Mairead Furlong

• PhD in Psychology
• Project Manager at National University of Ireland, Maynooth

Early-onset child conduct problems are common and costly. A large number of studies and some previous reviews have focused on behavioural and cognitive-behavioural group-based parenting interventions, but methodological limitations are commonplace and evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these programmes has been unclear. To ass...

Objective: A community-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in urban areas characterized by high levels of disadvantage to test the effectiveness of the Incredible Years BASIC parent training program (IYBP) for children with behavioral problems. Potential moderators of intervention effects on child behavioral outcomes were also exp...

This is a protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The bjectives are as follows: To assess the effectiveness of home-care re-ablement services compared to usual care, or to a wait list control! In terms of maintaining and improving the functional independence of older adults.

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: 1. To examine the comparative effectiveness of a range of interventions for students with mathematical learning difficulties (MLD) in improving mathematical performance compared to a control group of standard schooling, no treatment, waiting list or placebo....

Background Parental mental illness (PMI) is common and places children at high risk of developing psychological disorders. Family Talk (FT) is a well-known, whole-family, 7-session intervention designed to reduce the risk of transgenerational psychopathology. However, very few larger-scale evaluations of FT (across only a limited number of settings...

Background: Parental mental illness (PMI) is common and can lead to children developing mental disorders. Family Talk (FT) is a well-known and widely implemented intervention designed to reduce the risk of transgenerational psychopathology. However, given the research to practise “gap,” very little qualitative research, to date, has investigated pr...

Background: Parental mental illness is common, costly, can lead to children developing mental disorders and impaired lifetime outcomes, and places a substantial burden on caregiving partners. Family Talk (FT) is a widely implemented, 7-session, whole-family programme, with promising evidence of effectiveness in targeting the intergenerational trans...

Trauma-related social, emotional and behavioral difficulties (SEBD) are common among children in foster care and are the primary reason for placement breakdown. SEBD in foster children – and especially in the context of unstable and troubled relationships with both foster and biological parents - affects the child’s future functioning and has subst...

The COVID-19 emergency has affected us all, but not equally. Families where parents have mental illness (PMI) are potentially at increased risk, but little is known about how they or their support services managed under lockdown/restrictions. We harnessed our existing partnerships with adult and child mental health services in the Republic of Irela...

Background Parental mental illness is common and can lead to dependent children incurring a high risk of developing mental disorders, physical illness, and impaired educational and occupational outcomes. Family Talk is one of the better known interventions designed to prevent the intergenerational transmission of mental illness. However, its eviden...

Background: Parental mental illness is common and can lead to dependent children incurring a high risk of developing mental disorders, physical illness, and impaired educational and occupational outcomes. Family Talk is one of the better known interventions designed to prevent the intergenerational transmission of mental illness. However, its evide...

Paper presented at What Works Global Summit 2020 - Current activities and future directions of the Campbell Disability Coordinating Group. Presentation can be viewed: https://youtu.be/RzguYPgQnXY

Objectives: This paper outlines the findings from the first stage of a research programme called PRIMERA (Promoting Research and Innovation in Mental hEalth seRvices for fAmilies and Children). This programme aims to identify, help implement and evaluate family-focused interventions for families where a parent has a mental illness, and promote a ‘t...

Background This study explores mothers’ wellbeing, experiences and attitudes and the impact of cumulative demographic and antenatal risks and parity on parenting outcomes. A secondary aim was to assess mother and infant service utilisation. Method This study involved an assessment of the baseline characteristics of a sample of mothers (N=190; Mean...

The prevention of child abuse and neglect is a global public health priority due to its serious, long-lasting effects on personal, social, and economic outcomes. The Children At Risk Model (ChARM) is a wraparound-inspired intervention that coordinates evidence-based parenting- and home-visiting programmes, along with community-based supports, in or...

Objective: A randomised control trial was conducted to assess whether the combined Incredible Years parent training and child training programmes (PT + CT) led to improvements in ADHD-type behaviours in children, when compared to a PT-only group and a Wait List Control (WLC) group. Method: Forty-five families with a child aged 3–7 years who display...

The PRIMERA - Promoting Research & Innovation in Mental HEalth SeRvices for FAmilies - research programme aims to identify, develop and evaluate mental health services in Ireland that currently deliver, or are interested in developing and delivering, a family-focussed intervention (FFI) for families where a parent has a diagnosed mental health prob...

The prevention of child abuse and neglect is a global public health priority due to its serious, long-lasting effects on personal, social, and economic outcomes. The Children At Risk Model (ChARM) is a wraparound-inspired intervention that coordinates evidence-based parenting- and home-visiting programmes, along with community-based supports, in or...

The TLC Kidz programme is a group programme for children and mothers recovering from domestic abuse. It has been delivered on an interagency basis in North Tipperary since 2005 and more recently in South Tipperary, Waterford and Carlow. Barnardos, with the support of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, commissioned an evaluation to investigate the...

This evaluation report highlights the experiences of families and staff involved in the delivery of the Strengthening Families Programme in Co. Kildare in Ireland

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of preschool and school-based mindfulness programmes for improving psychosocial health and cognitive functioning in young people aged 3 to 18 years.

Background Reablement, also known as restorative care, is one possible approach to home-care services for older adults at risk of functional decline. Unlike traditional home-care services, reablement is frequently time-limited (usually six to 12 weeks) and aims to maximise independence by offering an intensive multidisciplinary, person-centred and...

Background: Reablement, also known as restorative care, is one possible approach to home-care services for older adults at risk of functional decline. Unlike traditional home-care services, reablement is frequently time-limited (usually six to 12 weeks) and aims to maximise independence by offering an intensive multidisciplinary, person-centred an...

Background Group-based early parenting interventions delivered through community-based services may be a potentially effective means of promoting infant and family health and wellbeing. Process evaluations of these complex interventions provide vital information on how they work, as well as the conditions which shape and influence outcomes. This in...

For most people, home is the preferred place of care and death. Despite the development of specialist palliative care and primary care models of community based service delivery, people who are dying, and their families/carers, can experience isolation, feel excluded from social circles and distanced from their communities. Loneliness and social is...

Interventions to improve mathematical performance in children with mathematical learning difficulties: A Cochrane and Campbell protocol

Community-led practical and/or social support interventions for adults living at home with palliative and end of life care needs: A campbell title for review

During the past three decades, there has been increasing interest in mindfulness and mindfulness interventions due to a wealth of theoretical and empirical research linking them with positive psychosocial, cognitive and health outcomes (Keng, Smoski, & Robbins, 2011). The core features of mindfulness, namely awareness and non-judgmental acceptance...

: This one-hour symposium considers Milford Care Centre's Compassionate Communities Good Neighbour Partnership and it's evaluation by an international team, led by Maynooth University and funded by the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care, The Irish Cancer Society, The Irish Hospice Foundation and Milford Care Centre. The symposium...

Background Child conduct problems are a major public health priority. Group-based parenting programmes are popular in addressing such problems, but evidence for their longer-term effectiveness is limited. Moreover, process evaluations are rare and little is understood about the key facilitative and inhibitive factors associated with maintaining out...

Background: A number of systematic reviews have demonstrated the effectiveness of evidence-based parenting programmes (EBPPs) in improving child emotional and behavioural problems, parenting skills, and parental mental health. However, in order to develop a public policy for delivering these programmes, it is necessary not only to demonstrate their...

Evidence-based parenting programs (EBPPs) are recommended as a first-choice intervention in addressing child conduct problems, but positive outcomes achieved in controlled research environments are not always replicated within mainstream services, particularly when delivered in disadvantaged settings. This qualitative study, nested within a randomi...

The effectiveness of the Incredible Years Basic parent programme (IYBP) in reducing child conduct problems and improving parent competencies and mental health was examined in a 12-month follow-up. Pre- to post-intervention service use and related costs were also analysed. A total of 103 families and their children (aged 32-88 months), who previousl...

This paper examines the impact, since 2008, of an international philanthropic organisation on the ageing sector in the Republic of Ireland. Several methods were used in a sector-wide evaluation, including documentary analysis, one-to-one in-depth interviews, a cross-sectional survey of grant-holders, and collaborative work with Northern Ireland. Th...

This paper examines the impact, since 2008, of an international philanthropic organisation on the ageing sector in the Republic of Ireland. Several methods were used in a sector-wide evaluation, including documentary analysis, one-to-one in-depth interviews, a cross-sectional survey of grant-holders, and collaborative work with Northern Ireland. Th...

Introduction: Conduct problems in children are common and have attracted considerable interest in recent years, not least because of their significant negative psychological and economic consequences, including: an increased risk of future antisocial and criminal behaviour; early school leaving; low occupational status; and greater utilisation of h...

Antisocial behaviour in children is common and has attracted considerable interest in recent years, not least because of the significant negative psychological and economic consequences for affected families and communities. A considerable body of research indicates that parenting programmes, particularly those delivered in group settings and based...

Parenting programmes that are delivered in group settings have the potential to help parents develop parenting skills that improve the behaviour of their young children. This review provides evidence that group‐based parenting programmes improve childhood behaviour problems and the development of positive parenting skills in the short‐term, whilst...

This report presents a summary of the key findings relating to two separate long-term (12-month) follow-up evaluations of (i) the Incredible Years BASIC Parent Training programme and (ii) the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management programme.

Controlled trials demonstrate that parenting programs work, but less is known about the processes of change, contextual factors or intervention characteristics that influence trial outcomes. This qualitative study assessed the experiences of Irish parents involved in a randomized controlled trial of the Incredible Years BASIC parenting program, wit...

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To examine the effectiveness of behavioural/cognitive-behavioural group-based parenting interventions for children with early onset conduct problems in improving a) child behaviour outcomes and b) parenting skills and parental mental health. To critically a...