News 2023
UCC awarded research funding to help address societal and healthcare challenges
- Research tackling loneliness in older people, improving stroke support services, and using comics to build a more inclusive society are among UCC projects granted funding.
- Nine UCC projects awarded a combined €117,000 in Irish Research Council New Foundation awards.
The development of a national protocol template for stroke support services, the use of smart technology to identify loneliness for older people, and investigating contemporary multicultural Irish society through the production and publication of comics are among the projects at University College Cork (UCC) that have been awarded €117,000 in funding from the Irish Research Council (IRC).
The funding has been made available through the 2023 Irish Research Council (IRC) New Foundations awards. Today’s announcement represents funding in nine projects which will deliver impactful research in areas of excellence which align to the UCC Futures framework.
Among the new research projects that will be funded with civic society partners and government departments and agencies are:
Professor Eleanor Bantry White (School of Applied Social Studies, College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, and ISS21)
Project Title: SMILE Sensors for Monitoring Isolation and Loneliness among Older People: New Pathways for Early Identification and Support.
Loneliness poses a major risk to older people’s physical and mental health and impacts every community in post-pandemic Ireland. Through smartphones, and wearable and ambient sensing technology, it is now possible to identify loneliness and offer supports before problems arise. This project, in collaboration with ALONE, will create opportunities for dialogue between older people, stakeholders, and researchers. Bringing diverse voices together, it will build an agenda to improve research, inform policy and services, and develop a network for future collaboration.
Professor Conor O’Mahony (School of Law, College of Business and Law)
Project Title: Child Participation in Family Court Proceedings in Ireland.
Since 2012, the Irish Constitution stipulates that in family law cases, children's views should be ascertained and given due weight in accordance with the maturity of the child. Implementation of this requirement appears to have been problematic; but there is no solid evidence base on which to base policy and law reforms that will ensure that the constitutional requirement is met in the proposed new family court structure. This project will gather evidence of child participation in family law cases through court observation and professional experiences and chart a way forward considering domestic experience and international best practice. Project findings will be disseminated in partnership with civil society partners in the Children’s Rights Alliance.
Dr Anne-Marie Martin (School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health) Project Title: THE-DIET (Tailored Health Education-Deciding with Information and Education Together).
People with mild and moderate intellectual disability worked with researchers and nurses to co-produce a health education module, ‘Don’t Mention the Diet’, tailored to their learning needs. In partnership with COPE Foundation, this study will explore disability support workers experiences of teaching four lessons from this module to people with mild and moderate intellectual disability.
Dr Anne-Marie Martin and Professor Conor O'Mahony. Image credit: Ruben Martinez/UCC
Dr Chiara Giuliani (School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, College of College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences)
Project Title: ComiCork - Picturing Oneself in Irish Multicultural Society.
ComiCork is an interdisciplinary, intersectoral project that investigates contemporary multicultural Irish society through the translation, production and publication of comics by students. Developed in collaboration with the Cork Community Art Link, comic-making instructors, graphic novelists and second and third level students, the project combines the translation of a graphic novel highlighting issues of discrimination and inclusion and the publication of comics where students creatively narrate their own stories of diversity, inclusion, and integration. ComiCork raises awareness on the societal challenges faced by Irish youths in an increasingly diverse society and stimulates a dialogue on how to build a more inclusive society.
Dr Fiona Dukelow (School of Applied Social Studies, College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, and ISS21)
Project Title: Education first? Lone parents’ lived experience of the challenges and benefits of participating in higher education.
There is a concerning educational attainment gap between lone parents and the general population, particularly at third level, which further disadvantages one of the most disadvantaged groups in Irish society. Despite the government’s commitment to increase access to higher education for lone parents (set out in the National Access Plan 2022-2028) there is a dearth of targeted policy interventions and research on how to boost access and retention for this cohort. To address this knowledge-gap, the proposed project, in collaboration with One Family, will conduct mixed-methods research to explore lone parents’ pathways into higher education, potential challenges and rewards, and factors that support retention.
Dr Edward Lahiff (Department of Food Business and Development, Cork University Business School)
Project Title: Building capacity in civil society and local communities for sustainable rural development in Vietnam, in the context of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement of 2020 creates important opportunities for sustainable rural development in areas such as coffee, timber and food products, but small-scale farmers struggle to meet the required quality standards and certification. A range of non-government organisations (NGOs) are working with farmers and rural entrepreneurs to build capacity and create pathways to global markets. This proposal, a partnership between UCC and the University of the Social Sciences and Humanities in Hanoi, aims to engage with such NGOs to better understand their role and lay the foundation for a multi-partner research project that will develop new knowledge and build linkages for engaged research between Vietnamese and Irish researchers and grassroots organisations in Vietnam.
Dr Helen Kelly (Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, College of Medicine and Health)
Project Title: Mapping Stroke Services for people living with stroke and their families: Creation of a National Protocol (MAPStrokeNP).
The National Clinical Programme for Stroke in Ireland aims to provide access to ongoing support to maximise post-stroke quality of life. While there are national plans to encompass the entire continuum of care from primary prevention to life after stroke, services across Ireland are currently fragmented and exclusionary. People living with stroke and their families remain unaware of many stroke support services or how to access them. This research, a collaboration between UCC and Cork Stroke Support CLG will address this through the development of a National Protocol template and a blueprint for stroke support services that can be utilised in other regions across Ireland and internationally. Barriers to accessing stroke services will be identified by people living with stroke which will inform potential implementation issues of the National Stroke Strategy.
Dr Valeria Venditti (School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health)
Project Title: Developing an interdisciplinary network to fostering Trans-inclusive practices of care in Nursing and Midwifery: feminist, trans and queer perspectives on healthcare.
This research conference aims to address the lack of inclusion of transgender women, gender non-conforming individuals, and gender variant people in nursing and midwifery training programmes. By bridging the gap between research in feminist, trans, and queer studies and practical knowledge in healthcare settings, the conference aims to create an interdisciplinary network to support healthcare professionals in developing good practices around the inclusion of gender non-conforming people. The conference will contribute to promoting inclusive practices in healthcare and overcoming barriers to transformative interventions in nursing and midwifery.
Dr Mary O’Shaughnessy (Department of Food Business and Development, Cork University Business School)
Project Title: Assessing the Multidimensional Impact of Social Enterprises in Ireland (SE-IMPACT).
Pioneering research on social enterprise in Ireland, towards developing mechanisms to measure the multidimensional impact of social enterprises across the full spectrum of social enterprise in line with the current National Social Enterprise Policy and international best practice.
Congratulating the nine award recipients from University College Cork on their awards, Professor John F. Cryan, UCC Vice President for Research and Innovation said: "Congratulations to the researchers involved in receiving IRC New Foundations awards in these key areas which will address critical societal and healthcare challenges. These evidence-based awards align with the strategic goals of the University through the implementation of engaged and open research that will deliver enhanced outcomes for citizens and society."