Knowledge Exchange

There are a number of activities that the HRB Centre engages in, to increase the likelihood that the research evidence will be used in clinical practice (and policy) in making evidence-informed decisions.

Short Course in Health Research Methods –The critical mass of researchers at the Centre deliver a week long course aimed at providing participants with methodological training, facilitating the development of competencies appropriate for health research. The demand for this short course has grown in the past year and in the academic year 2014-2015 three short courses will be run for students. One of these courses will take place in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. Details on the short course can be found here.

• Student Internships – To date, 37 students have completed research internships at the HRB Centre, with backgrounds in medicine, science, physiotherapy and social science. During these internships, students are taught research skills that develop their ability to critically appraise external evidence and apply this evidence to patient care.

Erasmus Programme - We facilitate bi-annual research placements for students from Radboud University, Nijmegen in the Netherlands. These students complete a primary care related research topic and are supervised by members of the research team at the Centre. A profile of the nine Erasmus students to date can be found by clicking here.

Masters in Surgery (MCh) – Researchers at the Centre act as methodological supervisors to students who complete the MCh. These students receive methodological support for the duration of their thesis. This collaboration has led to the publication of nine peer reviewed publications to date. Two additional papers are under review.

• GP research training – The Centre facilitates the methodological support and training of GPs/GP trainees who wish to complete research relating to primary care. To date, eight GPs/ GP trainees are completing research projects in collaboration with the Centre.

HRB SPHeRE programme – Researchers at the Centre are involved in the delivery of the research methods module on the HRB PhD Scholars programme. A total of six PhD scholars are supervised by members of the HRB Centre and four further students have successfully completed their PhD thesis. These students receive clinical and methodological support for the duration of their PhD. (For example, Mary-Claire Kennedy’s work on opioid use in the elderly and Emma Wallace’s work on the CPCR Cohort).