Employed as a lecturer in the School of Allied Health (Clinical Therapies) at the University of Limerick, Arlene is Discipline Lead for Speech & Language Therapy and Course Director for the MSc Speech and language Therapy (Professional Qualification) programme and Education & Health Sciences Faculty Rep on Academic Council. She is a Working Group Lead on the cross-European COST ACTION #17117 – EVBRES (Evidence Based Research) and PI on the HEA National Forum Teaching & Learning iFLAG (Integrated Formative Feedback for Learning & Growth) study. Arlene founded the Irish Association of Speech & Language Therapists Research Special Interest Group in 2019.

Arlene is interested in how knowledge is generated, used, valued and interpreted which translates into research interests in Health Professions Education, Clinical Practice (clinical decision making, evidence based practice, science and pseudoscience) and Patient Evidence and Shared Decision Making.  She has a specialist clinical interest in Dysphagia (swallowing disorders) interventions, specifically bolus modification techniques including thickened liquids and sensory enhancement strategies.

Publications

McCurtin A, Boland B, Kavanagh M, Lisiecka D, Roche C, Galvin R. 2019. A systematic review of Stroke Clinical Practice Guidelines and the intervention of thickened liquids for aspiration: Do recommendations support evidence based decision-making? J Eval Clin Practice

 

McCurtin A, Brady R, Coffey K, O’Connor A.  A tale of clarity and contradictions: speech and language therapist’s insights regarding the highly-used treatment of thickened liquids for post-stroke aspiration. International Journal of Therapy & Rehabilitation (accepted)

 

McCurtin A, O’Connor A, The IASLT Research Special Interest Group. Building a collaborative research community of practice and supporting research engagement in speech-language pathology: identification of stakeholder priorities International JBI Evidence Implementation (accepted)

 

McCurtin A, Murphy CA, Roddam H. 2019. Moving beyond traditional understandings of evidence based practice: A total evidence and knowledge approach (TEKA) to treatment evaluation and clinical decision-making in speech-language pathology. Seminars in Speech and Language 40(5);370–393.

 

Connery A, McCurtin A, Robinson K. The lived experience of stuttering: a synthesis of qualitative studies with implications for rehabilitation. Disability and Rehabilitation 2019.  https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2018.1555623

 

McCurtin, A, Healy, C, Kelly, L, Murphy, F, Ryan, J, Walsh, J. Plugging the patient evidence gap: What people with swallowing disorders post-stroke say about thickened liquids. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders 2018;  3(1):30-39.

 

A Clifford, J Ryan, C Walsh, A McCurtin. What information is used in treatment decision aids? A systematic review of the types of evidence populating health decision aids, BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2017, 22 (2017) doi:10.1186/s12911-017-0415-7