Dr Hayes’ main research interest lies in the development and evaluation of multiple component interventions for older people and people living with neurological conditions, in particular stroke. As a Health Research Board (HRB) Research Fellow in NUI Galway (2014-2016), Sara has coordinated two randomised controlled trials. She was also awarded a HRB-funded Cochrane Fellowship (2016-2018). Sara has a keen interest in evidence synthesis, having authored three Cochrane reviews. Dr. Hayes is a founding member of the HRI funded UL Ageing Research Centre and a member of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists.

Sara is the Principal Investigator on a HRB Definitive Intervention Feasibility Award (2020-2023) which is developing and evaluating an adaptive mobile health physical activity intervention post-stroke using a novel experimental trial design. She is also the PI of a project funded by the Health Research Institute Seed Fund (2020-2022), which examines the associations between physical activity and stroke incidence among younger people using a population-based UK dataset.

Publications

Hayes S, Forbes JF, Celis-Morales C, Anderson J, Ferguson L, Gill J, Gray S, Hastie C, Iliodromoti S, Lyall D, Pellicori P, Sattar N, Welsh CE, Pell J. Association Between Walking Pace and Stroke Incidence. Findings From the UK Biobank Prospective Cohort Study. Stroke. 2020;51:00-00. DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.119.028064.

Hayes  S, Galvin  R, Kennedy  C, Finlayson  M, McGuigan  C, Walsh  CD, Coote  S. Interventions for preventing falls in people with multiple sclerosis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2019, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD012475. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012475.pub2.

Saunders  DH, Sanderson  M, Hayes  S, Johnson  L, Kramer  S, Carter  DD, Jarvis  H, Brazzelli  M, Mead  GE. Physical fitness training for stroke patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD003316. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003316.pub7.

Donoghue M, Boland P, Galvin R, Hayes S. Rehabilitation of cognitive deficits post-stroke: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of non-pharmacological interventions. BMJ Open 2019;9:e031052.

Carter, D.D., Robinson, K., Forbes, J., Walsh, J.C. and Hayes, S. 2019. Exploring the perspectives of stroke survivors and healthcare professionals on the use of mobile health to promote physical activity: A qualitative study protocol. HRB Open Research, 2.