Biography
Research Interests
Professor MacFarlane has over 20 years' experience as a social science health services researcher and have performed as a research project leader in academic primary care since 2002. She is leading a programme of research about service user involvement in primary care.Anne has extensive experience of quantitative and qualitative research. Her research programme is characterised by inter-disciplinary and inter-agency research collaborations, particularly academic-community partnerships.
Her recent research programme is distinguished by her pioneering use of innovative participatory research methods to conduct community-engaged research, with marginalised communities, to support the involvement of service users in primary care research and development projects. Her work is showing that there is significant congruence between participatory methods and the ideals of user involvement with valuable outcomes for the quality of the empirical data reported in the field, and also for creating meaningful and sustained relationships between academic and community partners. Published and planned papers provide evidence of this.
She has also contributed to her field through her involvement, from the beginning, as an invited member, in an international study group who are developing contemporary social theory − Normalisation Process Theory. This theory is designed to inform and advance the introduction and normalisation of new technologies in routine primary care http://www.normalizationprocess.org/). She has played a key role in operationalising the theory in settings outside the UK, e.g. in Ireland and in other European countries (e.g. http://www.ehealthservices.eu/enews, eNewsletter October 2008).
The international relevance of the research programme on user involvement which she led was endorsed in 2010 by an EU FP7 award of 2.9 million euros, for which she led. This project will involved service users who are migrants living in Ireland and who have limited English, and other key stakeholders, in research to investigate and support the introduction of initiatives to support communication in cross-cultural general practice consultations. The project employed participatory research methods and Normalisation Process Theory to produce state-of-the-art research about user involvement approaches to address translational gaps in health services research.
This award builds on her previous successes in research and development funding. She is PI/grant holder for research and development funding of 4,328,070 euros and co-applicant/collaborator for 2,064,362 euros, giving a total research income of 6,392,432 euros. Anne has a strong record of research outputs with international and national publications, research reports and book chapters. She is committed to dissemination of research at academic conferences. She is recognised within her discipline as a key resource for capacity building and has had significant success as a postgraduate research supervisor and as methodological advisor for primary care clinicians and non-clinicians.
CURRENT PROJECTS IN RESEARCH PROGRAMME
Prof MacFarlane leads a programme of research about user involvement in primary care and manage a series of inter-linked projects about migrant health and e-health that, taken together, explore important issues about using participatory research methods and contemporary social theory in primary care research and development projects.
2011-present
User involvement in the implementation of guidelines and/or training initiatives to support communication in cross cultural primary care settings - Principal Investigator. This is an EU FP7 funded project developed in collaboration with local collaborators, the Centre for Participatory Strategies, Galway and with international collaborators in Glasgow, Liverpool, Nijmegen, Vienne and Crete. This project combines participatory learning and action research methodology and contemporary social theory, Normalisation Process Theory, to investigate and support implementation processes.
2010- present
An analysis of user involvement in practice - Principal Investigator. This is a HRB funded project developed in collaboration with the Centre for Participatory Strategies, Galway and the HSE National Advocacy Unit, Dublin. This project employs participatory learning and action research methodology and contemporary social theory, Normalisation Process Theory, to analyse user involvement in practice in international settings and community participation in primary care teams in the Irish context.
2008-present
UK Normalisation Process Model International Study Group (led by Prof. Carl May, University of Southampton): Invited Member. This inter-disciplinary, international research group is committed to the development of a theoretical model to explain and predict implementation of innovation in healthcare settings. The group achieved status as a UK National School of Primary Care Peer Learning Set (October 2008). Annual seminars are utilised to advance critical thinking and key outputs include the development of an ESRC funded online manual for Normalisation Process Theory users which was launched at a seminar in the King's Fund, London in October 2010 (see http://www.normalizationprocess.org/). I am a key player in operationalising NPT in settings outside the UK.
COMPLETED PROJECTS
2009-2011
User involvement in the development of guidelines to support communication in cross-cultural general practice consultations: Principal Investigator. This was a Health Research Board Partnership Award based on a collaboration with the HSE Social Inclusion Unit and the Centre for Participatory Strategies, Galway. This project used participatory and qualitative research methods to involve migrant service users and other key stakeholders in the production of guidelines for communication in cross-cultural general practice consultations.
2007-2011
Competitive health services in rural and remote regions: Partner. This research and development project was funded by the EU Northern Periphery Programme. This project focused on the implementation of e-health services in rural and remote areas. It involved the application, and qualitative evaluation, of an e-Health Implementation Toolkit (e-HIT), developed from the Normalisation Process Model (pre-cursor to Normalisation Process Theory) for which I was lead.
2004-2010
Fellow in Refugee and Asylum Seeker Healthcare: Principal Investigator/ Academic Lead. This project was funded by the Primary Care Department, HSE Western Area. It was an innovative, inter-agency post which focused on intercultural health issues in general practice with attention to clinical practice, service development and academic projects (quantitative and qualitative research) and was developed and monitored by the Primary Care Department, HSE Western Area, NUI Galway and the Galway Refugee Support Group. I was academic lead and Steering Group Chair.
2007-2009
EU NORFACE Seminar Series: Evidence based policy (led by Prof. Sandra Nutley, University of Edinburgh): Partner. This seminar series explored the relationship between research and policy and the impact of one on the other. Working groups and academic presentations were used to share and advance knowledge between academics, policy makers and service planners about the development of evidence based policy in health care and other sectors in Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands. I was the lead Irish partner for this project.
2007-2008
Evaluation of uptake of a HSE pilot interpreting service for general practitioners in the Eastern Region: Principal Investigator. Funded by the Health Service Executive Social Inclusion Unit. This research was designed to use quantitative and qualitative methods to examine levers and barriers to the uptake of an available pilot interpreting service for general practitioners from the perspectives of general practice staff, migrant community service users and those working in the interpreting sector. I led on the use of NPM in this research.
2007-2008
An Evaluation of a Peer Research Model in Primary Care Research: CARe follow-on project: Principal Investigator and Researcher. Funded by University College Dublin's Migration and Citizenship Research Initiative. This project was a retrospective, participatory, qualitative evaluation of the experiences of migrant community representatives who had trained and acted as peer researchers for a HRB-funded primary care project about language barriers in general practice.
2006-2007
Telehealthcare for Aranmore Island, Co. Donegal: A Consultation and Development Project: Principal Investigator. Funded by the North Western Health Board. This was an action research project, using qualitative methods, designed to involve island-dwelling service users and Health Service Executive managers and service providers in the development of telehealthcare to improve access to health and social care services on a remote island. I was lead on the use of participatory research approaches in this project.
2005-2006
Undergraduate Inter-disciplinary Teaching in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, NUI Galway: An Action Research Development Project: Principal Investigator and Researcher. Funded by the NUI Galway Millennium Research Fund. This was an action research project, using qualitative methods, which involved senior level academics in a participatory process to design the development of inter-disciplinary teaching at undergraduate level in the Faculty of Medicine. This was the first use of action research in educational research in the NUI Galway School of Medicine.
2002-2005
CARe: Communication with Asylum Seekers and Refugees. Funded by the Health Research Board, Health Services Research Fellowship Scheme (2002-2005). This inter-agency, action research study used quantitative and qualitative methods to generate data from service providers and service users to examine the impact of language as a barrier to primary care services for refugees and asylum seekers. This was the first use of participatory research using a peer research model in academic primary care in Ireland.
2002-2004
A review of telemedicine services in the Western and North Western Health Boards: Principal Investigator. This was a qualitative evaluation of dormant', live and planned telemedicine services with attention to service providers' and service users' perspectives. I was e-health expert for this project.
2000-2002 Virtual Outreach Project: A qualitative analysis of the social, organisational and educational issues involved in joint teleconsultations between general practitioners, hospital consultants and patients, Research Fellow. This was a qualitative process evaluation of a major randomised controlled trial of joint teleconsultations. The project focused on the experiences and perspectives of service users, general practitioners and consultants (from urban and rural areas) on the use of joint teleconsultations at the primary-secondary care interface.
Health Promotion Research Experience
Fieldwork co-ordinator for a quantitative door-to door survey of health and safety issues in the Irish agri-sector undertaken by the Department of Health Promotion, NUI Galway. Responsible for co-ordination of four regional field trips with teams of 10 data collectors for each trip (June-August 1999).
Participation in qualitative data analysis of attitudes to breastfeeding among women from General Medical Scheme and non-General Medical Scheme backgrounds undertaken by the Department of Health Promotion, NUI Galway for the Eastern Health Board. Analysis of focus group data using QSR. NUD.IST software (February-April 1999).Experienced user of QSR. NUD.IST and QSR. NVivo software for analysis of qualitative data (since 1995).
Dissemination of research findings in the media; Irish and English language radio and television, regional and national newspapers.
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Methodological advisor for use of participatory research for implementation of structured heart failure services in hospitals and primary care in Co. Galway. Led by Dr. David Weakliam, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Public Health Department, HSE Area Office, Tullamore, Co. Offaly (November 2008-2009).
Co-applicant and qualitative methodological lead for HRB funded combined methods study on patients' views about the use of their medical records in general practice research. Led by Dr. Brian Buckley, Researcher, Department of General Practice, NUI Galway (September 2007-2010).
Methodological advisor for use of participatory research in e-health initiatives for care and management of diabetes in the community. Led by Dr. Sean Dineen, Senior Lecturer in Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway; Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology, University Hospital Galway (April 2007-September 2007).
Methodological advisor and research associate supervisor for a qualitative interview study on non consultant hospital doctors anti microbial prescribing. Led by Professor Martin Cormican, Dept. of Microbiology NUI Galway; Consultant Microbiologist, University Hospital Galway (2004-2005).
Methodological advisor, data collection and analysis for a qualitative interview and focus group study about peer learning with second and fifth year medical students. Led by Dr. Liam Glynn, Department of General Practice, NUI Galway (2004).
Research design and planning for a research needs assessment among primary care providers in the West and North West of Ireland. Led by Dr. Liam Glynn, Department of General Practice, NUI Galway (2004-2006).
Research Interests
I have 20 years' experience as a social science health services researcher and have performed as a research project leader in academic primary care since 2002. I am leading a programme of research about service user involvement in primary care.
I have extensive experience of quantitative and qualitative research. My research programme is characterised by inter-disciplinary and inter-agency research collaborations, particularly academic-community partnerships.
My recent research programme is distinguished by my pioneering use of innovative participatory research methods to conduct community-engaged research, with marginalised communities, to support the involvement of service users in primary care research and development projects. My work is showing that there is significant congruence between participatory methods and the ideals of user involvement with valuable outcomes for the quality of the empirical data reported in the field, and also for creating meaningful and sustained relationships between academic and community partners. Published and planned papers provide evidence of this.
I have also contributed to my field through my involvement, from the beginning, as an invited member, in an international study group who are developing contemporary social theory − Normalisation Process Theory. This theory is designed to inform and advance the introduction and normalisation of new technologies in routine primary care http://www.normalizationprocess.org/). I have played a key role in operationalising the theory in settings outside the UK, e.g. in Ireland and in other European countries (e.g. http://www.ehealthservices.eu/enews, eNewsletter October 2008).
The international relevance of the research programme on user involvement which I lead was endorsed in 2010 by an EU FP7 award of 2.9 million, for which I am lead. This project will involve service users who are migrants living in Ireland and who have limited English, and other key stakeholders, in research to investigate and support the introduction of initiatives to support communication in cross-cultural general practice consultations. The project will employ participatory research methods and Normalisation Process Theory to produce state-of-the-art research about user involvement approaches to address translational gaps in health services research.
This award builds on my previous successes in research and development funding. I am PI/grant holder for research and development funding of 4,328,070 and co-applicant/collaborator for 2,064,362, giving a total research income of 6,392,432 .
I have a strong record of research outputs with international and national publications, research reports and book chapters. I am committed to dissemination of research at academic conferences.
I am recognised within my discipline as a key resource for capacity building and I have had significant success as a postgraduate research supervisor and as methodological advisor for primary care clinicians and non-clinicians.
CURRENT PROJECTS IN RESEARCH PROGRAMME
I lead a programme of research about user involvement in primary care and manage a series of inter-linked projects about migrant health and e-health that, taken together, explore important issues about using participatory research methods and contemporary social theory in primary care research and development projects.
2011-present
User involvement in the implementation of guidelines and/or training initiatives to support communication in cross cultural primary care settings Principal Investigator. This is an EU FP7 funded project developed in collaboration with local collaborators, the Centre for Participatory Strategies, Galway and with international collaborators in Glasgow, Liverpool, Nijmegen, Vienne and Crete. This project combines participatory learning and action research methodology and contemporary social theory, Normalisation Process Theory, to investigate and support implementation processes.
2010- present
An analysis of user involvement in practice Principal Investigator. This is a HRB funded project developed in collaboration with the Centre for Participatory Strategies, Galway and the HSE National Advocacy Unit, Dublin. This project employs participatory learning and action research methodology and contemporary social theory, Normalisation Process Theory, to analyse user involvement in practice in international settings and community participation in primary care teams in the Irish context.
2008-present
UK Normalisation Process Model International Study Group (led by Prof. Carl May, University of Southampton) Invited Member. This inter-disciplinary, international research group is committed to the development of a theoretical model to explain and predict implementation of innovation in healthcare settings. The group achieved status as a UK National School of Primary Care Peer Learning Set (October 2008). Annual seminars are utilised to advance critical thinking and key outputs include the development of an ESRC funded online manual for Normalisation Process Theory users which was launched at a seminar in the King's Fund, London in October 2010 (see http://www.normalizationprocess.org/). I am a key player in operationalising NPT in settings outside the UK.
COMPLETED PROJECTS
2009-2011
User involvement in the development of guidelines to support communication in cross-cultural general practice consultations Principal Investigator. This was a Health Research Board Partnership Award based on a collaboration with the HSE Social Inclusion Unit and the Centre for Participatory Strategies, Galway. This project used participatory and qualitative research methods to involve migrant service users and other key stakeholders in the production of guidelines for communication in cross-cultural general practice consultations.
2007-2011
Competitive health services in rural and remote regions Partner. This research and development project was funded by the EU Northern Periphery Programme. This project focused on the implementation of e-health services in rural and remote areas. It involved the application, and qualitative evaluation, of an e-Health Implementation Toolkit (e-HIT), developed from the Normalisation Process Model (pre-cursor to Normalisation Process Theory) for which I was lead.
2004-2010
Fellow in Refugee and Asylum Seeker Healthcare Principal Investigator/ Academic Lead. This project was funded by the Primary Care Department, HSE Western Area. It was an innovative, inter-agency post which focused on intercultural health issues in general practice with attention to clinical practice, service development and academic projects (quantitative and qualitative research) and was developed and monitored by the Primary Care Department, HSE Western Area, NUI Galway and the Galway Refugee Support Group. I was academic lead and Steering Group Chair.
2007-2009
EU NORFACE Seminar Series: Evidence based policy (led by Prof. Sandra Nutley, University of Edinburgh) Partner. This seminar series explored the relationship between research and policy and the impact of one on the other. Working groups and academic presentations were used to share and advance knowledge between academics, policy makers and service planners about the development of evidence based policy in health care and other sectors in Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands. I was the lead Irish partner for this project.
2007-2008
Evaluation of uptake of a HSE pilot interpreting service for general practitioners in the Eastern Region Principal Investigator. Funded by the Health Service Executive Social Inclusion Unit. This research was designed to use quantitative and qualitative methods to examine levers and barriers to the uptake of an available pilot interpreting service for general practitioners from the perspectives of general practice staff, migrant community service users and those working in the interpreting sector. I led on the use of NPM in this research.
2007-2008
An Evaluation of a Peer Research Model in Primary Care Research: CARe follow-on project Principal Investigator and Researcher. Funded by University College Dublin's Migration and Citizenship Research Initiative. This project was a retrospective, participatory, qualitative evaluation of the experiences of migrant community representatives who had trained and acted as peer researchers for a HRB-funded primary care project about language barriers in general practice.
2006-2007
Telehealthcare for Aranmore Island, Co. Donegal: A Consultation and Development Project Principal Investigator. Funded by the North Western Health Board. This was an action research project, using qualitative methods, designed to involve island-dwelling service users and Health Service Executive managers and service providers in the development of telehealthcare to improve access to health and social care services on a remote island. I was lead on the use of participatory research approaches in this project.
2005-2006
Undergraduate Inter-disciplinary Teaching in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, NUI Galway: An Action Research Development Project Principal Investigator and Researcher. Funded by the NUI Galway Millennium Research Fund. This was an action research project, using qualitative methods, which involved senior level academics in a participatory process to design the development of inter-disciplinary teaching at undergraduate level in the Faculty of Medicine. This was the first use of action research in educational research in the NUI Galway School of Medicine.
2002-2005
CARe: Communication with Asylum Seekers and Refugees. Funded by the Health Research Board, Health Services Research Fellowship Scheme (2002-2005). This inter-agency, action research study used quantitative and qualitative methods to generate data from service providers and service users to examine the impact of language as a barrier to primary care services for refugees and asylum seekers. This was the first use of participatory research using a peer research model in academic primary care in Ireland.
2002-2004
A review of telemedicine services in the Western and North Western Health Boards Principal Investigator. This was a qualitative evaluation of dormant', live and planned telemedicine services with attention to service providers' and service users' perspectives. I was e-health expert for this project.
2000-2002
Virtual Outreach Project A qualitative analysis of the social, organisational and educational issues involved in joint teleconsultations between general practitioners, hospital consultants and patients Research Fellow. This was a qualitative process evaluation of a major randomised controlled trial of joint teleconsultations. The project focused on the experiences and perspectives of service users, general practitioners and consultants (from urban and rural areas) on the use of joint teleconsultations at the primary-secondary care interface.
Health Promotion Research Experience
Fieldwork co-ordinator for a quantitative door-to door survey of health and safety issues in the Irish agri-sector undertaken by the Department of Health Promotion, NUI Galway. Responsible for co-ordination of four regional field trips with teams of 10 data collectors for each trip (June-August 1999).
Participation in qualitative data analysis of attitudes to breastfeeding among women from General Medical Scheme and non-General Medical Scheme backgrounds undertaken by the Department of Health Promotion, NUI Galway for the Eastern Health Board.Analysis of focus group data using QSR. NUD.IST software (February-April 1999).
Experienced user of QSR. NUD.IST and QSR. NVivo software for analysis of qualitative data (since 1995).
Dissemination of research findings in the media; Irish and English language radio and television, regional and national newspapers.
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Methodological advisor for use of participatory research for implementation of structured heart failure services in hospitals and primary care in Co. Galway. Led by Dr. David Weakliam, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Public Health Department, HSE Area Office, Tullamore, Co. Offaly (November 2008-2009).
Methodological advisor for use of participatory research in e-health initiatives for care and management of diabetes in the community. Led by Dr. Sean Dineen, Senior Lecturer in Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway; Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology, University Hospital Galway (April 2007-September 2007). Methodological advisor and research associate supervisor for a qualitative interview study on non consultant hospital doctors anti microbial prescribing. Led by Professor Martin Cormican, Dept. of Microbiology NUI Galway; Consultant Microbiologist, University Hospital Galway (2004-2005). Methodological advisor, data collection and analysis for a qualitative interview and focus group study about peer learning with second and fifth year medical students. Led by Dr. Liam Glynn, Department of General Practice, NUI Galway (2004). Research design and planning for a research needs assessment among primary care providers in the West and North West of Ireland. Led by Dr. Liam Glynn, Department of General Practice, NUI Galway (2004-2006).
Co-applicant and qualitative methodological lead for HRB funded combined methods study on patients' views about the use of their medical records in general practice research. Led by Dr. Brian Buckley, Researcher, Department of General Practice, NUI Galway (September 2007-2010).