John SG Wells

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Dean of School at South East Technological University

This book aims to provide readers with guidance as to how to apply for EU funded programme calls (principally Erasmus and Horizon) and manage a funded project to successful completion. The book takes the reader through the project process from formulating an idea, building a partnership, writing, and submitting the grant application, funded project...

This chapter focuses on issues that project consortia poorly consider when resource and timeline planning. In particular, the chapter highlights that ethical approval, instrument design, language translation, and testing can often be underestimated in terms of how long they can take and the resources they consume. By careful timeline planning and a...

This chapter outlines how to write a funding application. The idea must be clearly referenced to Call priorities within the application. Highlighting a strong and credible consortium partnership to deliver on what is promised is also important. The chapter also goes into some detail on how to formulate and explain a realistic project budget allocat...

This chapter provides guidance on what evaluators look for in the final project report. It is important to demonstrate achievement of the key indicators as laid out in the original application. Providing a well-structured report, written in plain English, with demonstrable evidence to support your claims of success is crucial not only in terms of t...

In this chapter, using as an example, a project—SSTeMM—that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic ‘lockdown’, we explore how to manage unforeseen challenges. We highlight, based on our experience, that such challenges can in fact enhance team unity, boost morale and ensure the continued progress of the project. We conclude by highlighting that ou...

This chapter provides guidance on preparing for an application for EU funding. Developing a network of long-term relationships with others interested in your field of expertise is crucial to maximise chances of obtaining funding. The chapter also highlights the importance of a thorough evaluation of EU policy and aligning a project idea with specif...

This chapter reflects on overall project management lessons learned through our SSTeMM project management. The experience of working on SSTeMM provided us with an opportunity to refresh our thinking about project implementation and acquire new or reconnect with a whole set of skills and approaches which in previous years of project management we ha...

This chapter discusses the project launch, called the ‘Kick Off’ meeting and successfully establishing an interpersonal commitment to project implementation. The chapter emphasises the central role of the project co-ordinator for this. The project co-ordinator needs to project self-assurance about the project’s importance and the participatory sign...

This chapter highlights aims to provide a comprehensive guide to making an application to an EU-funded project call and how to implement a project successfully if funding is awarded. The guidance provided is informed by our insights gained over the last 30 years in EU-funded project management. We use ‘real-world’ examples (in particular, an Erasmu...

We stated at the beginning of this book that its aim was to provide the reader with a comprehensive guide to making an application to an EU-funded project call, and should funding be awarded, how to implement a project successfully. In this, the final, chapter we highlight the key messages we think are important for you to take away. In addition, w...

Objective: To identify the COVID-19 impact on well-being/mental health, coping strategies and risk factors in adolescent worldwide. Method: Anonymous online multi-national/language survey in the general population (representative/weighted non-representative samples, 14-17years), measuring change in well-being (WHO-5/range=0-100) and psychopathology...

Micro-credentials are an element of the European Skills Agenda 2020. This five-year plan aims to develop improved applied and broader work skills in response to system demands from employers, industry and communities. Within the labour market, employees increasingly want to obtain new skills-based qualifications in a relatively short period of time...

There is no multi-country/multi-language study testing a-priori multivariable associations between non-modifiable/modifiable factors and validated wellbeing/multidimensional mental health outcomes before/during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, studies during COVID-19 pandemic generally do not report on representative/weighted non-probability sample...

This paper presents the underlying theoretical framework, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research activities, as well as preliminary findings on influencing factors for a healthy and sustainable Work-Life-Flow (WLF) in diverse countries. The research is conducted within the scope of the cross-cultural Erasmus+-project, "Excellence based profi...

International studies measuring wellbeing/multidimensional mental health before/ during the COVID-19 pandemic, including representative samples for >2 years, identifying risk groups and coping strategies are lacking. COH-FIT is an online, international, anonymous survey measuring changes in well-being (WHO-5) and a composite psychopathology P-score...

Intellectual disability (ID) is a lifelong impairment of cognition and adaptive behavior that emerges in the development period. ID is a differentiated disability, whose severity differs from mild to profound. People with ID all have unique strengths and deficits, and while some can live autonomously, others may need significant levels of support....

Cancer is a global public health problem, but its exact prevalence in people with intellectual disabilities is still uncertain. This population, with limited health skills and complex health needs, faces many challenges in cancer prevention, screening, timely diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, they are often underrepresented in general cancer pr...

Results summary of completed research study examining safety incidents in South-East of Ireland full thesis available at https://repository.wit.ie/7745/

Background: COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of remote working in which employers' obligations for employees' health and well-being extended into the home. This paper reports on a systematic review of the health impacts of remote working within the context of COVID-19 and discusses the implications of these impacts for the future role of the occu...

Online drug use pornography has been freely available through websites on the open internet for at least 7 years. Surprisingly there is almost no exploration of its nature, character or impacts on both performers and those engaging with this type of content within the research literature. Nor is it an issue that has engaged health care providers an...

COST Actions are grants provided by the European Union to support the establishment of networks of expertise to explore and address a scientific or social issue that impacts across Europe. This article introduces and describes one such action that started in October 2022 - CUPID - will address issues of policy and equity of access to cancer prevent...

Background: The Collaborative Outcome study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT; www.coh-fit.com) is an anonymous and global online survey measuring health and functioning during COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to test concurrently the validity of COH-FIT items and the internal validity of the co-primary outcome,...

the cross-culturally increased traction of a good Work Life Flow (WLF), central for Decent Work (DW) (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8). Addressing questions for a good WLF is essential to physical, mental and social wellbeing core for DW. The WLF project develops tools and resources to support individuals and organizations to develop...

Mastering a healthy Work-Life-Flow (WLF) has become an ever-more challenging key competence to maintain an effective and sustainably enduring work performance while increasing social, physical and mental health. Within the scope of the European Green Deal and the accentuated transition need towards lifelong learning, young people entering the labo...

Mastering a healthy Work-Life-Flow (WLF) has become an ever-more challenging key competence to maintain an effective and sustainably enduring work performance while increasing social, physical and mental health. We propose in the frame of the Strategic Partnership project "Excellence based profiling to identify and apply tools and trainings for a b...

Background: The promotion of physical activity and the decrease of inactivity and sedentary behaviour are crucial for a healthy lifestyle and positive quality of life. People with intellectual disabilities are at increased risk of inactivity and sedentary behaviour. Therefore, it is important to increase their physical activity by implementing phy...

Background The COVID-19 global pandemic is a harbinger of a future destabilised world driven by climate change, rapid mass migration, food insecurity, state failures and epidemics. A significant feature fuelling this destabilised world is networked misinformation and disinformation (referred to as an infodemic), particularly in the area of health....

Aim: This article aims to outline the key concepts in hybrid warfare and cyber-attack to better inform nurses managers in their strategic contribution to the defence of critical digital infrastructure. Background: Hybrid warfare often targets a nation's critical digital infrastructure including health services. Hybrid warfare against national he...

Background: . High-quality comprehensive data on short-/long-term physical/mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are needed. Methods: . The Collaborative Outcomes study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT) is an international, multi-language (n=30) project involving >230 investigators from 49 countries/territories/re...

Background The EU promotes ‘Open Science’ as a public good. Complementary to its implementation is Citizen Science, which redefines the relationship between the scientific community, civic society and the individual. Open Science and Citizen Science poses challenges for the substance use and addictions research community but may provide positive op...

Stress during the pandemic has had an impact on the mental health of healthcare professionals (HCPs). However, little is known about coping and “maladaptive” coping behaviours of this population. This study investigates “maladaptive” coping behaviours and their correlation with stress, anxiety and insomnia of Italian HCPs during the pandemic. It re...

Background: Smoking and smoking-related disease is endemic amongst many marginalised populations such as people experiencing homelessness, people who use drugs, people living with HIV, sex workers and members of the LGBTQ+, Indigenous, Traveller and migrant communities. Alternative Nicotine Delivery Systems (ANDS)-based interventions including thos...

250/250 Background : The COVID-19 pandemic has altered daily routines and family functioning, led to closing schools, and dramatically limited social interactions worldwide. Measuring its impact on mental health of vulnerable children and adolescents is crucial. Methods : The Collaborative Outcome study on Health and Functioning during Infection...

Background: . High-quality comprehensive data on short-/long-term physical/mental health effects of the COVID�19 pandemic are needed. Methods: . The Collaborative Outcomes study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT) is an international, multi-language (n=30) project involving >230 investigators from 49 countries/territories/r...

Background: Stakeholder’s views on the role of recovery capital, including issues and barriers, that might address service provision for individuals with alcohol- and drug-related problems are important for improving outcomes. Methods: Six focus groups (n = 35) and five networking public participation events took place across five counties in the S...

Objectives The catastrophic effects of armed conflict, particularly prolonged armed conflict, on individual and public health are well-established. The ‘right’ to healthcare during armed conflict and its lack of enforcement despite a range of United Nations mandated requirements regarding health and healthcare provisions is likely to be a significa...

Aim To illustrate the value of Checkland’s ‘Soft Systems’ approach to explore and analyse the interaction of human and organisational factors that affect service delivery and patient experience in one specialist epilepsy service. Background Checkland’s approach is underutilised in relation to health service improvement. One epilepsy service in Ire...

Background Smoking is endemic amongst people accessing homeless services, and they are disproportionately affected by smoking-related diseases. This paper reports on the results of a 3-month small scale intervention which explored the efficacy, challenges and opportunities of using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) to support cessation of...

Sexualized injecting drug use ("SIDU") is a phenomenon associated with a wide array of high-risk injecting and sex-related practices. This scoping review establishes what is known about MSM and SIDU to assess implications for health care and policy. Characteristics of MSM for "SIDU" may include being on anti-retroviral treatment and urban residency...

Empowerment is integral to patient-centered practice, particularly as this relates to people with chronic conditions, though operationally it is poorly understood in this context. Empowerment, therefore, as experienced by patients with a chronic condition needs exploration. This article reports the experience of empowerment by patients in one speci...

Poster presentation at RCSI Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery - 39th Annual International Nursing & Midwifery Research and Education Conference in Dublin, Ireland. Offers a case example of issues arising from GDPR as they relate to patient data research

Our Vision is to reduce the impact of substance misuse on individuals, their families and our communities through a range of integrated effective interventions that help people make a difference for the better in their lives. We believe that SERDATF should contribute to creating: ✔ a safe and healthy community ✔ Support services that treat people w...

Since the Brexit referendum of 23rd June, 2016,, much ink has been expended on its impact on nursing within the UK (for example, see exchange between McRae (2018) and McKee (2018) with regards to differing perspectives on justification and impact of Brexit on health care in the UK). Less is written on its impact on the nursing profession within the...

Background: A growing body of literature reports on the injection of synthetic cathinones (SC) and novel synthetic opioids (NSO) in marginalized drug-using (MDU) populations. This review seeks to establish what is known about the injection of SCs and NSOs impacts on MDUs. Method: A six-stage iterative scoping literature review was conducted in rela...

It is recognised that physical activity has a positive impact on quality of life, social well-being and overall health of people with severe mental illness. However, there is a lack of theory informed programmes that support people with mental illness to adopt regular physical activity behaviour. The aim of this case study was to identify determina...

Background: Understanding the nature of work-related stress and burnout among intellectual disability care staff is important to protect the well-being of these workers and encourage their retention in the sector. Though reviews of specific aspects of this literature have been conducted no article has sought to fully chart the range and nature of t...

Background The European Union’s general data protection regulation (GDPR) came into effect in May 2018. It is intended to prevent the unwanted sharing of private data and it has significant implications for healthcare research. A well-established research methodology that GDPR is likely to affect is the retrospective reviewing of patients’ data. Th...

The implementation within Europe of a credit system for vocational education and training known as ECVET is a European Commission priority. The potential for permeability between the ECVET and European Credit Transfer and accumulation System (ECTS) was foreseen in the Recommendation to establish ECVET in 2009, while the Bruges Communique of 2010 ca...

Aim This paper aims to unpack the concept of “skill mix” into its constituent parts to achieve a better understanding and reduce confusion associated with the term. Background Skill mix is a topic that is widely debated and is foremost on the health policy agenda due to specific local pressures within international health services. At present, how...

Background The 2008 financial crisis exacerbated an already mounting workforce challenge faced by most health services in the western world, namely the recruitment and retention of qualified nurses. Aim This paper examines two additional challenges of relevance to workforce planning in health care, an ageing nursing workforce and reliance upon mig...

Purpose: Codeine containing medicines can carry a number of health risks associated with the increase in reported misuse and dependence, however they are still readily available over the counter (OTC) in many countries. The aim of this novel study was to report on the results of a survey of customers purchasing OTC codeine containing medicinal pro...

Abstract: Instances of violence and suicide/attempted suicide within inpatient mental health services are commonly seen as a simple manifestation of mental illness. Research evidence would also suggest, however, that these incidents can occur in the absence of mental health problems or are at least partly influenced by other contextual factors such...

This study reports on an empirically underdocumented practice in contemporary aesthetic enhancement culture, the self-injection of unregulated DIY Botox and dermal filler kits purchased online. Data were collected from 4 online discussion forums containing disclosures in relation to use of DIY kits and analyzed using ethnographic content analysis....

Background: The misuse of codeine is of increasing concern in a number of countries, particularly as this relates to over -the-counter pain and cough relief medication, and is also supplied as a prescription medicine. The study aimed to obtain and analyse the opinions and experience of pharmacy staff with regard to codeine misuse. Methods: A cro...

Background: New evidence with regard to a previously undocumented practice - self phlebotomy, known as 'bloodletting' - incontemporary injecting performance and image enhancing drug (PIED) culture is the subject of this paper. While self phlebotomy has been evidenced in psychiatric patients previously, it was performed here in people who inject AA...

Traveller Health Unit, South East Community Healthcare, Health Service Executive, Social Inclusion Department. Report prepared by: Waterford Institute of Technology

There has been significant growth recently in online learning and joint programmes of education involving collaborative partnerships between and among higher education institutions in different jurisdictions. Utilising an interdisciplinary team model (Care and Scanlan 2001), we describe in this article the process of collaboration among four Europe...

Background New evidence with regard to an under documented practice – the home manufacture of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) for injection, known as ‘homebrewing’ – in contemporary injecting performance and image enhancing drug (PIED) culture is the subject of this paper. Methods Data was collected from five publicly accessible internet discus...

The Irish Government has adopted “Gender Mainstreaming” as a strategy to promote equal opportunities between women and men in its National Development Plan. While current mental health policy addresses the principle of partnership and social inclusiveness as a way forward for mental health service provision, it still does not explicitly deal with t...

Background: Concerns about patient safety and reducing harm have led to a particular focus on initiatives that improve healthcare quality. However Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives have in the past typically faltered because they fail to fully engage healthcare professionals, resulting in apathy and resistance amongst this group of key stakehold...

Aim: To explore the experiences of participants involved in the implementation of the Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care™ initiative in Ireland, identifying key implementation lessons. Background: A large-scale quality improvement programme Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care™ was introduced nationwide into Ireland in 2011. We captured...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the literature as this relates to theoretical perspectives of adherence to web-based interventions, drawing upon empirical evidence from the fields of psychology, business, information technology and health care. Methods: A scoping review of the literature utilising principles outlined by Arksey an...

Objective: As the global nursing workforce ages, developing a comprehensive understanding of the experiences, needs and values specific to older nurses is increasingly significant. This paper reviews the evidence with regard to the specific challenges encountered by older nurses in the workplace. Design: A scoping review of the published literat...

Objectives This review sought to determine what is currently known about the focus, form, and efficacy of web-based interventions that aim to support the well-being of workers and enable them to manage their work-related stress.MethodA scoping review of the literature as this relates to web-based interventions for the management of work-related str...

Students with mental health difficulties in higher education don’t seek help and many fail to progress. A systematic review identified 22 published studies on barriers and supports for this group in high income English speaking countries. Findings fall into two categories. 1) Factors internal to the person (symptoms of mental illness, fear of discl...

Recent concerns about the poor quality of healthcare and diminishing compassion within patient care have prompted many healthcare organisations to adopt ‘compassion’ and ‘care’ into their value and mission statements. Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care (PW) is a quality improvement (QI) programme designed to meet the value and mission intentio...

Misuse of codeine containing preparations is a public health concern given the potential for associated harms and dependence. This study explores the perspectives of community pharmacists in three regulatory regimes on issues of customer misuse of over-the-counter (OTC) and prescribed codeine. A qualitative design comprising six focus groups (n = 4...

Il progetto DELAROSE ha sviluppato un corso completamente online, in 3 lingue, con il quale i lavoratori del settore sanitario e sociale imparano a gestire lo stress lavorativo e acquisiscono dei crediti formativi ECTS e ECVET.

In recent years there has been a significant growth in online learning and the delivery of joint programmes of education involving collaborative partnerships between higher education institutions in different jurisdictions. This paper details a case-study of the pilot delivery and assessment of a new online learning programme ‘Certificate in the Ma...

Injecting use of image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPED) in the general population is a public health concern. A wide and varied range of IPED are now easily accessible to all through the online market. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken according to Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) guidelines for systematic review, to...

Amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS);Captagon;fenethylline;Middle East;Syria;conflict

DELAROSE (Delivering E Learning Accreditation to Reduce Occupational Stress in Employment) is a pan-European Transfer of Innovation Project built upon the work carried out by ROSE (Reducing Occupational Stress in Employment) which was a Development of Innovation project. It was funded by the European Commission through Léargas. It began on November...

Background: In spite of the number of studies available in the field and policy documents developed both at the national and the international levels, there is no reliable data available regarding the variation of roles occupied by clinical mentors (CMs) across countries. Objectives: To describe and compare the CM's role; responsibilities; qualific...