them.
Dr. Jenkins co-leads the Anchoring Change initiative, which released Canada’s Standard for Substance Use Prevention, Education, and Intervention in K–12 Schools in 2026. This pan-Canadian standard exemplifies her commitment to moving research into practice and advancing evidence-informed approaches that can improve the health and wellbeing of young people across Canada.
Credentials
Profile
Educational Background
- PhD (Nursing), University of British Columbia
- MPH, Simon Fraser University
- BSN, University of British Columbia
Affiliations
- Scientific Director Wellstream: The Canadian Centre for Innovation in Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use
Honours and Awards
2025 Youth Health Award, McCreary Centre Society
2024 Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing
2023-2028 Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Population Health Approaches to Mental Health and Substance Use, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
2021 Excellence in Community-Campus Research Partnership Award, CBRCanada ($5,000)
2019 Excellence in Advancing Nursing Knowledge and Research award, Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia
2019-2024 Scholar Award, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research
Service
2025-present Associate Director, Research & Teaching Scholarship
2023-present Elected Representative of the Joint Faculties, UBC Vancouver Senate
2021-present Elected Institute Advisory Board Member, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction
Research
Area of Research
Research Interests
Dr. Jenkins leads an interdisciplinary program of research focused on mental health and substance use, with a particular emphasis on children and youth and on people and communities disproportionately affected by social and structural inequities. Drawing on health and social science perspectives, her research examines the social and structural contexts that shape mental health and substance use and informs the development and evaluation of approaches that promote mental health, prevent substance use harms, and strengthen the systems and communities that support young people. A defining feature of her work is meaningful engagement with youth, communities, practitioners, and policymakers throughout the research process.
As a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Population Health Approaches to Mental Health and Substance Use, Dr. Jenkins’ research program brings together interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral partners to generate evidence that can inform policy, practice, and systems change. In 2023, she launched Wellstream: The Canadian Centre for Innovation in Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use, which connects and amplifies research, partnerships, and knowledge mobilization focused on improving mental health and reducing substance use harms among children and youth in Canada and beyond.
Dr. Jenkins’ research is supported by competitive national and provincial funding and is characterized by strong partnerships across health, education, government, and community sectors. Her youth substance use research, for example, has contributed to policy and practice initiatives aimed at promoting mental health and preventing substance use harms among children and youth. Her policy engagement has included providing invited testimony to the Senate of Canada during its study of Bill C-45 (Cannabis Act) and serving as Special Advisor on Youth Substance Use to a provincial inter-ministerial committee.
Dr. Jenkins co-leads Anchoring Change, a national initiative that brings together the health and education sectors to strengthen substance use prevention and response. In 2026, the initiative released Canada’s Standard for Substance Use Prevention, Education, and Intervention in K–12 Schools in partnership with the Canadian Association of School System Administrators, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, Physical and Health Education Canada, and the Students Commission of Canada. This work exemplifies her commitment to translating research into practical resources and approaches that can be used by schools, communities, and systems across Canada.
Across her research program, Dr. Jenkins prioritizes knowledge mobilization and engaged scholarship, working with partners to ensure that research findings are accessible, relevant, and useful to the people and systems seeking to improve mental health and reduce substance use harms.
Select Media Coverage
- New guidance recommends starting substance use education in kindergarten. (June 28, 2026). CBC News.
- Canadian principals are spending more time managing substance use in schools: Study (September 26, 2025). Global News.
- Teen marijuana poisonings have skyrocketed. How to keep your child safe. TIME Magazine. (December 5, 2022).
- Inside the mental health crisis facing college and university students. The Walrus. (October 26, 2021).
- From zero tolerance to open dialogue: How harm reduction is shifting the conversation on drug use. CBC White Coat, Black Art. (December 6, 2019).
Publications
Publications
Select Publications
Jenkins, E., Karamouzian, M., Sabioni, P., Molyneux, T., Goodyear, T., Gadermann, A., Gunn, H., Knight, R., Carwana, M., Fast, D., Storey, K. (2026). School-based substance use interventions: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analysis. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-025-01606-y
Jenkins, E., Molyneux, T.M., McGuinness, L., McAuliffe, C., Easton, C. (2025). From Small Ripples to a Sea Change: Elucidating Long-term and Multi-Level Youth Mental Health Intervention Impacts Using Ripple Effects Mapping. Qualitative Health Research, 4:10497323251398385.
Molyneux, T., Daly, Z., Richardson, C.G., Amlani, A., Dmytro, D., Trépanier-Bisson, N., Gadermann, A., Goodyear, T., Gilham, C., Ngieng, N., Sam, J., Moore-Arbour, S., Jenkins, E. (2025). Addressing Student Substance Use in Canadian Schools: An Exploration of Administrators’ Perspectives. Health Promotion International.
Chaplin, A., McGuinness, L., Gadermann, A., Poon, B.T., Jenkins, E. (2025). Contributors to positive mental health among youth: A qualitative study in British Columbia, Canada. Health Promotion International.
Goodyear, T., Sandhu, M., Pitcher, C., Dmytro, D., Shaffer, B., Moore-Arbour, S., Gilham, C., Bruno, T., Gadermann, A., Sam, J., Ngieng, N., Jenkins, E. (2025). Taking Stock of Youth Substance Use Portrayals: A Critical Content Analysis of Canadian News Media, 2016-2024. Social Science & Medicine, 379, 118188.
Haines-Saah, R. Goodyear, T., Mudry, T., O’Brien, D., Figueras, A., Jenkins, E. (2025). Reconceptualising cannabis risks in the context of health and social inequities: Insights from a qualitative study with young people in Canada. International Journal of Drug Policy, 138, 104474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104474
Jagosh, J., McAuliffe, C., McGuinness, L., Goodyear, T., Haines-Saah, R., Daly, Z., Halsall, T., Hill, T.G., Kruz, T., Wandolo, J., Suri, T., Jenkins, E. (2024). Identifying mechanisms of youth mental health promotion: A realist evaluation of the Agenda Gap programme. PLOS Mental Health, 1(1): e0000068. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000068
Jenkins, E., Daly, Z., McAuliffe, C., McGuinness, L., Richardson, C., Hill, T.G., Goodyear, T., Lind, C., Barbic, S., Rivers, R., Haines-Saah, R. (2023). Advancing socioecological mental health promotion intervention: A mixed methods exploration of Phase 1 Agenda Gap findings. Frontiers in Public Health 11:1066440. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1066440
Jenkins, E., McAuliffe, C.,Hirani, S., Richardson, C., Thomson, K., Kousoulis, A., Morris, J., & Gadermann, A. (2021). A portrait of the early and differential mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: Findings from the first wave of a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. Preventative Medicine, 145(106333). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106333
Slemon, A., Jenkins, E., Haines-Saah, R., Daly, Z., & Jiao, S. (2019). “You can’t chain a dog to a porch”: A multisite qualitative analysis of youth narratives of parental approaches to substance use. Harm Reduction, 16:26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-019-0297-3
Slemon, A., Jenkins, E., Haines-Saah, R., Daly, Z., & Jiao, S. (2019). “You can’t chain a dog to a porch”: A multisite qualitative analysis of youth narratives of parental approaches to substance use. Harm Reduction, 16:26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-019-0297-3
Jenkins, E., Slemon, A., Haines-Saah, R., & Oliffe, J. (2018). A guide to multi-site qualitative analysis. Qualitative Health Research. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732318786703
Teaching
Teaching
Courses taught at UBC
NURS 581 Leadership in Knowledge Application and Translation
NURS 548 Qualitative Methods and Analysis
NURS 601 Doctoral Seminar
NURS 586 Adolescent Health
NURS 303 Theoretical Perspectives in Nursing: People Living with Mental Health Challenges and their Families.
Supervisor Eligibility
MSN, PhD