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Evidence Synthesis Ireland Projects

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Introduction

Professor Valerie Smith is a member of the Executive Board of Evidence Synthesis Ireland (ESI) and hosts an ESI Fellowship Review Centre. The primary aim of ESI is to build evidence synthesis knowledge, awareness, and capacity among the public, healthcare institutions, policymakers, clinicians, and researchers on the Island of Ireland. The secondary aim is to generate knowledge on methodological efficiencies in evidence synthesis, as well as make evidence syntheses more useable within health care policy and for clinical practice decision-making. ESI offers training workshops and webinars ((opens in a new window)https://evidencesynthesisireland.ie/training/) and hosts ESI Fellowship and Summer Studentship schemes.

Project Outline

Evidence syntheses projects bringing both quantitative and qualitative evidence together in a variety of maternal healthcare areas have been completed and several projects are in progress. Through ESI Fellowship and Summer Studentship sponsored schemes, Prof Valerie Smith has mentored four ESI Fellows, and two Summer Students to completion (2021-2024) and is currently mentoring one Fellow. Dr Lorraine Carroll and Dr Mary Curtin, as members of the Maternal Health Research Group are also currently mentoring one ESI Summer Student (2025). Through these schemes, Fellows and Students can learn about evidence synthesis in general, as well as develop the practical skills of how to plan, design, conduct, and report evidence synthesis, in addition to building capacity for evidence synthesis activity.

Current / Recent Evidence Synthesis Projects:

  • Women and maternity care providers views and experiences of care bundle use in maternity care: A qualitative evidence synthesis [ESI Fellowship]
  • Midwifery students’ perspectives and experiences of providing a continuity of care experience within a hospital setting: A qualitative evidence synthesis [ESI Summer Studentship]
  • The effectiveness of care bundles for reducing caesarean section safely: A systematic review and meta-analysis [ESI Fellowship]
  • The effectiveness of care bundles for preventing or reducing perineal trauma during childbirth: A systematic review and meta-analysis [ESI Fellowship]
  • Quality appraisal tools used in qualitative evidence syntheses of maternity care research: A scoping review [ESI Summer Studentship]
  • Care bundles for women during pregnancy, labour/birth, and postpartum: a scoping review [ESI Fellowship]
  • Maternity care during COVID-19: A qualitative evidence synthesis of women’s and maternity care providers’ views and experiences [ESI Fellowship]
  • Early warning scores in maternity care: a qualitative evidence synthesis of maternity care providers’ views and experiences [ESI Fellowship]
  • Physiological track-and-trigger/early warning systems for use in maternity care: A systematic review and meta-analysis [ESI Fellowship]

Project Outputs

  1. Ryan T, McGrinder T, Smith V. Care bundles for women during pregnancy, labour/birth, and postpartum: a scoping review [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]. HRB Open Res2024, 7:40 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.12688/hrbopenres.13905.1)
  2. Dasgupta T, on behalf of the RESILIENT Study Group. Women’s experiences of maternity care in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic: A follow-up systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis. Women & Birth, 2024; (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2024.02.004
  3. Carroll L, Gallagher L, Smith V. Pregnancy, birth and neonatal outcomes associated with reduced fetal movement: a systematic review and meta-analysis of non-randomised studies. Midwifery, 2023; 116: 103524 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2022.103523
  4. Smith V, O’Malley D, Cithambaram K. Early warning scores in maternity care: a qualitative evidence synthesis of maternity care providers’ views and experiences. Midwifery, 2022; 112: 103402 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2022.103402
  5. Ryan T, Smith V. Care bundles for women during pregnancy, labor/birth, and postpartum: a scoping review protocol. JBI Evid Synth, 2022; 20(9): 2319-2328 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-22-00030
  6. Flaherty SJ, Delaney H, Matvienko-Sikar K, Smith V. Maternity care during COVID-19: a qualitative evidence synthesis of women’s and maternity care provider’ views and experiences. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 2022; 22: 438 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-022-04724-w
  7. AlAmri N, Smith V. The effect of formal fetal movement counting on maternal psychological outcomes: A systematic review. Euro J Midwifery, 2022; 6:10, 1-10 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/145789
  8. Smith V, Kenny LC, Sandall J, Devane D, Noonan M. Physiological track-and-trigger/early warning systems for use in maternity care. Cochrane Data Sys Reviews 2021; 9: CD013276 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013276.pub2
  9. Smith V, Muldoon K, Brady V, Delaney H. Assessing fetal movements in pregnancy: A qualitative evidence synthesis of women’s views, perspectives and experiences. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 2021; 21: 197 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-03667-y
  10. Carroll L, Gallagher L, Smith V. Risk factors for reduced fetal movements in pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (opens in a new window)Euro J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biology, 2019; (opens in a new window)243: 72-82 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejogrb.2019.09.028

Infographic

Project Team

Valerie Smith

Prof. Valerie Smith

Full Professor of Midwifery Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies

My Research Profile
valerie.smith@ucd.ie

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Contact the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems

Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4
T: +353 1 716 6407 | Location Map(opens in a new window)