Dr Oliver Traynor
- Research Associate, Research Associate (Public Health)
email:
Oliver.Traynor@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns:
He/him/his
Biography
Oliver Traynor is a Research Associate in Public Health within the School of Health and Wellbeing. His research focuses on how the natural outdoor environment can be used to foster positive health behaviours in children through play and reduce health inequalities. He is also part of a multi-sector collaboration that aims to build capacity for evidence-informed decision making within local authority to reduce health inequalities.
Oliver completed his PhD in 2024 at the University of Glasgow, where he investigated how outdoor nature-based play and learning in Glasgow can contribute to positive health behaviours in children. His doctoral research equipped him with expertise in developing and evaluating complex public health interventions.
He is currently a Research Associate on two projects: the MRC-funded Early Childhood Outdoor Nature-based Play and Learning (ECO Nature Play) Intervention Development and the NIHR-funded Health Determinants Research Collaboration–Glasgow. Oliver is a mixed-methods researcher with particular strengths in participatory approaches, including systems-based mapping and programme evaluation methods such as Evaluability Assessment.
Oliver holds a Bachelor's Degree (Hons) in Human Biology with Sociology and Psychology from Glasgow Caledonian University (2018). He earned an MSc in Human Nutrition with a Specialisation in Public Health (2019) and an MSc in Developing and Evaluating Interventions (2020), both from the University of Glasgow.
Research interests
Oliver's research interests lie at the intersection of public health, early childhood development, and multi-sector collaboration. He is particularly focused on understanding how outdoor, nature-based play and learning environments can foster positive health behaviours in children and reduce health inequalities. His work involves the design, implementation, and evaluation of complex interventions, with methodological expertise in play assessments, collaborative working across sectors, and participatory approaches. Oliver is also interested in how local data and community engagement can inform policy and practice to create healthier, more equitable urban environments.
Please check Google Scholar for details on Oliver's publication history.
Publications
2025
Traynor, Oliver, McCrorie, Paul 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926, Chng, Nai Rui ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0238-4103, Johnstone, Avril ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-8603 and Martin, Anne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-6525
(2025)
“I don't take what's in[side] outside, I see it as a different environment”: understanding the factors influencing outdoor play and learning implementation in Scotland’s early childhood education settings.
Wellbeing, Space and Society,
(doi: 10.1016/j.wss.2025.100311)
(In Press)
Lousen, Ida, Johnstone, Avril ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-8603, Schipperijn, Jasper, Traynor, Oliver, McCrorie, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926 and Pawlowski, Charlotte Skau
(2025)
The impact of schoolyard interventions on children’s and adolescents’ social, emotional, and cognitive well-being: a scoping review.
Mental Health and Prevention,
(doi: 10.1016/j.mhp.2025.200460)
(Accepted for Publication)
2023
Zucca, Claudia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-8389, McCrorie, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926, Johnstone, Avril ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-8603, Chambers, Stephanie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9607-6242, Chng, Nai Rui ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0238-4103, Traynor, Oliver and Martin, Anne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-6525
(2023)
Outdoor nature-based play in early learning and childcare centres: identifying the determinants of implementation using causal loop diagrams and social network analysis.
Health and Place, 79,
102955.
(doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102955)
(PMID:36565541)
2022
Traynor, Oliver, Martin, Anne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-6525, Johnstone, Avril ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-8603, Chng, Nai R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0238-4103, Kenny, Jessica and Mccrorie, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926
(2022)
A low-cost method for understanding how nature-based early learning and childcare impacts on children’s health and wellbeing.
Frontiers in Psychology, 13,
889828.
(doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.889828)
(PMID:35814071)
(PMCID:PMC9260060)
Traynor, Oliver, Mccrorie, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926, Chng, Nai Rui ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0238-4103 and Martin, Anne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-6525
(2022)
Evaluating outdoor nature-based early learning and childcare provision for children aged 3-years: protocol of a feasibility and pilot quasi-experimental design.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12),
7461.
(doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127461)
(PMID:35742709)
(PMCID:PMC9224218)
Articles
Traynor, Oliver, McCrorie, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926, Chng, Nai Rui ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0238-4103, Johnstone, Avril ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-8603 and Martin, Anne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-6525
(2025)
“I don't take what's in[side] outside, I see it as a different environment”: understanding the factors influencing outdoor play and learning implementation in Scotland’s early childhood education settings.
Wellbeing, Space and Society,
(doi: 10.1016/j.wss.2025.100311)
(In Press)
Lousen, Ida, Johnstone, Avril ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-8603, Schipperijn, Jasper, Traynor, Oliver, McCrorie, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926 and Pawlowski, Charlotte Skau
(2025)
The impact of schoolyard interventions on children’s and adolescents’ social, emotional, and cognitive well-being: a scoping review.
Mental Health and Prevention,
(doi: 10.1016/j.mhp.2025.200460)
(Accepted for Publication)
Zucca, Claudia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4448-8389, McCrorie, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926, Johnstone, Avril ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-8603, Chambers, Stephanie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9607-6242, Chng, Nai Rui ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0238-4103, Traynor, Oliver and Martin, Anne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-6525
(2023)
Outdoor nature-based play in early learning and childcare centres: identifying the determinants of implementation using causal loop diagrams and social network analysis.
Health and Place, 79,
102955.
(doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102955)
(PMID:36565541)
Traynor, Oliver, Martin, Anne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-6525, Johnstone, Avril ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-8603, Chng, Nai R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0238-4103, Kenny, Jessica and Mccrorie, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926
(2022)
A low-cost method for understanding how nature-based early learning and childcare impacts on children’s health and wellbeing.
Frontiers in Psychology, 13,
889828.
(doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.889828)
(PMID:35814071)
(PMCID:PMC9260060)
Traynor, Oliver, Mccrorie, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-6926, Chng, Nai Rui ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0238-4103 and Martin, Anne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-6525
(2022)
Evaluating outdoor nature-based early learning and childcare provision for children aged 3-years: protocol of a feasibility and pilot quasi-experimental design.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12),
7461.
(doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127461)
(PMID:35742709)
(PMCID:PMC9224218)
Teaching
Oliver regularly delivers guest lectures on Developing and Evaluation Complex Interventions on the MSc Global Mental Health programme.
