Helen Purtill is a lecturer in Statistics in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science & Engineering. She joined the department in September 2013, having previously worked as a biostatistician at the Statistical Consulting Unit (SCU) and the Centre for Support and Training in Analysis and Research (CSTAR) in the University of Limerick. Her current research area is the development of profiles using cluster and latent class methodologies in longitudinal population studies such as Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) and The Irish LongituDinal Study of Aging (TILDA). She has considerable research experience in statistical modelling of population health data, design and analysis of randomised control trials, meta-analyses, validity and reliability studies, power calculations and sample sizing for clinical and observational studies.

Publications

O'Neill, A., O'Sullivan, K., O'Keeffe, M., Hannigan, A., Walsh, C. and Purtill, H., 2018. Development of pain in older adults: a latent class analysis of biopsychosocial risk factors. Pain, 159(8), pp.1631-1640. DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001251 https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00006396-201808000-00021

Kennedy, N., O'sullivan, K., Hannigan, A. and Purtill, H., 2017. Understanding pain among older persons: Part 2—the association between pain profiles and healthcare utilisation. Age and ageing, 46(1), pp.51-56. DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afw128. https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/46/1/51/2605674

Uszynski, M.K., Purtill, H., Donnelly, A. and Coote, S., 2016. Comparing the effects of whole-body vibration to standard exercise in ambulatory people with Multiple Sclerosis: a randomised controlled feasibility study. Clinical rehabilitation, 30(7), pp.657-668. DOI: 10.1177/0269215515595522. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269215515595522

O'Keeffe, M., Purtill, H., Kennedy, N., Conneely, M., Hurley, J., O'Sullivan, P., Dankaerts, W. and O'Sullivan, K., 2016. Comparative effectiveness of conservative interventions for nonspecific chronic spinal pain: physical, behavioral/psychologically informed, or combined? A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Pain, 17(7), pp.755-774. DOI:10.1016/j.jpain.2016.01.473. https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(16)00504-6/fulltext

Tierney, M., Fraser, A., Purtill, H. and Kennedy, N., 2013. Study to determine the criterion validity of the SenseWear Armband as a measure of physical activity in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis care & research, 65(6), pp.888-895. DOI: 10.1002/acr.21914. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/acr.21914