June NUI Galway School of Nursing & Midwifery calls for renewed focus on research in nursing and midwifery

The Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway has highlighted the need to increase resources and investment to embed research into nursing and midwifery care in order to support clinical academic career pathways.

Professor Dympna Casey made the call ahead of a seminar to be hosted by the University as part of a series of events to celebrate the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.

The event will take place online from 1pm to 2pm on Friday, 25 June 2021. It is open to anyone who registers https://iuanursingmidwiferyresearch.eventbrite.ie

Professor Casey said: “We need resources and government investment to embed research and a research culture into nursing and midwifery care and support clinical-academic career pathways.”

NUI Galway’s School of Nursing and Midwifery is hosting the second seminar in the series - The Contribution of Schools of Nursing and Midwifery to Research - in partnership with Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin and University of Limerick.

It will illustrate examples of research led by nurses and midwives in vulnerable populations, capturing the views and experiences of healthcare workers and supporting high-quality research evidence for decision-making in policy and practice in Ireland and globally.

Professor Casey will also moderate a live panel discussion with audience questions.

“Nurses and midwives are not only at the frontline of healthcare delivery and have been critical during the response to Covid-19, but are also highly active in leading programmes of research that ensure evidence-based decision making in policy and practice,” Professor Casey said.

“We are pleased to lead on this seminar in collaboration with DCU, UL and Trinity College Dublin, illustrating just some of the essential research and evidence that informs clinical practice and healthcare policy in Ireland and on a global scale.”

The monthly seminar series being organised by the IUA’s Heads of Schools of Nursing and Midwifery Group will showcase the successes, challenges, research and innovations occurring in academic and clinical settings nationally.

Dr Catherine Houghton, NUI Galway, will highlight the Emergency Evidence Response Service including responding rapidly to understand more about healthcare workers’ adherence to infection prevention and control guidelines. This will include NUI Galway research which informed the World Health Organisation guidance on Covid-19 infection prevention and control.

Dr Briege Casey, DCU, will discuss nurse-led interventions among homeless populations during the pandemic, to identify the most effective practice in Covid-19 prevention, treatment and support among homeless populations to guide practice and policy development.

Dr Fintan Sheerin, Trinity College Dublin, will describe the challenges to undertaking research among people with intellectual disability during the pandemic. It will focus on innovative approaches to ensure that the voices of these people are heard.

Prof Alice Coffey, UL, will speak about RapidInfo4U, a service for health professionals established to provide access to knowledge relevant to clinical practice in the context of Covid-19. It provides a curated repository and a rapid response service for queries related to health professional practice and Covid-19.

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