Dr. KD King, BScN, MPH, PhD, RN, CPSO

Contact

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Native Studies

Email: kdking@ualberta.ca

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Sexual Health Indigenous Health Mental Health Public Health Nursing

About

Born and raised in northern Alberta, I grew up on a farm, my father was a farmer, and my mother a nurse. I moved to Edmonton for University and completed my BScN in Nursing at the UofA in 2004. I subsequently worked for a year as a Registered Nurse in a few areas, including Plastic Surgery, Mental Health, and Neurosurgery, before moving to Perth, Western Australia to commence my Master of Public Health (MPH). I moved back to Canada in 2006 to work in mental health and addictions in Toronto for three years, before relocating to London, UK, where I conducted my MPH thesis research on HIV testing in acute and community psychiatric mental health and addictions settings. After 6 years in the UK, I returned to Canada and worked with Alberta Health Services doing Health Service Quality and Accreditation work, before joining the Faculty of Nursing in 2017 as a Faculty Lecturer. In 2019, I became an Assistant Teaching Professor, and in 2020, I took an educational leave to complete my PhD research looking at HPV-related cancer prevention in Métis communities in Alberta. As a proud two-spirit Métis, my research seeks to center the voices of the people involved and develop strategies to improve outcomes related to HPV in our Nation. I completed my PhD in 2026, and continue to work with First Nations and Métis communities, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and our health service partners to improve health through community-led research and service.

Research

My research seeks to ensure that underserved communities are able to direct and lead research that is meaningful and meets their needs. My research philosophy is informed by my mixed Métis and settler heritage, Black Feminist scholarship, and 2Spirit/queer scholarship. Methodologically speaking, I have experience with systematic reviews, epidemiology, administrative data, survey data, and qualitative methods, and am committed to mixed or multimethod study designs. I am committed to community-led research, supporting capacity building and applied research that benefits community identified priorities.

Teaching

May 2026 - August 2026

Sessional Instructor - Athabasca University - MHST 603 - Facilitating Inquiry

Athabasca University - Faculty of Health Sciences, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

January 2026

Graduate Teaching Assistant - Primary Instructor - NS376 - Indigenous Demography and Disease

University of Alberta, Faculty of Native Studies, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Facilitating learning for undergraduate students enrolled in Indigenous Demography and Disease (NS 376) - an introduction to colonialism, biopolitics, health and disease.

September 2025

Graduate Teaching Assistant - Primary Instructor - NS476 - Current Perspectives in Indigenous Health & Wellness

University of Alberta, Faculty of Native Studies, Edmonton, Alberta Canada

A critical overview of the literature and contemporary health issues affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada.

January 2025

Graduate Teaching Assistant - Primary Instructor - NS376 - Indigenous Demography and Disease

University of Alberta, Faculty of Native Studies, Edmonton, Alberta Canada

Facilitating learning for undergraduate students enrolled in Indigenous Demography and Disease (NS 376) - an introduction to colonialism, biopolitics, health and disease.

January 2019 - May 2025

Sessional Instructor - HLST 210 - Human Sexuality

MacEwan University, Faculty of Nursing, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Facilitating learning for undergraduate registered nursing students enrolled in Human Sexuality (HLST 210) - an introduction to sexuality, sexual health and wellness.

June 2023 - October 2025

Curriculum Developer - Anti-Indigenous Racism and Discrimination MOOC, Micro-credentials, and Undergraduate/Graduate Courses.

Athabasca University, Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada

Co-developed content for a MOOC, microcredentials, and undergraduate and graduate courses on anti-Indigenous racism.

June 2022 - September 2024

Curriculum Developer - Pain Assessment: Decoding the Score - Microcredential

MacEwan University, School of Continuing Education, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Co-developed professional development microcredential for healthcare providers on multi-dimensional pain assessment.

July 2017 - July 2023

Assistant Teaching Professor / Course Lead for Mental Health & Wellness, Leadership, Indigenous Health, and Sexual & Gender Diversity in Health.

University of Alberta - Faculty of Nursing, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Facilitating learning for undergraduate registered nursing students enrolled in NURS 309/310/327/437, NURS 200, NURS 425, NURS 222 - Lecturing and providing instruction in seminars, lab, and clinical instruction in Mental Health & Addictions Nursing (NURS 309/310/327/437). Lecturing and facilitating learning in Indigenous Health (NURS 222) and Leadership, Systems Thinking, & Innovation (NURS 200), and clinical supervision of NURS 425 - Leadership in a Focussed Area.

Co-developed Sexual & Gender Diversity in Health (INTD 408) - a course co-designed with colleagues from the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, and Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. This role also provides direct input and leadership to develop curriculum and supports faculty and learners in developing their skills in these specialist areas of nursing.

October 2010 - April 2014

Honorary Visiting Lecturer - Physical & Mental Health

City University London - Department of Mental Health & Learning Disabilities, London, United Kingdom

Worked closely with the faculty, providing current clinical expertise into curriculum development, delivering lectures and special seminars to students and professionals across the health professions, and supporting the student selection process at City University.

September 2007 - February 2008

Guest Lecturer - Mental Health & Addictions

University of New Brunswick - Humber College Bachelors of Nursing Collaborative Program, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Working closely with faculty, providing clinical expertise into curriculum development, delivering select lectures to the undergraduate program as requested.

Courses

NS 376 - Indigenous Demography and Disease

This course focuses on the historic epidemic diseases that devastated Indigenous communities following the arrival of Europeans in this hemisphere. Students will study evidence for health and disease and for the size of the Indigenous population before contact, the epidemiology and impacts of infectious diseases that accompanied Europeans to the Americas, and the transition to a different disease profile in the 20th century. Indigenous and European approaches to well-being and disease will be considered. Prerequisites: NS 110, NS 111 and NS 240 or NS 290 or consent of the Faculty. For students outside of the Faculty of Native Studies, 6 units from NS 110, NS 111, NS 200, NS 201, or NS 240.

Winter Term 2027

NS 476 - Perspectives on Indigenous Peoples Health and Wellbeing

A critical overview of the literature and contemporary health issues affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada. Special focus is on the meanings of health, socio-economic and environmental determinants of health and the socio- political landscape of Indigenous health research and healthcare policy. Prerequisites: NS 376 or consent of the Faculty.

Fall Term 2026

Browse more courses taught by KD King

Featured Publications

Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ Identities and Age-Related Cognitive Decline: A Scoping Review

Keith D. King, Skye Wilson, Letebrhan Ferrow, Lane Bonertz, Jessy Dame, Megan Kennedy, Jennifer D. Walker

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2026 May; 10.3390/ijerph23060735

Acceptability, access, and uptake of human papillomavirus vaccination in mental health populations: a scoping review

Keith D. King, Higinio Fernandez-Sanchez, Shannon E. MacDonald

Journal of Public Health. 2024 September; 10.1007/s10389-023-01918-0

Improved vaccine coverage for First Nations children receiving first dose on-reserve: a retrospective cohort study in western Canada

Shannon E MacDonald, Bonny Graham, Keith D King, Li Huang, Lawrence W. Svenson, Gregg Nelson

BMJ Global Health. 2023 December; 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013261