Vera J C Mccarthy

University College Cork | UCC · School of Nursing and Midwifery

Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between advanced nurse practitioners' self‐leadership and commitment to the workplace, work engagement and influence at work. Background The concept of self‐leadership is particularly suited to ANPs, who are required to take responsibility for their work roles. An optimum balance betwee...

Introduction: Ambulance times are internationally recognized Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for prehospital care. International benchmarking by comparing ambulance times between countries is a valuable method to help to identify strengths and weaknesses across healthcare systems. However, ambulance times are not standardized across or sometimes e...

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on health service provision worldwide, including care for acute time sensitive conditions, like stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Thus, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prehospital emergency care fo...

Introduction: International reports suggest there have been prehospital delays for time-sensitive emergencies like stroke and TIA during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ambulance times and emergency call volume for adults with suspected stroke and TIA in Ireland. Method: We conducted a retro...

IntroductionCOVID-19 has challenged global health care systems and resulted in prehospital delays for time-sensitive emergencies, like stroke and transient ischaemic attacks (TIA). However, there are conflicting international reports on the level of effect of the pandemic on ambulance response intervals and emergency call volumes for these conditio...

Background: loss of skeletal muscle function, strength and mass is common in older adults, with important socioeconomic impacts. Subclinical hypothyroidism is common with increasing age and has been associated with reduced muscle strength. Yet, no randomized placebo-controlled trial (RCT) has investigated whether treatment of subclinical hypothyro...

The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of using iPad minis as a method of completing competency assessment in clinical practice. Digital technology helps to revolutionize all aspects of our lives. The use of digital technologies in clinical practice can facilitate a move toward a more flexible learning environment and enable students...

Objective: Information on the preferences of people with asthma for support in managing a flare-up can inform service design which may facilitate appropriate help-seeking. To date, little is known about support preferences for managing a flare-up. The aim of this study was to develop and pilot a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit the prefer...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on health service provision worldwide, including care for acute time sensitive conditions. Stroke and transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) are particularly vulnerable to pressures on healthcare delivery as they require immediate diagnosis and treatment. The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prehospita...

Background: Challenging behaviours are common among children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Such behaviours often result in poor quality of life outcomes such as physical injury, difficulties with relationships and community integration. Aim: This systematic review aimed to synthesise evidence from studies that assessed the effect...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on health service provision worldwide, including care for acute time sensitive conditions. Stroke and transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) are particularly vulnerable to pressures on healthcare delivery as they require immediate diagnosis and treatment. The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prehospita...

Context Subclinical thyroid dysfunction and anemia are common disorders, and both have increasing prevalence numbers with advancing age. Objective The aim of this study was to assess whether levothyroxine treatment leads to a rise in hemoglobin levels in older persons with subclinical hypothyroidism. Design A pre-planned combined analysis of two...

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate differences in supervisees' understanding of clinical supervision and their perceptions of organizational functioning before and after engaging in peer-group clinical supervision. Background: Protected reflective time allows discussion of complex issues affecting healthcare. Peer-group clinical supervision is on...

Aims and objectives The aim of this study was to explore and describe the self‐management support (SMS) preferences of adults with asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Background Self‐management support interventions have had beneficial outcomes for people with asthma and people with COPD, though challenges remain in their i...

Background Clinical supervision helps promote practitioners’ personal and professional development through fostering a supportive relationship and working alliance. Peer group clinical supervision is a form of clinical supervision whereby two or more nurses engage in a supervision process to improve their professional practice and provide quality c...

Purpose: To examine international approaches to the ethical oversight and regulation of quality improvement and clinical audit in healthcare systems. Data sources: We searched grey literature including websites of national research and ethics regulatory bodies and health departments of selected countries. Study selection: National guidance doc...

Background Fatigue often triggers screening for and treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism. However, data on the impact of levothyroxine on fatigue is limited and previous studies might not have captured all aspects of fatigue. Method This study is nested within the randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter TRUST trial, including community-dwel...

Background: L-thyroxine does not improve hypothyroid symptoms among adults with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH). However, those with greater symptom burden before treatment may still benefit. Objective: To determine whether L-thyroxine improves hypothyroid symptoms and tiredness among older adults with SCH and greater symptom burden. Design:...

Objectives: Patients are unintentionally, yet frequently, harmed in situations that are deemed preventable. Incident reporting systems help prevent harm, yet there is considerable variability in how patient safety incidents are reported. This may lead to inconsistent or unnecessary patterns of incident reporting and failures to identify serious pa...

Objectives: To synthesise findings from qualitative studies on the preferences of people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for self-management support. Methods: A thematic synthesis of literature was carried out. Six databases (ASSIA, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Psychology and the Behavioural Sciences and SSCI) were used...

This study set out to analyze questions about type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) from patients and the public. The aim was to better understand people’s information needs by starting with what they do not know, discovered through their own questions, rather than starting with what we know about T2DM and subsequently finding ways to communicate that in...

Questions about cure or reversal. (DOCX)

Crowdsourced questions. (DOCX)

Aim The aim of this study is to report the development and psychometric testing of the clinical leadership needs analysis instrument (CLeeNA). Background Limited emphasis is placed on the clinical leadership needs of nurses and midwives that are fundamental to supporting the delivery of high quality, safe patient care. Methods A development and v...

Background: In a number of countries, frameworks have been developed to improve self-management support (SMS) in order to reduce the impact of chronic disease. The frameworks potentially provide direction for system-wide change in the provision of SMS by healthcare systems. Although policy formulation sets a foundation for health service reform, l...

Background/Aims: Health and Safety Practitioners (HSPs), as frontline professionals advocating for health and safety (HS) working conditions, have crucial roles for the wellbeing of employees. However, research studying HSPs psychosocial working conditions - i.e. job demands, control and support (JDCS) -, safety climate (SC) and their impact on HSP...

Background: The nursing workforce is ageing and increased age and demands at work, can impact on physical activity levels in the workplace and at leisure. Research has shown that work physical activity, without activity at leisure, is insufficient to prolong well-being. This study investigated the physical activity levels of a sample of nurses and...

Objectives: To estimate and compare the prevalence and type of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) amongst community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years) in three European countries.

Objectives To estimate and compare the prevalence and type of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) among community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years) enrolled to a clinical trial in three European countries. Design A secondary analysis of the Thyroid Hormone Replacement for Subclinical Hypothyroidis...

BACKGROUND: The use of levothyroxine to treat subclinical hypothyroidism is controversial. We aimed to determine whether levothyroxine provided clinical benefits in older persons with this condition. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial involving 737 adults who were at least 65 years of age and...

Background: Adverse job characteristics have been linked with increased incidence of depression and anxiety in working populations. However, the association between job characteristics and mental health, in an older working population while controlling for personality traits, is less well known. Aims: To examine the association between job chara...

BACKGROUND The use of levothyroxine to treat subclinical hypothyroidism is controversial. We aimed to determine whether levothyroxine provided clinical benefits in older persons with this condition. METHODS We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial involving 737 adults who were at least 65 years of age and wh...

The use of levothyroxine to treat subclinical hypothyroidism is controversial. We aimed to determine whether levothyroxine provided clinical benefits in older persons with this condition. We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial involving 737 adults who were at least 65 years of age and who had persisting su...

When patients cannot get answers from health professionals or retain the information given, increasingly they search online for answers, with limited success. Researchers from the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom explored this problem for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In 2014, patients attending an outpatient clinic (...

Background Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a common condition in elderly people, defined as elevated serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with normal circulating free thyroxine (fT4). Evidence is lacking about the effect of thyroid hormone treatment. We describe the protocol of a large randomised controlled trial (RCT) of Levothyroxine treat...

Questions engage patients and foster good communication with health professionals. Consumer questions reveal gaps in knowledge that may guide public-health campaigns. But … •What do consumers (patients, family members, care-givers, general public) want to know about an illness or their health? •What do they not know? •How do they express their inf...

Background/Research Question Patient questions play a vital role in healthcare, engaging patients and fostering good communication with health professionals. Consumer questions play a crucial role in public-health prevention efforts, revealing gaps in knowledge that need to be met. For patients, evidence shows that literacy has an effect on the que...

Nurses are central to providing frontline care and services to older people. With the rapidly changing demographics of the Irish population and the paradigm shifts in the way healthcare services are being delivered, it is imperative that nurses working with older people wherever they access health services are competent to provide the highest quali...

Background: Physician's prescribing preference is increasingly used as an instrumental variable in studies of therapeutic effects. However, differences in prescribing patterns among physicians may reflect differences in preferences or in case-mix. Furthermore, there is debate regarding the possible assumptions for point estimation using physician'...

Little is known about the association between positive job characteristics of older workers and the co-occurrence of protective health behaviours. This study aims to investigate the association between perceived psychosocial job characteristics and the adoption of protective health behaviours. A population-based cross-sectional study was performed...

There is limited evidence about the impact of treatment for subclinical hypothyroidism, especially among older people. To investigate the variation in GP treatment strategies for older patients with subclinical hypothyroidism depending on country and patient characteristics. Case-based survey of GPs in the Netherlands, Germany, England, Ireland, Sw...

The effect of work on blood pressure (BP) in a general population with appropriate adjustment for confounders is not well defined. High job control has been found to be associated with lower BP and with nocturnal BP dipping. However, with older workers this may be compromised and has not been studied extensively. A cross-sectional study was carried...

To compare diabetes risk assessment tools in estimating risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and to evaluate cardiometabolic risk profiles in a middle-aged Irish population. Future risk of developing T2DM was estimated using 7 risk scores, including clinical measures with or without anthropometric, biological and lifestyle data, in the cross-s...

There is a current lack of consensus on defining metabolically healthy obesity (MHO). Limited data on dietary and lifestyle factors and MHO exist. The aim of this study is to compare the prevalence, dietary factors and lifestyle behaviours of metabolically healthy and unhealthy obese and non-obese subjects according to different metabolic health cr...

Background The difference between a working and a non-working middle to older aged population and their lifestyle behaviours has not been investigated previously. Furthermore, the association between positive job characteristics for current older workers and the co-occurrence of positive lifestyle behaviours (PLBs) is scarcely known. Methods We car...

Background The effect of work on blood pressure (BP) relative to a non-working status with appropriate adjustment for confounders is not well defined. High job control has been found to be associated with lower BP and with nocturnal BP dipping. However, with older workers this may be compromised. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out on a...

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Trial provides critical data on the impact of a specific diet pattern (low in salt, fat, and processed foods and high in fruit and vegetables) on blood pressure (BP). The effect of compliance with a DASH-type diet on BP in a general population sample is less well defined. We studied associations be...

Background Findings from both observational and experimental studies (including the DASH Trial -Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) are consistent with a significant, causal role for dietary salt intake in the distribution of blood pressure (BP) in populations. The DASH diet quality score, based on the intervention arm in the DASH-trial, has e...

The primary aim ofthe study was to estimate the prevalence of majorCVD risk factors in a middle-aged population inIreland and to estimate the proportion of the popula-tion at high risk according to Framingham criteria.The study included measurement of diet and physicalactivity and assessed the impact of these lifestyle fac-tors on traditional CVD r...

Background Workplace demographics are changing in many European countries with a higher proportion of older workers in employment. Research has shown that there is an association between job strain and cardiovascular disease, but this relationship is unclear for the older worker.AimsTo investigate the association between job strain and a coronary e...

Background There is a heightened need for the practitioner to be alert to the determinants of functional limitations and disabilities owing to the ageing workforce. Aim This study investigated the association between work type and disability in older age in both the paid and the previously unexplored, unpaid worker (household labour). Methods Data...

Objective In the present paper, we examine the association between manual work, resultant functional limitations and reduced ability to carry out daily activities of living (ADL), in older age. We hypothesise that manual workers as opposed to non-manual workers suffer, in older age, functional limitations and reduced ability to carry out ADL. This...

Stress has been seen as a routine and accepted part of the health care worker's role. There is a lack of research on stress in nurses in Ireland. To examine the levels of stress experienced by nurses working in an Irish teaching hospital and investigate differences in perceived stress levels by ward area and associations with work characteristics....