RSS 1.0Journal articles & published research
Browse by
Recent Submissions
-
Comparing Canadian and United States opioid agonist therapy policies.(2019-02-11)Canada and the United States (U.S.) face an opioid use disorder (OUD) and opioid overdose epidemic. The most effective OUD treatment is opioid agonist therapy (OAT)-buprenorphine (with and without naloxone) and methadone. Although federal approval for OAT occurred decades ago, in both countries, access to and use of OAT is low. Restrictive policies and complex regulations contribute to limited OAT access. Through a non-systematic literature scan and a review of publicly available policy documents, we examined and compared OAT policies and practice at the federal (Canada vs. U.S.) and local levels (British Columbia [B.C.] vs. Oregon). Differences and similarities were noted between federal and local OAT policies, and subsequently OAT access. In Canada, OAT policy control has shifted from federal to provincial authorities. Conversely, in the U.S., federal authorities maintain primary control of OAT regulations. Local OAT health insurance coverage policies were substantively different between B.C. and Oregon. In B.C., five OAT options were available, while in Oregon, only two OAT options were available with administrative limitations. The differences in local OAT access and coverage policies between B.C. and Oregon, may be explained, in part, to the differences in Canadian and U.S. federal OAT policies, specifically, the relaxation of special federal OAT regulatory controls in Canada. The analysis also highlights the complicating contributions, and likely policy solutions, that exist within other drug policy sub-domains (e.g., the prescription regime, and drug control regime) and broader policy domains (e.g., constitutional rights). U.S. policymakers and health officials could consider adopting Canada's regulatory policy approach to expand OAT access to mitigate the harms of the ongoing opioid overdose epidemic.
-
Identifying the Optimum Role and Function of an Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) Outreach Nurse(School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems at University College Dublin., 2018-07)
-
Medical management of acute upper respiratory infections in an urban primary care out-of-hours facility: cross-sectional study of patient presentations and expectations.(BMJ Open, 2019-02-15)The purpose of this study was to examine the expectations of patients attending an urban primary care out-of-hours (OOH) facility with acute upper respiratory tract infection (acute URTI) regarding clinical examination, symptom management, information on their condition, reassurance, antibiotic treatment and other possible options including referral. Cross-sectional design. One urban primary care OOH facility located in the midwest of Ireland. 457 patients filled out a questionnaire while waiting in the OOH facility; 22 surveys were excluded as the patients did not present with symptoms of acute URTI resulting in 435 patients' data being included in this study. There were 59.5% female participants and 40.5% male participants.
-
Using Co-Design to Develop a Collective Leadership Intervention for Healthcare Teams to Improve Safety Culture.(MDPI, 2018-06-05)While co-design methods are becoming more popular in healthcare; there is a gap within the peer-reviewed literature on
-
Exploring the Effectiveness of an Integrated Mixed Martial Arts and Psychotherapy Intervention for Young Men’s Mental Health(American Journal of Men’s Health, 2019-02)
-
Economic Evaluation of Early Intervention in Psychosis in Comparison to Treatment as Usual(University College Dublin, 2017)
-
Over prescribing of antibiotics for acute respiratory tract infections; a qualitative study to explore Irish general practitioners' perspectives.(BMC Family Practice, 2019-02-14)Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to public health and antibiotics are often unnecessarily prescribed for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in general practice. We aimed to investigate why general practitioners (GPs) continue to prescribe antibiotics for ARTIs despite increasing knowledge of their poor efficacy and worsening antimicrobial resistance. We used an explorative qualitative study design. Thirteen GPs were recruited through purposive sampling to represent urban and rural settings and years of experience. They were based in general practices within the Mid-West of Ireland. GPs took part in semi-structured interviews that were digitally audio recorded and transcribed. Three main themes and three subthemes were identified. Themes include (1) non-comprehensive guidelines; how guideline adherence can be difficult, (2) GPs under pressure; pressures to prescribe from patients and perceived patient expectations and (3) Unnecessary prescribing; how to address it and the potential of public interventions to reduce it. GPs acknowledge their failure to implement guidelines because they feel they are less usable in clinical situations. GPs felt pressurised to prescribe, especially for fee-paying patients and in out of hours settings (OOH), suggesting the need for interventions that target the public's perceptions of antibiotics. GPs behaviours surrounding prescribing antibiotics need to change in order to reduce AMR and change patients' expectations.
-
To explore Nurses’ Knowledge of Patient’s Stroke Risk in relation to Atrial Fibrillation and Anticoagulation use in Preventing Stroke.(School of Nursing and Midwifery, National University of Ireland, Galway, 2018-08)
-
A Profile of Psychiatric In-Patient Admissions With No Fixed Abode (NFA) 2007-2016(Irish Medical Journal, 2019-01)
-
Interventions to develop collectivistic leadership in healthcare settings: a systematic review.(BMC Health Services Research, 2019-01-25)Collective or shared leadership approaches have been associated with team performance outcomes in several sectors. Based on this evidence, there have been calls for more inclusive approaches to leadership in healthcare settings, but guidance on how to achieve collective leadership is lacking. This study synthesised knowledge of interventions to introduce collectivistic leadership in healthcare settings. The databases of PubMed, PsychInfo, ABI Inform, Cochrane and CINAHL and three grey literature databases were searched. Studies from any country were included if they reported on the development and evaluation and/or implementation of training/interventions to develop collectivistic leadership and reported individual and/or team-level outcomes. Results were synthesised using a narrative approach. The searches yielded 4448 records of which 21 met the eligibility criteria and were reviewed. Studies used a variety of interventions; eleven employed a team training approach, four described co-leadership, three explored service improvement, two detailed co-design approaches and one described an individual team development intervention. Most demonstrated moderate to good success in enabling collectivistic leadership, with benefits reported in staff engagement, satisfaction, and team performance. Whilst collectivistic leadership interventions have demonstrated positive outcomes, there is a need for more rigor and consistency in the evaluation of interventions aimed at developing collectivistic leadership approaches in health settings.
-
Five-year standardised mortality ratios in a cohort of homeless people in Dublin(BMJ Open, 2019-01)
-
Review Group on Acute Hospital Service(1987-06)
-
Planning for Progress: Tackling Poverty, Unemployment and Exclusion(Justice Commission Conference of Religious Of Ireland, 1997)
-
Obesity Prevention Programs in Children: The Most Effective Settings and Components. A Literature Review(Journal of Obesity and Chronic Diseases, 2018)
-
‘We definitely need more SLTs’: The transgender community’s perception of the role of speech and language therapy in relation to their voice, language, and communication needs(Social Work & Social Science Review, 2018-10)
-
Collective leadership and safety cultures (Co-Lead): protocol for a mixed-methods pilot evaluation of the impact of a co-designed collective leadership intervention on team performance and safety culture in a hospital group in Ireland.(BMJ Open, 2017-11-03)There is accumulating evidence implicating the role of leadership in system failures that have resulted in a range of errors in healthcare, from misdiagnoses to failures to recognise and respond to patient deterioration. This has led to concerns about traditional hierarchical leadership structures and created an interest in the development of collective ways of working that distribute leadership roles and responsibilities across team members. Such collective leadership approaches have been associated with improved team performance and staff engagement. This research seeks to improve our understanding of collective leadership by addressing two specific issues: (1) Does collective leadership emerge organically (and in what forms) in a newly networked structure? and (2) Is it possible to design and implement collective leadership interventions that enable teams to collectively improve team performance and patient safety? The first phase will include a social network analysis, using an online survey and semistructured interviews at three time points over 12 months, to document the frequency of contact and collaboration between senior hospital management staff in a recently configured hospital group. This study will explore how the network of 11 hospitals is operating and will assess whether collective leadership emerges organically. Second, collective leadership interventions will be co-designed during a series of workshops with healthcare staff, researchers and patient representatives, and then implemented and evaluated with four healthcare teams within the hospital network. A mixed-methods evaluation will explore the impact of the intervention on team effectiveness and team performance indicators to assess whether the intervention is suitable for wider roll-out and evaluation across the hospital group. Favourable ethical opinion has been received from the University College Dublin Research Ethics Committee (HREC-LS-16-116397/LS-16-20). Results will be disseminated via publication in peer-reviewed journals, national and international conferences, and to relevant stakeholders and interest groups.
-
Entitlements for people with disabilities(Comhairle, 2000)
