Chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes are the most common causes of death throughout Europe, including Ireland. The rise in chronic disease is increasing demand on health systems worldwide and is extremely costly for governments. In addition to this increasing demand, there is a widening gap between available resources and healthcare costs. The costs will continue to increase unless governments can find a better way to prevent and treat these diseases.

Congratulations to Jennifer Pallin and Katarzyna Gajewska who were selected as finalists for the 2021 HRB Ones2Watch Competition. Jennifer and Kate were two of the four selected finalists who had their videos showcased at the HRB Ones2Watch conference on the 7^th October.

School: School of Public Health

College: College of Medicine & Health

Dáire has started on an eight-week Trial Methodology Research Network Scholarship.

Dáire has just completed a BSc. Public Health Sciences at UCC. Over the course of the Scholarship, Dáire will work on a project entitled ‘What works to recruit primary care practices for trials?’ supervised by Dr Fiona Riordan. Dáire will conduct a rapid evidence review of primary care trials reporting or testing recruitment strategies.

The aim of the project is to determine:

1) which strategies have been used to recruit practices for clinical or implementation trials and shown to be effective, and

2) the profile of practices which take part, inferring which practices may be ‘harder to reach’ for trials.

Researchers have difficulty recruiting primary care practices to participate in trials and little is known about which recruitment strategies work best, or which practices they reach. It is hoped that the findings will guide researchers on the selection of recruitment strategies, with the potential to improve recruitment of diverse practices, and the generalisability of trial results.  

Dáire will present the findings digital poster format for online display at the next (virtual) 7^th Trial Methodology Symposium on October 4-6^th 2021.

Researchers from the ESPRIT group are delighted to be taking part in this year’s Professional Skills for Research Leaders (PSRL) training programme at UCC. Drs Susan Calnan, Linda O’Keeffe, Kate O’Neill, Emmy Racine and Fiona Riordan are participating in this year’s course, which commenced in May and will involve monthly workshops and online modules over a six-month period.

The PSRL training aims to help researchers to enhance their leadership, management and engagement skills as they progress in their research careers. This year’s all-female group has a particular emphasis on enabling female post-docs and research fellows to develop their professional skills at this critical time in their career.    

Participants will receive a certificate of attainment from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) for completing the suite of programmes and attending the workshops. We wish the group every success in this year’s training and in their future research careers.

My Role as a Pharmacist Vaccinator/ On-Site Pharmacist in a Cork Mass Vaccination Centre

When the call came earlier this year from the HSE for suitable healthcare professionals to apply for the role of vaccinator in their mass vaccination clinics, I was delighted to apply. As a pharmacist I am one of the professionals who can operate as a vaccinator in these clinics.

Vaccination is a vital component of public health practice. I thoroughly enjoy my role as a pharmacist vaccinator, administering the four COVID-19 vaccines available on the Irish market and counselling the patient on this medication.

Furthermore, I am now also the on-site pharmacist (when on shift) in Cork City Hall Vaccination Centre. This means that I am responsible for medication management on site.

With both roles I can unite my clinical knowledge and skills with my understanding of public health research and practice. However, I also get to witness human compassion, perseverance, and resilience.  It is an honour to work alongside an incredible team of motivated and dedicated individuals throughout this pandemic.

Seminar Series underway at School of Public Health

 The School of Public Health Seminar Series aims to provide insights into a range of topics across the spectrum of public health, including research, policy, and practice. The School’s 2021 series includes topics from diverse disciplines and different perspectives. The multi-disciplinary seminar series includes several presentations focused on public health aspects of COVID-19 as well as many other public health related topics.

“Seminars such as these are always important to exchange knowledge, facilitate the sharing of accurate and reliable information, and to inform discussion. However, it is even more vital that factually correct and well researched information is communicated to us all during this pandemic”, highlights Professor Patricia Kearney, School of Public Health, UCC.

Dr Sheena McHugh (Principal Investigator) and Dr Fiona Riordan (Co-investigator) have been awarded funding to conduct a project in partnership with Friendly Call Cork/Cork City Partnership.

The project ‘Learning how to create Integrated community Networks through Knowledge exchange’ (LINK) was one of 76 projects funded as part of the Irish Research Council New Foundations scheme which aims to connect researchers and community/voluntary organisations.

Psychological Society of Ireland Division of Health Psychology - Ruth Curtis Postgraduate Excellence in Research/Practice Award 2020

Ms Niamh McGrath (3^rd Year PhD Student) was awarded the Ruth Curtis Postgraduate Excellence in Research/Practice Award 2020. The award is named after one of the great leaders in Health Psychology in Ireland, and recognises exceptional contributions made to the science and profession by postgraduate members of the Psychological Society of Ireland Division of Health Psychology.

In selecting Niamh, the reviewers highlighted herstrong publication record and dissemination activities, the great potential for her research in diabetes to have national impact and the evidence of academic contribution through committee roles and event organisation.

Niamh’s PhD research focuses on understanding implementation of psychological care recommendations into routine type 2 diabetes care in Ireland.

Dr Sheena McHugh has been awarded funding for a 5-year programme of research under the HRB Research Leader scheme.

Dr McHugh is one of five new research leaders funded to conduct research programmes that will deliver evidence to directly inform changes in health policy and practice.

Her project ‘Comparing and Understanding Tailoring Methods for Implementation Strategies’ (CUSTOMISE), aims to answer one of the most pressing and difficult questions facing health systems around the world, that is, how do we actually implement effective changes in everyday healthcare in a way that is acceptable and practical for health professionals and service users?

Registration is now open for the two-day introductory training course, ‘Developing and Evaluating Complex Primary Care Interventions’  to be held in UCC on the 4^th and 5^th of November 2019.