Research Interests:
Maura was the lead developer and the Director of the for first online programme in the School of Public Health, the Postgraduate Certificate in Health Protection Health Protection (Online) PG Cert | University College Cork | UCC | Ireland | Postgraduate Degree | Courses This course is taught in association with the online Master of Public Health Public Health (Online) MPH | University College Cork | UCC | Ireland | Postgraduate Degree | Courses
She was awarded competitive funding support from Skillnet Ireland in July 2020 to develop and facilitate a wholly online Postgraduate Certificate in Infection Prevention and Control Infection Prevention and Control (Online) PG Cert | University College Cork | UCC | Ireland | Postgraduate Degree | Courses. She led on the development, approval and facilitation of this course and the first cohort commenced in September 2020. Further to the success of this programme, she developed and received approval to commence a MSc in Infection Prevention and Control in September 2022 Infection Prevention and Control (Online) MSc | University College Cork | UCC | Ireland | Postgraduate Degrees | Courses.
In 2020 she led a collaboration between the Infection Prevention Society Ireland Branch and Infection Prevention and Control Ireland developing recorded resources to inform clinical staff on the use of Standard Precautions and Environmental Decontamination in the control and management of COVID-19.
Biography
Maura has a background in nursing and midwifery. Her most recent clinical experience is as an Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Nurse Manager. She completed a Master of Public Health in 2009 and was awarded a PhD (Medicine and Health) in 2019. She recently developed and co-ordinated the online postgraduate certificate in infection prevention and control and is the developer and Director of the MSc in Infection Prevention and Control. She lectures on Health Protection and Infection Prevention and Control at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She is the current Ireland Branch Coordinator of the Infection Prevention Society (IPS) and the Communications Officer for the IPS Research and Development Group. Her research interests focuses on the prevention of infection and provision of safe patient care.Research Interests
Maura's research interests are infection prevention and control with a focus on patient safety, infection prevention and teaching.Research Interests:
- Infection Prevention and Control
- Hand Hygiene
- Patient Safety
- Sepsis Identification and Prevention
- Research methods
- Implementation science
Publications
Book Chapters
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2013) | 'Principles of Infection Prevention and Control' Creedon, SA and Smiddy, MP (2013) 'Principles of Infection Prevention and Control' In: Fundamentals of Medical-Surgical Nursing: A systems approach. United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons. [Details] |
Peer Reviewed Journals
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2020) | 'Impact of improved observed hand hygiene on bloodstream infection rates in Ireland. A prospective segmented regression analysis, 2009-2016' Smiddy M.P.;Murphy O.M.;Savage E.;Fitzgerald A.P.;Fitzgerald S.;Browne J. (2020) 'Impact of improved observed hand hygiene on bloodstream infection rates in Ireland. A prospective segmented regression analysis, 2009-2016'. Epidemiology And Infection, [DOI] [Details] | |
(2019) | 'The influence of observational hand hygiene auditing on consultant doctors' hand hygiene behaviors. A qualitative study' Smiddy, MP;Murphy, OM;Savage, E;Browne, JP (2019) 'The influence of observational hand hygiene auditing on consultant doctors' hand hygiene behaviors. A qualitative study'. American Journal of Infection Control, 47 [DOI] [Details] | |
(2019) | 'Leadership perspective on the implementation of guidelines on healthcare-associated infections' Josephine Hegarty, Siobhan Murphy, Sile Creedon, Teresa Wills, Eileen Savage, Fiona Barry, Maura Smiddy, Alice Coffey, Aileen Burton, Deirdre O'Brien, Sinead Horgan, Cliodhna Nibhuachalla, Cathal Brennan, Heloise Agreli, Jonathan Drennan (2019) 'Leadership perspective on the implementation of guidelines on healthcare-associated infections'. Bmj, 3 :43-51 [Details] | |
(2019) | 'Efficacy of observational hand hygiene audit with targeted feedback on doctors’ hand hygiene compliance: A retrospective time series analysis' Smiddy MP, Murphy OM, Savage E, O’Sullivan B, Murphy C, Bernard M, Browne J (2019) 'Efficacy of observational hand hygiene audit with targeted feedback on doctors’ hand hygiene compliance: A retrospective time series analysis'. Journal Of Infection Prevention, 20 (4):164-170 [Details] | |
(2019) | 'Patient involvement in the implementation of infection prevention and control guidelines and associated interventions: a scoping review' Fernandes Agreli H;Murphy M;Creedon S;Ni Bhuachalla C;O'Brien D;Gould D;Savage E;Barry F;Drennan J;Smiddy MP;Condell S;Horgan S;Murphy S;Wills T;Burton A;Hegarty J; (2019) 'Patient involvement in the implementation of infection prevention and control guidelines and associated interventions: a scoping review'. Bmj Open, 9 (3) [DOI] [Details] | |
(2019) | 'Ethnographic study using Normalization Process Theory to understand the implementation process of infection prevention and control guidelines in Ireland' Agreli H, Barry F, Burton A, Creedon S, Drennan J, Gould D, May CR, Smiddy MP, Murphy M, Murphy S, Savage E, Wills T, Hegarty J (2019) 'Ethnographic study using Normalization Process Theory to understand the implementation process of infection prevention and control guidelines in Ireland'. Bmj Open, 9 (8) [Full Text] [Details] | |
(2017) | 'Factors that influence hand hygiene practice amongst occupational therapy students' OM Wall, MP Smiddy (2017) 'Factors that influence hand hygiene practice amongst occupational therapy students'. Irish Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45 (2):112-122 [DOI] [Details] | |
(2015) | 'A systematic qualitative literature review of healthcare workers’ compliance with hand hygiene guidelines' Smiddy MP, O Connell R, Creedon SA. (2015) 'A systematic qualitative literature review of healthcare workers’ compliance with hand hygiene guidelines'. American Journal of Infection Control, 43 (3):269-274 [Details] | |
(2013) | 'The use of point prevalence surveys of healthcare-associated infection to identify risk factors and facilitate infection prevention and control planning' Smiddy, MP., Murphy, OM. (2013) 'The use of point prevalence surveys of healthcare-associated infection to identify risk factors and facilitate infection prevention and control planning'. Healthcare Infection, 18 (4):162-167 [DOI] [Details] |
Published Reports
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2015) | Guidelines for hand hygiene in Irish healthcare settings Update of 2005 guidelines. Hand Hygiene guideline development group (2015) Guidelines for hand hygiene in Irish healthcare settings Update of 2005 guidelines. RCPI / HSE, Dubmin. [Details] | |
(2011) | Health Service Executive - Hand Hygiene Observational Audit Standard Operating Procedure. Mulhern, M., Bergin, M., Donlon, S., Fitzgerald, S., Fitzpatrick, F., Flynn, M. Jackson, A., Khan, A., Oza, A., Reilly, M.F., Smiddy, M. (2011) Health Service Executive - Hand Hygiene Observational Audit Standard Operating Procedure. Health Service Executive, Dublin, Ireland. [Details] |
Invited papers
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2020) | Challenges and solutions in studying the impact of interventions in the analysis of longitudinal health service data. Smiddy MP, Fitzgerald AP, Lynch B. (2020) Challenges and solutions in studying the impact of interventions in the analysis of longitudinal health service data. London: Invited papers [DOI] [Details] |
Professional Activities
Honours and Awards
Year | Title | Awarding Body | |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Current Leaders Level 1 Leadership Development Programme | University College Cork | |
2021 | Teaching and Learning Award Nominee | University College Cork | |
2019 | Aspiring Leaders Level 2 Leadership Development Programme | University College Cork | |
2017 | UCC Aurora Leadership Programme | University College Cork | |
2019 | PhD (Medicine and Health) | University College Cork | |
2009 | Graduated first in class - Masters in Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College Cork. | University College Cork | |
2008 | Student of the Year on the Diploma in Quality Management (Part 2) | Excellence Ireland Quality Association and Cork Institute of Technology |
Professional Associations
Association | Function | From / To | |
---|---|---|---|
Infection Prevention Society (IPS) Ireland | Branch Coordinator | 01-FEB-19 / 01-JUN-22 | |
An Bord Altranais - Irish Nursing Regulatory Body | Member | 01-JUN-95 / | |
Infection Prevention Society Research and Development Group | Communications Officer | 01-MAY-21 / 01-JUN-22 | |
Infection Prevention Society | Member | 30-MAY-01 / | |
Infection Prevention Control Ireland (IPCI) | Member | 31-MAY-16 / |
Conference Contributions
Year | Publication | |
---|---|---|
(2022) | CoMH Teaching and Learning Conference, Smiddy MP, Barry F, O'Neill S, O'Reilly E, McHugh S. (2022) A mixed methods study to explore university teachers’ perceptions and experiences of moving to remote teaching during the university shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [Poster Presentation], CoMH Teaching and Learning Conference, University College Cork , 17-JUN-22 - 17-JUN-22. [Details] | |
(2017) | Federation of Infection Societies Conference, Smiddy MP, Murphy OM, Savage E, Browne JP (2017) The impact of observational hand hygiene auditing on consultant doctors hand hygiene behaviours. A qualitative study. [Oral Presentation], Federation of Infection Societies Conference, Birmingham , 01-NOV-17 - 01-NOV-17. [Details] | |
(2016) | Infection Prevention 2016, Smiddy MP, Murphy OM, Savage E, O’Sullivan B, Murphy C, Bernard M, Browne J (2016) Use of a multimodal intervention incorporating audit and targeted feedback to improve hand hygiene compliance and reduce orthopaedic surgical site infections. [Poster Presentation], Infection Prevention 2016, Harrogate, Leeds, England , 26-SEP-16 - 28-SEP-16. [Details] | |
(2015) | Healthcare Infection Society Conference, Smiddy MP, Murphy OM, Savage E, O’Sullivan B, Murphy C, Bernard M, Browne J (2015) Use of a multimodal intervention incorporating audit and targeted feedback to improve hand hygiene compliance and reduce orthopaedic surgical site infections. [Oral Presentation], Healthcare Infection Society Conference, Glasgow . [Details] | |
(2014) | Healthcare Infection Society Conference, Smiddy MP, Kabir Z, Cunningham C, Perry IJ (2014) Experiences of a wholly online Postgraduate Certificate in Health Protection (infection prevention and control) in University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. Lessons learnt. [Poster Presentation], Healthcare Infection Society Conference, Lyon, France . [Details] | |
(2013) | Federation of Infection Societies Conference, Smiddy, MP, O' Connell, R., Creedon, SA. (2013) Healthcare workers' compliance with hand hygiene guidelines: A metasynthesis. [Poster Presentation], Federation of Infection Societies Conference, Bermingham, England , 11-NOV-13 - 13-NOV-13. [Details] | |
(2014) | Healthcare Infection Society Conference, Smiddy MP, Murphy OM, Savage E, Browne J (2014) Does observational hand hygiene auditing reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infection? A retrospective interrupted time series analysis 2009 – 2013. [Poster Presentation], Healthcare Infection Society Conference, Lyon, France . [Details] | |
(2012) | 8th International Conference of the Healthcare Infection Society and Federation of Infection Societies Annual Conference, Smiddy, M. P., Bernard, M. A, Murphy, C., O’ Sullivan, B. C., Murphy, O. M. (2012) An Evaluation of the Time Requirements of Different Surveillance Methodologies. [Poster Presentation], 8th International Conference of the Healthcare Infection Society and Federation of Infection Societies Annual Conference, Liverpool , 19-NOV-12 - 21-NOV-12. [Details] | |
(2012) | 8th International Conference of the Healthcare Infection Society and Federation of Infection Societies Annual Conference, Smiddy, M. P., Bernard, M. A., Murphy, C., O’ Sullivan, B. C., Murphy, O. M. (2012) The Use of Point Prevalence Surveys of Healthcare-associated Infections to Identify Risk Factors and Facilitate Infection Prevention and Control Planning. [Poster Presentation], 8th International Conference of the Healthcare Infection Society and Federation of Infection Societies Annual Conference, Liverpool , 19-NOV-12 - 21-NOV-12. [Details] |
Committees
Committee | Function | From / To | |
---|---|---|---|
Infection Prevention Society Research and Development Committee | Communications Officer and Board Memer | 2021 / 2022 | |
School of Public Health Teaching and Curriculum Committee | Member | 2021 / 2022 | |
School of Public Health Civic and Community Engagement Committee | Chair | 2021 / 2022 | |
School of Public Health Management Committee | Member | 2020 / 2022 | |
College of Medicine and Health Return to Work Review Group | Member | 2020 / 2020 | |
Infection Prevention Society Management Executive Group | Board Member | 2019 / 2022 | |
Social Research Ethics (Subcommittee School of Public Health) | Committee Member | 2016 / 2021 | |
Royal College of Physicians Advisory Group on Healthcare-associated Infections; Hand Hygiene Sub-Committee | Member | 2013 / | |
Health Service Executive Steering Group on Hand Hygiene | Member | 2011 / 2012 |
Employment
Employer | Position | From / To | |
---|---|---|---|
Bon Secours Hospital, Cork | Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Nurse Manager 2 | 29-JAN-01 / 24-SEP-10 | |
University College Cork | College Lecturer | 05-NOV-12 / 19-JUL-19 | |
Consultant (Self Employed) | Lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health | 04-OCT-10 / 02-NOV-12 |
Education
Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | University College Cork | Master of Public Health | Public Health | |
2019 | University College Cork | Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education | Teaching and Learning | |
2019 | University College Cork | PhD (Medicine and Health) | Medicine and Health | |
2018 | University College Cork | Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education | Teaching and Learning | |
2008 | Cork Institute of Technology / Excellence Ireland Quality Association | Diploma in Quality Management | Quality Management |
Outreach Activities
Description | |
---|---|
Public Health Dissemination and Education Engagement with transition year secondary school students in relation to Public Health. Invited engagement with two primary schools to engage students at all levels in relation to infection prevention and hand hygiene. |
Journal Activities
Journal | Role | To / From | |
---|---|---|---|
Journal Of Infection Prevention | Peer Reviewer | 20-APR-20 - 05-JUN-22 | |
Healthcare Infection | Peer Reviewer | 31-JUL-19 - 05-JUN-22 | |
Journal Of Infection Prevention | Peer Reviewer | 09-NOV-20 - 05-JUN-22 | |
Plos One | Peer Reviewer | 01-DEC-20 - 05-JUN-22 | |
Bmc Public Health | Peer Reviewer | 01-DEC-20 - 05-JUN-22 |
Other Activities
Description | |
---|---|
She has been the organiser of infection prevention and control education webinars on behalf of and in association with the infection prevention society.
| |
Maura was a member of the UCC team who set up Contact Tracing of cases of COVID19 in association with the HSE in the Boole Library Basement in 2020. She was responsible for infection prevention and control for the UCC Team, facilitated contact tracing induction education, carried out contact tracing and developed online resources in Canvas to support education related to Contact Tracing of cases. | |
Maura has been awarded funding from the Department of Public Health, Health Service Executive South, South-West Group to organise and coordinate the Safe Patient Care Seminar in University College Cork in 2011 - 2019. The aim of this seminar is to address the teaching and learning needs of clinical staff in relation to infection prevention and control. |
Teaching Activities
Teaching Interests
Maura's teaching interests lie in the area of Infection Prevention and Control and Health Protection, specifically related to the provision of safe quality care to patients. She also lectures in relation to the wider aspects of health protection and the global burden of communicable disease. She teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate levels both within and outside of the School of Public Health.Maura was the lead developer and the Director of the for first online programme in the School of Public Health, the Postgraduate Certificate in Health Protection Health Protection (Online) PG Cert | University College Cork | UCC | Ireland | Postgraduate Degree | Courses This course is taught in association with the online Master of Public Health Public Health (Online) MPH | University College Cork | UCC | Ireland | Postgraduate Degree | Courses
She was awarded competitive funding support from Skillnet Ireland in July 2020 to develop and facilitate a wholly online Postgraduate Certificate in Infection Prevention and Control Infection Prevention and Control (Online) PG Cert | University College Cork | UCC | Ireland | Postgraduate Degree | Courses. She led on the development, approval and facilitation of this course and the first cohort commenced in September 2020. Further to the success of this programme, she developed and received approval to commence a MSc in Infection Prevention and Control in September 2022 Infection Prevention and Control (Online) MSc | University College Cork | UCC | Ireland | Postgraduate Degrees | Courses.
In 2020 she led a collaboration between the Infection Prevention Society Ireland Branch and Infection Prevention and Control Ireland developing recorded resources to inform clinical staff on the use of Standard Precautions and Environmental Decontamination in the control and management of COVID-19.
Recent Postgraduates
Graduation Year | Student Name | Institution | Degree Type | Thesis Title | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Megan O' Neill | University College Cork | MPH | A quantitative survey investigating the knowledge, attitude and beliefs of third level students regarding Level 5 COVID-19 measures and perceptions of compliance | |
2021 | Azeez Bakare Adesegun | University College Cork | MPH | Knowledge and perception of measles vaccine among third level undergraduate students of University College Cork. | |
2021 | Ishoma Uzu | University College Cork | MPH | The Experience of Sex Workers in Accessing Sexual Health Services in High Income Countries- A Systematic Review | |
2021 | Deborah Oluwatosin Opadiran | University College Cork | MPH | Knowledge and behaviours of undergraduate students related to antimicrobial resistance. | |
2022 | Andrea King | University College Cork | MPH | Evaluating COVID-19 outbreak outcomes in residential care facilities that care for older persons in wave one and wave three in the Health Service Executive North-East region of Ireland. | |
2022 | Emma Daly | University College Cork | MPH | The Impact of Surveillance and Antimicrobial Prophylaxis on Trans Rectal Ultrasound (TRUS) Biopsy Infection Rates in an Acute Private Hospital in Ireland | |
2020 | Sharon Mugo | University College Cork | MPH | THE BURDEN OF INFLUENZA-ASSOCIATED HOSPITALISATIONS IN IRELAND, 2015/16-2017/18 | |
2022 | Gillian Horgan | University College Cork | MPH | Does internet access influence COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake? A systematic scoping review investigating the impact internet access (Social Media use) has on the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine. | |
2020 | Judith Ogiogwa | University College Cork | MPH | Qualitative evaluation of training and implementation of support provided to Staff at falls assessment clinics | |
2020 | Ideraoluwa Ajibosin | University College Cork | MPH | Investigation of the impact of severe weather on health system from emergency planning perspective in the HSE South/South West region in Ireland. | |
2021 | Meghan Kearney | University College Cork | MPH | An investigation into the uptake, knowledge and attitudes towards the influenza vaccine amongst community pharmacy workers | |
2022 | Yousef O' Donnell | University College Cork | MPH | Hospitalisation, Morbidity and Mortality due to Respiratory Tract Infections Among Adults with Intellectual Disabilities in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Systematic Review. | |
2020 | Adeyinka Adebiyi | University College Cork | MPH | Risky Sexual Behaviour related to Binge Drinking Habit among Undergraduate Students |
Research Information
Internal Collaborators
Name | Institute | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
ESPRIT Research Group | University College Cork | IRELAND | |
Professor John Wegner | University College Cork | IRELAND | |
Dr Aoife Fleming | University College Cork | IRELAND |
External Collaborators
Name | Organisation / Institute | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
HSE GPSEPway Group | Health Service Executive | IRELAND | |
Skillnet Ireland | Skillnet Ireland | IRELAND | |
Infection Prevention Society Research and Development Group | Infection Prevention Society | UNITED KINGDOM |