I am a Speech & Language Therapist by profession and Senior Lecturer at the School of Allied Health, Faculty of Education & Health Sciences,  University of Limerick . I participate in activities and develop projects that advance best, knowledge-based and person-centered practices for people with health problems, in particular those with swallowing and communication disorders. I am interested in how knowledge is generated, interpreted, valued and used. I partner with multidisciplinary healthcare and educational teams to increase the uptake of evidence-based practices through implementation science. improved clinical decision-making and person-centred practices. I am on the management team of the Health Research Institute, Health Implementation Science & Technology (HIST) Cluster and lead on the Ireland/UK Swallow Perspectives Advocacy and Research Collective (SPARC). Current research interests include de-implementation, meta-research, thickened liquids and person-centred practices. Current projects centre on the de-implementation of thickened liquids and the creation of an expert panel of people with dysphagia to support research activities.

Publications

O’Keefe Shaun, Murray Aoife, Lazenby-Patterson T, Leslie P, Smith Alison, McCurtin A, Collins Lindsey. 2021. Aspiration, Risk and Risk Feeding: A Critique of the Royal College of Physicians Guidance on Care of People with Eating and Drinking Difficulties. Advances in Communication and Swallowing.  https://content.iospress.com/articles/advances-in-communication-and-swallowing/acs210031 Journal best paper 2021 award.

 

McCurtin A, Boland B, Kavanagh M, Lisiecka D, Roche C, Galvin R. 2019. Do stroke clinical practice guideline recommendations for the intervention of thickened liquids for aspiration support evidence-based decision making? A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 26(6):1744-1760. 10.1111/jep.13372

 

McCurtin, A, Healy, C, Kelly, L, Murphy, F, Ryan, J, Walsh, J. 2018. 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. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1460-6984.12324?casa_token=l2t6voo6VnAAAAAA%3Ak7B0GJasD0kjDn8NUN5aAj5DjfdYsHvCHldZ-od-UDjL1iIXQlLpN4Kmh7dN2nDxtOs60nKudRNWawM

 

McCurtin A, Clifford A. 2015. What are the primary influences on treatment decisions? How does this reflect on evidence-based practice? Indications from the discipline of Speech & Language Therapy. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 21:1178-1189https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jep.12385?casa_token=pB5TM_nr510AAAAA:roMdvJOiaNyJeh9NR3wCeknSoCBTllaRANUIKw-3K2-To5uGhgqLavy0CX6Fl2o5NnUrgrIpcs9nR2k

 

McCurtin A, Roddam 2012. H. Evidence-based practice: SLTs under siege or opportunity for growth? The use and nature of research evidence in the profession. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(1):11-26. .  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00074.x