Dr. Bridget Johnston

Dr. Bridget Johnston

Research Assistant Professor, Public Health & Primary Care


Biography

I am a health economist focusing on applied health systems research, including evaluation of palliative care interventions across various healthcare settings and the affordability of healthcare for households in Ireland. I have experience in engagement with health policy makers in Ireland throughout the Health Service Executive, the Department of Health and the government. In addition to my research on palliative care in Ireland, I also collaborate on studies in the UK, US and Jordan.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

  • McHugh SM, E. Tyrrell, B. Johnson, O. Healy, I.J. Perry, C. Normand, Health workforce planning and service expansion during an economic crisis: A case study of the national breast screening programme in Ireland. , Health Policy, 119, (2), 2015, p1593 - 1599Journal Article, 2015, URL
  • Brick, A; Normand, C., O'Hara, S., Smith, S., Cunningham, N., Droog, E., Johnston, B., Tyrrell, Ella, Economic Evaluation of Palliative Care in Ireland - Final Report, 2015Report, 2015, URL , TARA - Full Text
  • Aoife Brick, Samantha Smith, Charles Normand, Sinead O'Hara, Ella Tyrrell, Nathan Cunningham, Elsa Droog, Bridget Johnston, Costs of Formal and Informal Care in the Last Year of Life for Patients in Receipt of Specialist Palliative Care , Palliative Medicine, 31, (4), 2017, p356-368Journal Article, 2017
  • Johnston BM, Normand C, May P., Economics of Palliative Care: Measuring the Full Value of an Intervention, Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2016Journal Article, 2016, DOI
  • Selman LE, Daveson BA, Smith M, Johnston B, Ryan K, Morrison RS, Pannell C, McQuillan R, de Wolf-Linder S, Pantilat SZ, Klass L, Meier D, Normand C, Higginson IJ., How empowering is hospital care for older people with advanced disease? Barriers and facilitators from a cross-national ethnography in England, Ireland and the USA., Age and Ageing, 46, (2), 2017, p300 - 309Journal Article, 2017
  • Irene J Higginson, Barbara A Daveson, R Sean Morrison, Deokhee Yi, Diane Meier, Melinda Smith, Karen Ryan, Regina McQuillan, Bridget M Johnston, Charles Normand. , Social and clinical determinants of preferences and their achievement at the end of life: prospective cohort study of older adults receiving palliative care in three countries, BMC geriatrics , 17, (1), 2017, p271-Journal Article, 2017
  • Sara Burke,Sarah Barry,Rikke Siersbaek,Bridget Johnston,Maebh Ní Fhallúin,Steve Thomas, Sláintecare - A ten-year plan to achieve universal healthcare in Ireland, Health Policy, 2018, p1-5Journal Article, 2018, DOI
  • Burke Sara, Barry Sarah, Siersbaek Rikke, Johnston Bridget, Ní Fhallúin Maebh, Thomas Steve, Sláintecare - A ten-year plan to achieve universal healthcare in Ireland , Health policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands) , 122 , (12 ), 2018, p1278 - 1282Journal Article, 2018, DOI , URL
  • Generalists and Specialist Palliative Care in, Textbook of Palliative Care, Cham, Springer International Publishing, 2018, pp1 - 14, [Ryan Kare, Johnston Bridge]Book Chapter, 2018, DOI , URL
  • The Application of Economic Evaluation Techniques to Studies of Palliative and End-of-Life Care in, Care at the End of Life: An Economic Perspective, Cham, Springer International Publishing, 2016, pp19 - 30, [Johnston Bridget M]Book Chapter, 2016, DOI , URL
  • Bridget Johnston, Patients' and Caregivers' Preferences for Services and Supports Near the End of Life: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment, Trinity College Dublin, 2017Thesis, 2017
  • Eow J, Duane B, Solaiman A, Hussain U, Lemasney N, Ang R, O'Kelly-Lynch N, Girgis G, Collazo L, Johnston B, What evidence do economic evaluations in dental care provide? A scoping review, Community Dental Health Journal, 2019Journal Article, 2019
  • Larkin PJ, O'Connor L, Connolly M, Fox P, Furlong E, Johnston B, Kemple M, Ryan K, Smith R, PREVALENCE of PAIN and CONSTIPATION in PATIENTS ATTENDING CANCER CENTRES in IRELAND: A National Point Prevalence Survey, Ireland, University College Dublin, January, 2019Report, 2019
  • Steve Thomas, Sarah Barry, Bridget Johnston, Sara Burke, Ireland's health care system and the crisis: a case study in the struggle for a capable welfare state, Anais do Instituto de Medicina Tropical , 17 (Supplement), (1), 2018, p27 - 36Journal Article, 2018, URL
  • Johnston BM, Burke S, Barry S, Normand C, Ní Fhallúin M, Thomas S., Private health expenditure in Ireland: Assessing the affordability of private financing of health care. , Health policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2019Journal Article, 2019, DOI
  • May P, Johnston BM, Normand C, Higginson IJ, Kenny RA, Ryan K, Population-based palliative care planning in Ireland: how many people will live and die with serious illness to 2046?, HRB Open Research, 2, 2020, p35Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Embracing and Disentangling from Private Finance: The Irish System in, editor(s)Colleen Flood and Bryan Thomas , Is two-tier health care the future?, Ottawa, University of Ottawa Press, 2020, pp291 - 314, [Stephen Thomas, Sarah Barry, Bridget Johnston, Rikke Siersbaek and Sara Burke ]Book Chapter, 2020, URL
  • Burke, Sara, Thomas, Steve, Stach, Malgorzata, Kavanagh, Paul, Magahy, Laura, Johnston, Bridget, Barry, Sarah, Health system foundations for Sláintecare implementation in 2020 and beyond " co-producing a Sláintecare Living Implementation Framework with Evaluation: Learning from the Irish health system"s response to COVID-19. A mixed-methods study protocol, HRB Open Research, 3, 2021, p70Journal Article, 2021, DOI
  • Johnston, B, Thomas, S, Burke, S., Can people afford to pay for health care? New evidence on financial protection in Ireland, 1st Edition, WHO Europe, WHO Europe, 2020, p1 - 118Report, 2020, URL
  • Bridget M. Johnston, Rachel McCauley, Regina McQuillan, Mary Rabbitte, Caitriona Honohan, David Mockler, Steve Thomas, Peter May, Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of out-of-hours palliative care: a systematic review, HRB Open Research, 3, 2020, p9Journal Article, 2020
  • Bridget M Johnston and Rachel McCauley and Mary Rabbitte and Regina McQuillan and Caitriona Honohan and David Mockler and Steve Thomas and Peter May, Evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of out-of-hours palliative care, Palliative Medicine, 2020, p026921632096955Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Thomas,S, Johnston, J, Barry, S, Siersbaek, R, Burke, S., Sláintecare implementation status in 2020: Limited progress with entitlement expansion, Health Policy, 2021Journal Article, 2021
  • Hurley E, May P, Matthews S, Normand C, Johnston B, An International Policy Review of Routine Statutory Data Collection and Reporting in Palliative Care, EAPC 2021, Online, October, 2021Poster, 2021, DOI
  • Matthews S, Johnston B, Hurley E, Normand C, May P, Palliative and End-of-Life Care Data in Ireland (PELCI): Establishing the State of the Nation, EAPC 2021, Online, October, 2021Poster, 2021, DOI
  • Bridget M. Johnston, Sara Burke, Paul M. Kavanagh, Caoimhe O'Sullivan, Steve Thomas, Sarah Parker, Moving beyond formulae: a review of international population-based resource allocation policy and implications for Ireland in an era of healthcare reform, HRB Open Research, 4, 2021, p121Journal Article, 2021, DOI
  • Ciara Halton and Brett Duane and Amelia Conlon Batey and Jia Wong and Aisling Corley and Fraser Hart and Jay Koh and Bridget Johnston, How much do consumers consider sustainability when purchasing a toothbrush? A discrete choice experiment, British Dental Journal, 233, (4), 2022, p327--332Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Ashley P, Lyne A, Johnston B, Duane B, Incorporating Measures of Sustainability Into Guideline Development., International dental journal, 2023Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • May P, Moriarty F, Hurley E, Matthews S, Nolan A, Ward M, Johnston B, Roe L, Normand C, Kenny RA, Smith S, Formal health care costs among older people in Ireland: methods and estimates using The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), 2023Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Ní Chéileachair FN, Johnston BM, Payne C, Cahill F, Mannion L, McGirr L, Ryan K, Protocol for an exploratory, longitudinal single case study of a novel palliative care rehabilitative service, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Johnston BM, Daveson B, Normand C, Ryan K, Smith M, McQuillan R, Higginson I, Selman L, Tobin K, BuildCARE, Preferences of Older People With a Life-Limiting Illness: A Discrete Choice Experiment., Journal of pain and symptom management, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI
  • Taheny K, Johnston B, Ryan K, Re: cancer-related fatigue-pharmacological interventions: systematic review and network meta-analysis., BMJ supportive & palliative care, 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI
  • Ní Chéileachair F, Johnston BM, Payne C, Cahill F, Mannion L, McGirr L, Ryan K, Protocol for an exploratory, longitudinal single case study of a novel palliative care rehabilitative service., HRB open research, 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI
  • Lucy Ellen Selman, Barbara Daveson, Melinda Smith, Bridget Johnston, Karen Ryan, R. Sean Morrison, Katy Tobin, Caty Pannell, Regina McQuillan, Taja Ferguson, Anastasia Reison, Steven Z. Pantilat, Diane E. Meier, Charles Normand, Irene J. Higginson, RF1-A How Empowering Is Hospital Care for Older Adults, and What Difference Does Palliative Care Make? A Cross-National Ethnography in England, Ireland and the USA, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 52, (6), 2016, pe5Journal Article, 2016, DOI
  • Johnston, B.M., The application of economic evaluation techniques to studies of palliative and end-of-life care, Care at the End of Life: An Economic Perspective, 2016, p19-30Journal Article, 2016
  • Ryan K, Johnston BM, McAleer C, O'Connor L, Larkin P, A national cross-sectional survey of constipation in patients attending cancer centres in Ireland, 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI
  • Higginson IJ, Yi D, Johnston BM, Ryan K, McQuillan R, Selman L, Pantilat SZ, Daveson BA, Morrison RS, Normand C, Associations between informal care costs, care quality, carer rewards, burden and subsequent grief: the international, access, rights and empowerment mortality follow-back study of the last 3 months of life (IARE I study)., BMC medicine, 2020Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Wichmann AB, Goltstein LCMJ, Obihara NJ, Berendsen MR, Van Houdenhoven M, Morrison RS, Johnston BM, Engels Y, Radboud Honours Academy Think Tank, QALY-time: experts' view on the use of the quality-adjusted LIFE year in COST-effectiveness analysis in palliative care., BMC health services research, 2020Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Elfadil S, Johnston B, Normand C, Allen F, O'Connell B, An Investigation of the Characteristics of Edentulous Patients Who Choose or Refuse Implant Treatment., The International journal of prosthodontics, 2020Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Yi D, Johnston BM, Ryan K, Daveson BA, Meier DE, Smith M, McQuillan R, Selman L, Pantilat SZ, Normand C, Morrison RS, Higginson IJ, Drivers of care costs and quality in the last 3 months of life among older people receiving palliative care: A multinational mortality follow-back survey across England, Ireland and the United States., Palliative medicine, 2020Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Bakar M, Johnston B, Fitzgerald K, Casby C, Duane B, Environmental impact of the supervised toothbrushing programme amongst children in Scotland., Journal of dentistry, 2023Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Johnston BM, Miller M, Normand C, Cardona M, May P, Lowney AC, Primary data on symptom burden and quality of life among elderly patients at risk of dying during unplanned admissions to an NHS hospital: a cohort study using EuroQoL and the Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale, 2023Journal Article, 2023, DOI
  • Gorecki PK, Johnston BM, Layte R, Nolan A, Ruane F, Thomas S, Whelan A, Setting GP Fees for Under Six Year Olds in Ireland: Towards a Methodology, Dublin, Economic and Social Research Institute and Trinity College Dublin, May, 2014Report
  • Bridget M. Johnston, Fódhla Ní Chéileachair, Sara Burke, Regina McQuillan, Peter May, Lucy Davis, Sarah Barry, Eimir Hurley, Steve Thomas, Charles Normand, Carlos Bruen, Review of the Implementation of the 2001 Report of the National Advisory Committee on Palliative Care as it relates to Adult Palliative Care, Department of Health, Government of Ireland, February, 2022Report, DOI , TARA - Full Text
  • Perry, I.P, Normand, C, Healy, O, Mc Hugh S, Tyrrell, E, Johnston, B, Ryan, D, Efficiency Review of the BreastCheck Screening Programme., Dublin, Department of Health, 2012Report, URL

Research Expertise

  • Title
    International Access, Rights and Empowerment Plus (IARE+) Study
    Summary
    This IARE Plus study used a mixed-methods design, informed by best practice guidelines, to generate information on patients' and caregivers' preferences for services and supports when living with a life-limiting illness.
    Funding Agency
    Health Research Board
    Date From
    2014
    Date To
    2017
  • Title
    Efficiency Review of the BreastCheck Screening Programme
    Summary
    The Efficiency Review of the BreastCheck Screening Programme was commissioned by the Department of Health in order to prepare for the age extension of BreastCheck to women up to the age of 69 years, as provided for in the Programme for Government.
    Funding Agency
    Department of Health
    Date From
    Aug 2012
    Date To
    Nov 2012
  • Title
    Developing a predictive model for the treatment of edentulous patients in Ireland
    Summary
    We aim to use patient-based data to develop a standardised clinical diagnostic tool that will predict the most appropriate treatment for an edentulous individual. The objectives of this project are first, to identify the key needs of edentulous people using qualitative methodology, purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews ; these needs will be used to produce a condition-specific subjective health status measure, mapped to a taxonomy for quality of life. Second, we will investigate edentulous individuals before and after conventional, then complex treatment to find the baseline characteristics of patients who achieve success with the different treatments. Third, we will measure the health gain and cost of conventional and complex treatments. This information will form the basis for more equal access to care and efficient use of health resources at primary and multidisciplinary care levels.
    Funding Agency
    Health Research Board
    Date From
    2012
    Date To
    2014
  • Title
    Pathways to Universal Health Care in Ireland
    Summary
    Mapping the Pathways to Universal Healthcare is a research programme which aims to provide an excellent evidence base that will inform the strategic direction and implementation of universal healthcare in Ireland. From November 2016 to May 2017, the Pathways team provided technical support for the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare. Initially, the team hosted three workshops with the Committee and then assisted the Committee with its remit 'to devise cross-party agreement on a single long-term vision for health care and direction of health policy in Ireland'. This report from the Committee, The Sláintecare Report, was published in May 2017.
    Funding Agency
    Health Research Board
    Date From
    2014
    Date To
    2018
  • Title
    The International Access, Rights and Empowerment II (IARE II) Study
    Summary
    The IARE II study is a prospective cohort study to identify and understand the service use, preferences and palliative care needs* of a cohort of older people living with frailty and advanced disease in three-countries. We will follow how the needs and preferences evolve over time, and what predicts future circumstances in three cities. This study builds on IARE I, which investigated people who had already accessed palliative care. IARE II recruits people who have not yet accessed specialist palliative care. This allows us to directly investigate potentially unmet needs, and by making comparisons between IARE I and II we can better understand the inequities of palliative care access for different groups. By following people prospectively over time we are able to evaluate how their needs, service use, and preferences evolve and can therefore understand better the appropriate models of care and timing for palliative care involvement. To provide a multi-perspective understanding of the potentially complex needs of this group, IARE II relies on a mixed methods longitudinal design including prospective data collection (patient and carer surveys, a discrete choice experiment, qualitative interviews) and retrospective data collection (bereavement follow-back survey).
    Funding Agency
    The Atlantic Philanthropies
    Date From
    Jun 2016
    Date To
    Dec 2019
  • Title
    Community specialist palliative care (CSPC) provision in Ireland
    Summary
    This prospective cohort study aims to examine three community palliative care services in North and South Dublin and in Sligo to try to understand where the differences between services lie, and to find out whether there are any advantages or disadvantages to the different kinds of services.
    Funding Agency
    Royal College of Physicians in Ireland
    Date From
    2015
    Date To
    2018
  • Title
    Cost-effectiveness of palliative care services in Ireland
    Summary
    This project examines evidence on the cost and cost effectiveness of alternative models of specialist palliative care (SPC) (e.g., variations in the mix of specialist palliative in-patient, day and home care) in Ireland.
    Funding Agency
    The Atlantic Philanthropies
    Date From
    2012
    Date To
    2015
  • Title
    Out-of-hours palliative care service provision: an evidence review
    Summary
    This project reviews systematically both the peer-reviewed academic literature and policy documentation to collate best-available evidence on out-of-hours generalist and specialist palliative care for adults. This research contributes to an ongoing review and update of national palliative care policy in Ireland.
    Funding Agency
    Department of Health
    Date From
    Aug 2019
    Date To
    May 2019
  • Title
    Understanding inequities in palliative care and providing for future need (UP)
    Summary
    The aim of this 18 month collaborative project is to use mixed methods to model the palliative care needs of older people in Ireland; calculate associated costs (including costs to service users and effects on financial risk protection); and to provide understanding on why current knowledge regarding best practice on meeting need is not put into practice and what is required to effect change and deliver on equitable palliative care provision for older people. This work will support the work of the recent Sláintecare report in providing detailed resource and financial data to underpin Recommendation 4 that universal palliative care is provided within five years.
    Funding Agency
    Health Service Executive
    Date From
    Mar 2018
    Date To
    Dec 2019
  • Title
    The International Access, Rights and Empowerment (IARE I) Study
    Summary
    Overall research aim The aim of the IARE study is to improve the rights of older adult palliative care patients and their carers by generating information regarding access (availability, accessibility, affordability, adequacy and acceptability) and empowerment of people requiring specialist palliative care in order to help secure equitable access to healthcare for this population. Summary of design A mixed methods design comprising three work packages. Work package one is a cross-sectional study to identify the profile of older adult patients who access palliative care services in four tertiary hospitals in three cities (the city hospitals) allowing for identification case-mix complexity; the characteristics and preferences of older adults who access palliative care and factors associated with access; their preferences for involvement in decision-making and associated factors; and the development of a measurement tool for the health economic evaluation of palliative care interventions. Work package two is a qualitative study to establish empowerment as understood by older adults who access specialist palliative care (i.e., the conceptual development of the construct of empowerment), the barriers and facilitators experienced and encountered. Work package three is a carer study to establish accessibility, availability, affordability and acceptability of palliative care services through the use of an adapted version of a postal follow-back survey (QUALYCARE survey) supplemented with additional items to examine carers' financial hardship, demographics, care satisfaction, burden, and preferences.
    Funding Agency
    The Atlantic Philanthropies
    Date From
    2012
    Date To
    2014
  • Title
    Measuring financial protection in health in Ireland
    Summary
    project that aims to strengthen the evidence base on universal health coverage and support policy development by monitoring financial protection in Ireland using methods developed for the WHO European Region
    Funding Agency
    World Health Organization
    Date From
    2015
    Date To
    2019

Population Health, Public & Environment Health, Health Care & Health Services (including Health Technology and Health Information Systems),

Recognition

  • Committee Chair, All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care Early Career Researchers Forum
  • Health Economics Association of Ireland