http://hdl.handle.net/10379/188 2017-10-29T22:43:02Z 2017-10-29T22:43:02Z Devaney, Carmel http://hdl.handle.net/10379/6905 2017-10-11T01:01:43Z 2014-12-06T00:00:00Z

Enhancing family support in practice through postgraduate education Devaney, Carmel Family Support as a named orientation is a relatively new concept in service provision for children and their families in the Republic of Ireland. Notwithstanding this, there are a number of practitioners across a range of disciplines and agencies within this arena who apply a Family Support approach in their day-to-day work. Furthermore, it is increasingly expected that these practitioners and agencies work together in a collaborative manner with the intention of providing the best possible assistance and support. Practitioners are also required to develop their knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis while in practice. One model of postgraduate education which is responding to such developments is the Master's Degree in Family Support Studies. This programme is delivered in one University in the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, the programme was reviewed to assess its influence on participants' understanding and knowledge of Family Support and on their practice. A mixed methods approach was used in this review, the results of which provide the basis for this article. At an overall level the programme is found to have a very positive influence on participants with a growing pool of practitioners who are skilled and confident in their practice.

2014-12-06T00:00:00Z Tierney, Edel McEvoy, Rachel O'Reilly-de Brún, Mary de Brún, Tomas Okonkwo, Ekaterina Rooney, Michelle Dowrick, Chris Rogers, Anne MacFarlane, Anne http://hdl.handle.net/10379/6883 2017-10-07T01:02:35Z 2014-07-24T00:00:00Z

A critical analysis of the implementation of service user involvement in primary care research and health service development using normalization process theory Tierney, Edel; McEvoy, Rachel; O'Reilly-de Brún, Mary; de Brún, Tomas; Okonkwo, Ekaterina; Rooney, Michelle; Dowrick, Chris; Rogers, Anne; MacFarlane, Anne Background There have been recent important advances in conceptualizing and operationalizing involvement in health research and health-care service development. However, problems persist in the field that impact on the scope for meaningful involvement to become a routine – normalized – way of working in primary care. In this review, we focus on current practice to critically interrogate factors known to be relevant for normalization – definition, enrolment, enactment and appraisal. Method Ours was a multidisciplinary, interagency team, with community representation. We searched EBSCO host for papers from 2007 to 2011 and engaged in an iterative, reflexive approach to sampling, appraising and analysing the literature following the principles of a critical interpretive synthesis approach and using Normalization Process Theory. Findings Twenty-six papers were chosen from 289 papers, as a purposeful sample of work that is reported as service user involvement in the field. Few papers provided a clear working definition of service user involvement. The dominant identified rationale for enrolling service users in primary care projects was linked with policy imperatives for co-governance and emancipatory ideals. The majority of methodologies employed were standard health services research methods that do not qualify as research with service users. This indicates a lack of congruence between the stated aims and methods. Most studies only reported positive outcomes, raising questions about the balance or completeness of the published appraisals. Conclusion To improve normalization of meaningful involvement in primary care, it is necessary to encourage explicit reporting of definitions, methodological innovation to enhance co-governance and dissemination of research processes and findings.

2014-07-24T00:00:00Z Devaney, Carmel McGregor, Caroline Cassidy, Anne http://hdl.handle.net/10379/6880 2017-10-07T01:01:17Z 2017-06-16T00:00:00Z

Early implementation of a family-centered practice model in child welfare: findings from an Irish study Devaney, Carmel; McGregor, Caroline; Cassidy, Anne This article reports on the outcomes of a research study on the early implementation of a strengths-based family-centred model of practice in Ireland known as the Meitheal model. The paper aims to translate the key messages from this research to practice with families involved in the child welfare system. This is done by highlighting the process by which intervention focused on support and prevention using a strengths perspective has begun to occur in practice. Using data collected from stakeholders involved in the implementation of the practice model, the research provides insight into the opportunities and challenges involved at macro and micro-levels of practice. The discussion links this development in Ireland to the wider international context, using three broad frameworks informed by the ecological model; a framework for determining thresholds in children’s services and the continuum of intervention between support and protection to inform system change aimed at enhancing family support and better outcomes for children and families. Underpinning this is an emphasis on how Meitheal as a strengths-based approach can influence the achievement of the principles of early intervention, prevention and family support in the child welfare system in Ireland.

2017-06-16T00:00:00Z Tierney, Edel O'Sullivan, M. Hickey, L. Hannigan, A. May, C. Cullen, W. Kennedy, N. Kineen, L. MacFarlane, Anne http://hdl.handle.net/10379/6863 2017-10-06T01:02:42Z 2016-11-22T00:00:00Z

Do primary care professionals agree about progress with implementation of primary care teams: results from a cross sectional study Tierney, Edel; O'Sullivan, M.; Hickey, L.; Hannigan, A.; May, C.; Cullen, W.; Kennedy, N.; Kineen, L.; MacFarlane, Anne Background Primary care is the cornerstone of healthcare reform with policies across jurisdictions promoting interdisciplinary team working. The effective implementation of such health policies requires understanding the perspectives of all actors. However, there is a lack of research about health professionals’ views of this process. This study compares Primary Healthcare Professionals’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the Primary Care Strategy and Primary Care Team (PCT) implementation in Ireland. Methods Design and Setting: e-survey of (1) General Practitioners (GPs) associated with a Graduate Medical School (N = 100) and (2) Primary Care Professionals in 3 of 4 Health Service Executive (HSE) regions (N = 2309). After piloting, snowball sampling was used to administer the survey. Descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS. Ratings across groups were compared using non-parametric tests. Results There were 569 responses. Response rates varied across disciplines (71 % for GPs, 22 % for other Primary Healthcare Professionals (PCPs). Respondents across all disciplines viewed interdisciplinary working as important. Respondents agreed on lack of progress of implementation of formal PCTs (median rating of 2, where 1 is no progress at all and 5 is complete implementation). GPs were more negative about the effectiveness of the Strategy to promote different disciplines to work together (median rating of 2 compared to 3 for clinical therapists and 3.5 for nurses, P = 0.001). Respondents identified resources and GP participation as most important for effective team working. Protected time for meetings and capacity to manage workload for meetings were rated as very important factors for effective team working by GPs, clinical therapists and nurses. A building for co-location of teams was rated as an important factor by nurses and clinical therapists though GPs rated it as less important. Payment to attend meetings and contractual arrangements were considered important factors by GPs but not by nurses or clinical therapists. Conclusion PCPs and GPs agree there is limited PCT implementation. GPs are most negative about this implementation. There is some disagreement about which resources are most important for effective PCT working. These findings provide valuable data for clinicians and policy makers about implementation of interdisciplinary teams in primary care.

2016-11-22T00:00:00Z