The newest assistant professor in public health arrived at the University of Lethbridge’s Faculty of Health Sciences after travelling several roads across Canada throughout his academic studies. Yet, as a Newfoundlander who did his PhD at the University of Alberta and then postdocs in Thunder Bay and Halifax, Chad Witcher is content to have returned to Western Canada – not least because everyone has been so friendly.
“I had the feeling during my interview that it was a warm and welcoming environment, and it’s been even more than I could have imagined,” says Witcher, who started in early December 2013. “I only have good things to say – I feel really at home even though I haven’t been here that long.”
Promotion of physical activity among older adults, and particularly the ways in which various contextual influences may affect participation, is the major focus of Witcher’s research. Now that he’s moved back west, he’s keen to replicate some of the research he's done regarding physical activity perceptions in Atlantic Canada here in Alberta, including his doctoral investigation into older adults’ physical activity perceptions and experiences in rural Nova Scotia, and opportunities for physical activity participation available to older adults in long-term care facilities. He’s excited that so many colleagues share his interest in research related to rural health.
While Witcher has been studying older adults for many years, the inspiration for his academic focus can be traced back to childhood.
“I grew up in an extended family that included my parents but also my father’s parents in the same household, so I always felt very in tune with their experiences,” says Witcher. “I always had a desire to understand and help that population.”
Beyond his research program, Witcher is also teaching a course in gerontology, and another on the Canadian health-care system in May. He’s settling in to the landscape too – making use of the city’s trail system where he makes the daily 10 km commute – regardless of the snow.