Dr Avril Johnstone is a public health researcher whose work focuses on how outdoor environments shape physical and mental health and health inequalities. Her research spans outdoor play, physical activity, green space, and children’s health, with a particular interest in understanding why opportunities to benefit from these environments are not equally distributed. She uses mixed-methods approaches, including qualitative research with children, intervention development and evaluation to explore the individual, social, environmental and structural factors that shape behaviour and health.

Avril is lead author of the Green Gap Framework, published in Landscape and Urban Planning, which provides a new way of understanding why people do not use green spaces and how multiple, interconnected barriers can contribute to inequalities in who benefits from them. Her work aims to bridge research, policy and practice, translating evidence into practical approaches to improve health and reduce inequalities. She is also a non-executive director of Actify CIC.