Getting Hands On with Research at Trinity's Child Health Research Festival

Researchers from the School of Nursing & Midwifery joined colleagues from Trinity's wider Faculty of Health Sciences, to host a wonderful festival ahead of European Researcher’s Night, the Child Health Research Festival.

We want to say a very special thank you to the researchers, student volunteers and staff who worked so hard on this festival. Research Impact Officers, Dr Luciana Lolich (School of Nursing & Midwifery) and Bridget Gavin (School of Medicine) inspired everyone to get involved.

It was a great opportunity for the Trinity Research in Childhood Centre and for our researchers across multiple disciplines to showcase their work into the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents.

Interactive exhibits translated life-changing research into easy to understand and fun learning experiences for adults and children. Check out more information about the exhibits below!

Listening to children’s voices in research

Pictured: Tracey O'Neill and Dr Sonam Banka-Cullen

Employing participatory research techniques is a very useful way of listening to children in research.  At this exhibit, children and parents got hands on activities that our researchers use when working with children, such as, Lego Serious Play (LSP), drawing and creative collage.

Hosted by: Professor Catherine Comiskey, Dr Eleanor Hollywood, Dr Sonam Banka-Cullen, Dr Marie Hyland, Tracey O’Neill, Orla Walsh and Fi Vives Lynch.

Making research fun for children

Pictured: Seb Lennon, Efa Apriyanti, Prof Imelda Coyne and Lisa Kirwan.

This exhibit demonstrated how to make research fun for children and young people using creative participatory methods and digital techniques. Children used props and learned how to make research fun. Adults had the chance to browse a bestselling book on how to use creative, digital, and innovative participatory techniques with children and young people.

Hosted by: Prof Imelda Coyne, Lisa Kirwan, Efa Aprianty and Seb Lennon.

Innovation in children and young people’s healthcare

Pictured: Cathy Roets, Dr Mary Hughes and Manar Al-Sulimani.

Through a range of poster board presentations and interactive demonstrations, visitors learned about new research into areas including; 1) digital service innovation in Children’s Health Ireland through an Advance Nurse Practitioner, 2) the impact of training on nurse’s self-efficacy in child protection, 3) needs of Traveller youth in relation to their sexual health, and 4) an educational innovation for nursing and medical students with neurodiversity to prepare them for practice placement.

Hosted by: Dr Mary Hughes, Katie Essenne Deevey, Manar Al-Sulimani, Albandari Almutairi and Cathy Roets.

LGBTQI+ young people: mental health and wellbeing

Pictured: Dr Mark Monahan, Prof Agnes Higgins, Prof Louise Doyle and Dr Thelma Begley.

Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland is a national study of the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQI+ people in Ireland with a special emphasis on young people. Visitors to this exhibit had the opportunity to learn about mental health and wellbeing of young LGBTQI+ people, including their experience in school, experience with social media and contact with healthcare.

Hosted by: Prof Agnes Higgins, Prof Louise Doyle, Carmel Downes, Dr Mark Monahan, Dr Jan De Vries and Dr Thelma Begley.

Empowering children with intellectual disability and their families

Pictured: Dr Carmel Doyle, the Brannigan family and Provost, Dr Linda Doyle.

At the festival, visitors had the opportunity to learn more about blended feeding via a gastrostomy feeding tube as an alternative to commercial feeding products. We were delighted to be joined at this stand by Dylan and his mum Linda, who kindly shared their story of the realities of daily life with blended feeding.

Hosted by: Dr Carmel Doyle, Amanda Shovlin, Michelle Cleary, Linda Brannigan and Dylan Brannigan.