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Focusing on translating research to health policy and system change at the SPHeRE Network 11th Annual Conference
Members of the PLRG attended and presented at the SPHeRE Network 11th Annual Conference at the RCSI on 04 March 2025. The conference examined how research can and does influence health policy and system reform, very much in line with our ethos at the PLRG.
During a parallel session on maternal and child health chaired by Professor Keelin O’Donoghue, Dr Tommy Harty shared a quantitative analysis of pregnancy loss experiences and supports at work using data from the PLACES project. In this session, Research Ireland-funded PhD student, Caroline O’Connor presented her qualitative study of parents' experiences of antenatal care for dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies in Irish Maternity Services.
Dr Emily O’Connor presented two posters from her PhD work at the conference, winning the poster prize for her work titled: “Characteristics of Serious Incident Management Team (SIMT) reviews in Irish maternity units”. Emily’s PhD is funded by Féileacáin.
Caroline O’Connor, Dr Tommy Harty and Professor Keelin O’Donoghue pictured at SPHeRE 2025 at the RCSI. Photo credit: David Coleman
Dr Tommy Harty, Senior House Officer, University Hospital Waterford. Photo credit: David Coleman
Caroline O’Connor, PhD Student and Midwife. Photo credit: David Coleman
Dr Emily O’Connor giving a 3-minute elevator pitch on her research, following a keynote by Róisín Shortall, Co-Founder of the Social Democrats Party and Former TD for Dublin North-West, who is also pictured. Photo credit: David Coleman
PLRG Presentations at SPHeRE 2025
| Title | Authors | Research / Project Area |
|---|---|---|
| Oral presentations | ||
| A national survey on pregnancy loss under 24 weeks in the workplace: experiences and supports at work | Tommy Harty, Ruadh Kelly-Harrington, Marita Hennessy, Keelin O’Donoghue, Caroline Dalton-O’Connor, Maeve O’Sullivan, Mary Donnelly, Claire Murray, Daniel Nuzum, Sara Leitao | PLACES |
| Parents' experiences of antenatal care for Dichorionic Diamniotic (DCDA) twin pregnancies in Irish Maternity Services | Caroline O'Connor, Sara Leitao, Keelin O'Donoghue | MILESTONE |
| Poster presentations | ||
| Maternity staff opinions on perinatal death reviews: focusing on parent involvement and changes to the system | Emily O’Connor, Änne Helps, Richard Greene, Keelin O’Donoghue, Sara Leitao | ACHIEVE |
| Characteristics of Serious Incident Management Team (SIMT) reviews in Irish maternity units | Emily O'Connor, Änne Helps, Richard Greene, Keelin O'Donoghue, Sara Leitao | ACHIEVE |
More information
SPHeRE (‘Structured Population health, Policy and Health-services Research Education) is Ireland’s national research training programme for population health, policy and health services research and is funded by the Health Research Board.