Health Systems
PhD Opportunities in the College of Life Sciences
What is Health Systems Research?
We have adopted the World Health Organisation’s definition of a health system, which states: ‘A health system consists of all the organizations, institutions, resources and people whose primary purpose is to improve health …… [and] it is the sum total of all the organizations, institutions and resources whose primary purpose is to improve health’ (WHO 2009). Our interest in health systems is in education and research relating to the planning, organisation and delivery of healthcare, resourcing and the allocation of resources for healthcare and accountability and healthcare outcomes. These relate to nursing and midwifery practice, education and research but are also multidisciplinary in nature, on the basis that real improvements in health rely on collaboration between disciplines, each discipline contributing in a unique and complementary way to the enhancement of patient outcomes and the improvement of population health.
We have adopted the World Health Organisation’s definition of a health system, which states: ‘A health system consists of all the organizations, institutions, resources and people whose primary purpose is to improve health …… [and] it is the sum total of all the organizations, institutions and resources whose primary purpose is to improve health’ (WHO 2009). Our interest in health systems is in education and research relating to the planning, organisation and delivery of healthcare, resourcing and the allocation of resources for healthcare and accountability and healthcare outcomes. These relate to nursing and midwifery practice, education and research but are also multidisciplinary in nature, on the basis that real improvements in health rely on collaboration between disciplines, each discipline contributing in a unique and complementary way to the enhancement of patient outcomes and the improvement of population health.
WHO (2009), available at: http://www.who.int/healthsystems/about/en/, accessed 30th November 2009
What main areas of research are addressed?
Research in health systems is organised in two streams, as follows:
- Health services planning, management, resources and outcomes
- Practice development and professional preparation
A number of funded projects are being conducted or have recently been completed as follows:
- A Cochrane Systematic Review of hospital nurse staffing models and patient and staff-related outcomes
- Maternity staffing and postnatal outcomes
- A national clinical leadership needs analysis
- E-Learning support for competence assessment
- A national independent evaluation of the nurse and midwife prescribing initiative
- The nursing contribution to care: NMDS development and clinical decision making
In addition, research is being conducted as part of graduate research in the following areas: community nursing and quality of care delivery; a quality framework for Irish health services; the development and maintenance of professional identity; attitudes and perceptions of care givers towards seclusion, control and restraints, and the impact of nurse-led social skills training.
What are the next steps towards undertaking PhD Research in this area?
If a student is interested in undertaking their PhD research in this area, please follow the link below: http://www.ucd.ie/nmhs/researchdegrees/howtoapply/
Who are the researchers involved?
- Michelle Butler
- Jonathan Drennan
- Pearl Treacy
- Gerard Fealy
- Abbey Hyde
- Martin McNamara
- Mary Casey
- Corina Naughton
- Rita Collins
- Tom O'Connor
- Gabrielle O'Kelly
Where does this research take place?
The research takes place at the UCD School of Nursing & Midwifery & Health Systems
