Aisling McMahon

Aisling McMahon is a Chartered Physiotherapist PhD researcher at UL. She holds a BSc in Physiotherapy from the University of Limerick and an MSc in Advanced Physiotherapy Studies from University College Dublin. Alongside her research, Aisling continues to work clinically with older adults and individuals living with musculoskeletal conditions across community settings.

Aisling's research interests centre on healthy ageing, chronic pain, community-based healthcare, and implementation science. Her previous research experience includes systematic reviews in musculoskeletal health, sports injury prevention, and public health, including work examining risk factors for knee osteoarthritis in retired athletes and public awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She is particularly interested in bridging the gap between research, policy, and practice to ensure that evidence-based interventions can be successfully implemented and sustained in real-world settings.

Her PhD project, co-supervised by Prof. Karen McCreesh (School of Allied Health) and Dr Laura Keyes (CIRcUL), focuses on the development and evaluation of “Pain Cafés”, a novel community-based model of support for older adults living with chronic pain. Chronic pain is highly prevalent among older adults and can significantly impact physical function, social participation, and quality of life. Pain Cafés aim to provide informal, accessible spaces within local communities where older adults can access education, peer support, and opportunities for social connection.

The project will adopt a co-design approach, working collaboratively with older adults, healthcare professionals, and community organisations to develop the Pain Café model. Following this, the intervention will be piloted in community settings to assess its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes. The final phase of the research will focus on developing an implementation framework to support wider adoption and scale-up across community and healthcare settings.

By combining principles of co-design, community engagement, and implementation science, the project aims to generate practical evidence to support sustainable, person-centred approaches to chronic pain management and healthy ageing.