Professor Josephine Hegarty is Professor of Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork, Ireland. Professor Hegarty trained as a general nurse in Cork University Hospital and attained her BSc, MSc in nurse education and PhD at University College Cork. Thereafter she has worked as a lecturer and researcher within the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University College Cork. During her clinical career Josephine has worked in Cork University Hospital, Ireland; Central Middlesex Hospital, London and the Bon Secours Hospital, Cork, Ireland. In her academic career, Josephine has been Head of School, acted as Dean of Graduate Studies  and is a current member of Governing Authority at University College Cork. Josephine has attained funding and managed grants from a number of national and international agencies and published over 110 peer reviewed publications and 14 commissioned reports. She supervises PhD and MSc students for their research dissertations.

Professor Hegarty is Chair in Nursing at University College Cork. She leads the Enhancing Cancer Awareness and Survivorship (ECASP) group supporting individuals and their families on the cancer survivorship trajectory. She was the first author on the report commissioned by the National Cancer Control Programme: National Cancer Survivorship Needs Assessment: Acute Sector Cancer Survivorship Services in the Irish Context. She was Co-Pi with Professor Roisin Connolly on an Irish Cancer Society funded RCT of the 'Women's Cancer Survivorship: Supporting and Innovating for Change'/ LYSA trial of a complex survivorship intervention for women with breast and gynaecological cancer. In addition, she is co-applicant and on a HRB funded feasibility trial of a virtual reality intervention for Enhancing Testicular Cancer Awareness (E-MAT study) with Dr Saab.      

The Cancer Research Group has focused their research on  "The Health and Life Experiences of Individuals and their Families during the Cancer Trajectory".

Key Contact: Professor Josephine Hegarty

Aim of research group: to explore the health and life experiences of individuals, their families and carers during the cancer trajectory and identify means of optimising the survivorship experience.

Objectives:

• To explore the on-going physical, psychological, social, spiritual and economic issues facing individuals with cancer and their families.
• Identify appropriate mechanisms and resources for the on-going support of people living with, through and beyond cancer. 

Key concepts: Survivorship, symptom management, self-management, help seeking, cancer prevention, patient/family centred care. 

Team members: Dr Mairin O' Mahony, Dr Margaret Landers, Dr Bridie McCarthy, Brendan Noonan, Patricia O' Regan, Serena Fitzgerald, Ashling Murphy, Sinead Power, Mohamad Saab, Joanne Carroll.