Eimear Morrissey

University of Galway | NUI Galway · School of Psychology & School of Medicine

Purpose Digital interventions, such as smartphone applications (apps), are becoming an increasingly common way to support medication adherence and self-management in chronic conditions. It is important to investigate how patients feel about and engage with these technologies. The aim of this study was to explore patients’ perspectives on smartphone...

Background Self-management of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is complex and can be particularly challenging for young adults. This is reflected in the high blood glucose values and rates of clinic non-attendance in this group. There is a gap for a theory-based intervention informed by key stakeholder opinions to support and improve self-management in young...

Background The D1 Now intervention is designed to improve outcomes in young adults living with type 1 diabetes. It consists of three components: an agenda-setting tool, an interactive messaging system and a support worker. The aim of the D1 Now pilot cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) was to gather and analyse acceptability and feasibility d...

Young adults living with type 1 diabetes often struggle to achieve what clinicians consider to be optimal levels of metabolic control. Despite the impact that this can have on a young person’s future risk of complications, there are relatively few studies reporting new ways of organizing or delivering care to this cohort. In this paper we explore s...

Systematic review protocol proposing to explore the use of interventions among GP Registrars to improve antibiotic prescribing behaviours

Background: Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for stroke and heart disease. Recent international guidelines have stated that 'poor adherence to treatment – in addition to physician inertia - is the most important cause of poor blood pressure control'. The MaxImising Adherence, Minimising Inertia (MIAMI) intervention, which has...

Introduction: Worldwide, colorectal cancer is a major public health issue. Despite the existence of screening programmes in many countries, global uptake remains low. This meta-ethnography aimed to analyse qualitative literature to explore attitudes towards colorectal cancer screening and reasons for non-participation in eligible people that do no...

Background: Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for stroke and heart disease. Recent international guidelines have stated that 'poor adherence to treatment – in addition to physician inertia - is the most important cause of poor blood pressure control'. The MaxImising Adherence, Minimising Inertia (MIAMI) intervention, which has...

Background: Tailoring strategies to target the salient barriers to and enablers of implementation is considered a critical step in supporting successful delivery of evidence based interventions in healthcare. Theory, evidence, and stakeholder engagement are considered key ingredients in the process however, these ingredients can be combined in diff...

Objective Inappropriate use of antibiotics has been acknowledged as a significant contributor to the proliferation of antimicrobial resistance worldwide. Physician prescribing of antibiotics has been identified as a factor in the inappropriate use of antibiotics. One methodology that is used in an attempt to alter physician prescribing behaviours i...

Social media is an important source of social connection and information acquisition for young people with Type 1 diabetes. This study explores young people with Type 1 diabetes’ online experiences and the impact it has on mental wellbeing. Young people (N=19) with Type 1 diabetes and professional/family caregivers (N=8) took part in online mini-fo...

Introduction D1 Now is a novel intervention which aims to support self-management and clinic engagement and improve outcomes in young adults (18-25 years) living with type 1 diabetes in Ireland. It has been developed using a systematic, theoretical, user-centred approach. The specific role of the Support Worker, one of three components of the D1 No...

Mental Health, Diabetes and Endocrinology examines the main areas of clinical overlap between endocrinology and mental health to address key clinical conundrums. Drawing on the most recent developments from literature and clinical practice, this book gives specific attention to the main areas where clinical conundrums and treatment challenges arise...

This scoping review focused on answering key questions about the focus, quality and generalisability of the quantitative evidence on the determinants of adherence to social distancing measures in research during the first wave of COVID-19. The review included 84 studies. The majority of included studies were conducted in Western Europe and the USA....

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) continues to be a common cause of admission in type 1 diabetes and is the leading cause of mortality in young people with type 1 diabetes. Historically, patients who presented with recurrent DKA (rDKA) were often described as having ‘brittle diabetes’, and the difficulties of these patients often confounded the best eff...

Aims To identify all extant instruments used to measure diabetes distress in adults with Type 1 diabetes and to evaluate the evidence for the measurement properties of these instruments. Methods Medline, Embase, CINAHL plus and PsycINFO were systematically searched from inception up until 12 March 2020 for all publications which evaluated the psyc...

Background: Worldwide, hypertension control rates remain suboptimal despite clinically effective antihypertensive drug therapy. Patient failure to take medication as prescribed (ie, nonadherence) is the most important factor contributing to poor control. Smartphone apps can facilitate the delivery of evidence-based behavior change techniques to imp...

Background: The WHO has declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic. With no vaccine currently available, using behavioural measures to reduce the spread of the virus within the population is an important tool in mitigating the effects of this pandemic. As such, social distancing measures are being implemented globall...

Background: The WHO has declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic. With no vaccine currently available, using behavioural measures to reduce the spread of the virus within the population is an important tool in mitigating the effects of this pandemic. As such, social distancing measures are being implemented globall...

Background Young adults (aged 18–25 years) living with type 1 diabetes mellitus often have sub‐optimal glycaemic levels, which can increase their risk of long‐term diabetes complications. Informed by health psychology theory and using a young adult‐centred approach (public and patient involvement), we have developed a complex intervention, entitled...

Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic has been identified as a possible trigger for increases in loneliness and social isolation among older people due to the restrictions on movement that many countries have put in place. Loneliness and social isolation are consistently identified as risk factors for poor mental and physical health in older p...

Objectives: Our aim was to conduct a systematic review to determine which technology-driven diabetes prevention interventions were effective in producing clinically significant weight loss, and to identify the behaviour change techniques and digital features frequently used in effective interventions. Methods: We searched five databases (CINAHL, EM...

BACKGROUND Globally, hypertension control rates are suboptimal despite clinically effective anti-hypertensive drug therapy. Patient failure to take medication as prescribed (ie, non-adherence) is the most important factor contributing to poor control. Smartphone applications (apps) can facilitate the delivery of empirically established intervention...

Background Worldwide, hypertension control rates remain suboptimal despite clinically effective antihypertensive drug therapy. Patient failure to take medication as prescribed (ie, nonadherence) is the most important factor contributing to poor control. Smartphone apps can facilitate the delivery of evidence-based behavior change techniques to impr...

Behaviour is central to the management of diabetes, both for people living with diabetes and for healthcare professionals delivering evidence‐based care. This review outlines the evolution of behavioural science and the application of theoretical models in diabetes care over the past 25 years. There has been a particular advancement in the developm...

Aims This analysis aims to estimate the comparative efficacy of anti-hypertensive medications and exercise interventions on systolic and diastolic blood pressure reduction in people with hypertension. Methods A systematic review was conducted focusing on randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise interventions and first-line anti-hypertensive...

Problem identification: Adherence to oral chemotherapy is influenced by many factors. This qualitative evidence synthesis aimed to contribute to an interpretive understanding of the factors that act as facilitators or barriers to adherence among people with cancer taking lifelong, noncurative oral chemotherapy. Literature search: A systematic se...

Using digital technologies to manage high blood pressure within the Irish health system High blood pressure (hypertension) is a chronic condition in which the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure. It is one of the leading risk factors for heart attack and stroke and is one of the most common chronic conditions seen today. According to th...

Background. Hypertension is a chronic condition in which the blood vessels have persistently raised pressure. It is a major modifiable risk factor for both cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Hypertension is estimated to affect one billion people worldwide and is therefore a global health challenge. The pharmacological treatment of hyperten...

The first section introduces the basics of psychology, health, behaviour and their relationship. Positive psychology and health psychology are briefly explained because of their importance for eHealth interventions. In the second section, the importance of theories to explain and influence behaviour is highlighted. This theoretical approach is connect...

Background Digital health interventions, such as those that can be delivered via smartphone applications (apps) or wireless blood pressure monitors, offer a new, scalable and potentially cost-effective way to improve hypertension self-management. In Ireland, as is common in the UK, the majority of hypertension management occurs in general practice....

Objectives: Medication nonadherence is a known behavioural contributor to poor blood pressure (BP) control that puts patients with hypertension at elevated cardiovascular risk. Studies of medication adherence for apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (aTRH) vary significantly with respect to design, methods, and setting, and, as a result, have...

Background. Digital health interventions, such as those that can be delivered via smartphone applications (apps) or wireless blood pressure monitors, offer a new, scalable and potentially cost-effective way to improve hypertension self-management. In Ireland, as is common in the UK, the majority of hypertension management occurs in general practice...

Background Cancer-related fatigue (CrF) is the most common and disruptive symptom experienced by cancer survivors. We aimed to develop a theory-based, interactive Web-based intervention designed to facilitate self-management and enhance coping with CrF following cancer treatment. Objective The aim of our study was to outline the rationale, decisio...

Objective. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of medication adherence interventions on blood pressure (BP) control in hypertensive patients. In addition we aim to explore what barriers and facilitators in the interventions may have been targeted and how these might be related to the effect size on BP. Method. T...

A qualitative study on GPs thoughts and attitudes towards using digital interventions to manage hypertension.

http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/9w6ztn2mD6KcjJTXXzpC/full Objective: The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of medication adherence interventions on blood pressure control in hypertensive patients. In addition, we aim to explore what barriers and facilitators in the interventions may have been targeted and how t...

Objective. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of medication adherence interventions on blood pressure (BP) control in hypertensive patients. In addition we aim to explore what barriers and facilitators in the interventions may have been targeted and how these might be related to the effect size on BP. Method....

Background: Medication non-adherence is a known behavioural contributor to poor blood pressure control that puts patients with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (aTRH) at elevated cardiovascular risk. Studies of medication adherence for aTRH vary significantly with respect to design, methods, and setting; and as a result have produced highl...

Introduction: Studies of the prevalence of medication non-adherence for apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (aTRH) vary significantly with respect to design, methods, and setting; and as a result have produced highly variable estimates of the prevalence of non-adherence. This review aimed to elucidate the prevalence and potential moderators o...

Background: Resource and geographic barriers are the commonly cited constraints preventing the uptake of psychological treatment for chronic pain management. For adults, there is some evidence to support the use of information and communication technology (ICT) as a mode of treatment delivery. However, mixed findings have been reported for the eff...

Objective. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of medication adherence interventions on blood pressure (BP) control in hypertensive patients. In addition we aim to explore what barriers and facilitators in the interventions may have been targeted and how these might be related to the effect size on BP. Method....

Background: Hypertension control through pharmacological treatment has led to substantial benefits in the prevention of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. However, evidence from a number of studies suggests that as many as 50 to 80 % of patients treated for hypertension have low adherence to their treatment regimen. The objectiv...

Introduction: There are a vast number of smartphone applications (apps) aimed at promoting medication adherence on the market; however, the theory and evidence base in terms of applying established health behavior change techniques underpinning these apps remains unclear. This study aimed to code these apps using the Behavior Change Technique Taxo...

Background The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of a smartphone application (app) to deliver an intervention investigating the influence of cognitive and affective framed messages and a neutral control messages on physical activity (PA) within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Methods Participants (N...

Mobile health (mHealth) uses mobile technology such as smartphone and tablets to monitor, manage and improve health. mHealth is proliferating as it is projected that by 2016, there will be 10 billion mobile devices in use worldwide (Cisco, 2012). In 2012, 20% of smartphone owners had downloaded an mHealth application (app) to their device and it is...

Aim Food Allergy may have an impact on socioeconomic (SE) aspects of life. The Europrevall study (EU FP6, 2005-2009) developed and validated a SE questionnaire to measure the direct, indirect and intangible costs of food allergy. This measure takes up to 1 hour to complete as participants are required to respond to 70 to 170 questions, depending on...