TRIMESTER - Rotunda Library Newsletter March 2013 | Page 2

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Trimester
Rotunda Library Newsletter

Midwifery Journal Club
Research at the Rotunda

T

he first meeting of the 2013 Midwifery
Journal Club was held in the Large
Classroom in the School of Midwifery on
Thursday, January 24th. The theme of this meeting
was Research at the Rotunda which showcased the
Research Department at the Rotunda and its new
Director of Research and Academic Affairs, Anne
MacLellan. Anne began her role as Director in
October 2012 and recognises the role of research
in providing the evidence to improve practice.
She opened the meeting with a reflective journey
through the research process from the identification
of a research project, supportive literature through a
comprehensive literature review, application to the
Research Ethics Committee and assistance in patient
data retrieval and dissemination. Anne discussed the
range of publication possibilities from poster to
research project and the key staff to contact
accordingly. In this context she invited a number of
other speakers to discuss their contribution to the
research process. These included myself, as librarian,
contributing on literature review and document
delivery, Ms Valerie Smith on the journey through
publishing and Mr Colin Kirkham, Research Officer.
I gave a presentation on the development of a
research database, which discussed the development
of research output from the Rotunda from 2009.
This research forms part of the LENUS database
which collates HSE and hospital research, and also
the OLAS database created for the Rotunda. This
makes research output available and visible to
researchers from other institutions and fosters
collaborative research between institutions. I
discussed my role and my colleague Geraldine’s role
in providing prescribed literature searching facilities
and document delivery to researchers within the
hospital and its role in providing an evidence base for
research initiatives.
The meeting also welcomed Ms Valerie Smith,
who gave a insightful account of her experience as
a researcher in successfully progressing her research
to the final publication process. She outlined the
pitfalls and parts of the process to be covered.
Mr Kirkham, in closing the meeting discussed his
role in assisting applicants in completing the
necessary research application forms prior to sending
to the Research Committee. Colin also discussed his
role in assisting study design, patient information
documentation and statistical calculations necessary
to determine optimum sample size etc. He discussed
the role of Sharon Cooley in assisting data retrieval
and that of Lorraine Sibley in data protection and
storage.
Anne O’Byrne

Collaborative or Externally Funded Research
The hospital is fully supportive of and encourages engagement in
collaborative and/or externally funded research. However, this type
of research has implications for the hospital including resource
allocation, intellectual pro perty rights, data protection, funding
mechanisms, third party and other contractual agreements, indemnity
and insurance, ethics, human resources issues etc. If you are planning
to initiate or get involved in a clinical trial or collaborative research
project with other hospitals, academic institutions or industry in 2013
or beyond, you should discuss this with the research department prior
to signing any contractual agreement. The sooner the research
department is advised, the better! Similarly, if you plan to apply for
external funding through projects or grants from bodies such as the
HRB or EU funding, please let us know.
Anne MacLellan

Some Current Collaborations
Perinatal Ireland, which has its headquarters at the Rotunda,
comprises leading maternal fetal medicine specialists at eight Irish
maternity hospitals including the Rotunda hospital. The network is
an all-Ireland, multi-centre research network focusing on improving
women's and children's health. Using advanced ultrasound
technologies to improve detection and diagnosis in utero, the group
is at the forefront of perinatal research (www.perinatalireland.ie).
The MAMMI Study is a study, in collaboration with TCD, looking
at the health and health problems of women during pregnancy and
during the first year after the birth of their first baby.
The Rotunda is a member of the North Dublin Hospitals’ Group
which includes the Children’s University Hospital Temple Street,
the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Cappagh National
Orthopaedic Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital, Fairview. This
partnership provides an excellent basis for collaborative research.
Anne MacLellan