Meet our PhD trainees

Clair graduated with a Bachelor of Science in physiotherapy from Trinity College Dublin and spent some years working as a physiotherapist in the USA. She gained experience in Community Physiotherapy in the Florida Keys and also worked in private practice in New Hampshire treating mainly workplace injuries. Clair set up her own private practice on returning from the USA before joining the HSE in 2005 when she took up the position as a Senior Community Physiotherapist in West Cork. In 2009, in collaboration with two nursing colleagues, Clair developed the West Cork Diabetes Prevention Programme in response to the growing problem of diabetes in Ireland. This programme went on to win a number of awards including a Lilly award for innovation in diabetes care in 2010 and was a finalist in the Irish Healthcare Centre awards in 2016. Clair completed her MSc in Advanced Healthcare Practice in 2016 at the University of Limerick. Her dissertation was a retrospective review of the West Cork Diabetes Prevention Programme which was found to reduce the risk factors for diabetes in those at risk. Clair has presented posters at international conferences and has presented on diabetes prevention to the national conference of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists. Clair has been a guest lecturer in the University of Limerick promoting diabetes prevention to MSc physiotherapy students. Clair also completed advanced training in Psychological Interventions for Physiotherapists in 2016.

Aim: To explore strategies and co-design an implementation plan to increase participation in digital diabetes prevention programmes for those at high risk of developing the disease.

Primary supervisor: Dr Sheena McHugh (UCC); Co-supervisors: Prof Patricia Kearney (HSE, UCC), Dr Grainne O’Donoghue (UCD), Dr Fiona Riordan (UCC)

Research Studies:

• Study 1a – Understanding participation in the online National Diabetes Prevention Programme. A mixed methods study
• Study 1b - To understand the perceptions of diabetes risk and diabetes prevention in a population eligible to participate in the National Diabetes Prevention Programme
• Study 2 – Factors affecting participation in digital diabetes prevention programmes: a systematic review
• Study 3 – A study to co-design tailored strategies to improve participation in the national diabetes prevention programme