School of Nursing & Midwifery Annual Report 2018

Catherine McAuley School of Nursing and Midwifery, UCC

Making Every Contact Count: Behavioural Change Training for Future Professionals

The Story: This work involves the development and implementation of a National Undergraduate Curriculum for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management: Making Every Contact Count for Behaviour Change. This curriculum represents a landmark in higher education in Ireland because it is the first time that a collaborative approach across all healthcare disciplines in all higher education institutes in Ireland has been undertaken along with a collaboration with the Health Service Executive (HSE). This manual is intended to be a comprehensive resource to support the education of undergraduate students across all healthcare disciplines in chronic disease prevention and management through brief intervention training to promote healthy lifestyle behaviour changes. The disciplines include dentistry, nursing, medicine, midwifery, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, public health, social work, and speech and language therapy. The large numbers of healthcare students graduating from undergraduate programmes in Ireland offers a critical mass for targeted education. The potential of an educated critical mass cannot be underestimated in terms of making a real difference to chronic disease prevention and management in healthcare services. This national curriculum is directly relevant to and part of Ireland’s national framework for action to improve health and wellbeing (Healthy Ireland). Students therefore will be equipped with knowledge, skills, and attitudes to become competent healthcare professionals in responding to current national healthcare priorities which

in this case relates to lifestyle behaviour changes for chronic disease prevention and management.

The Team: Professor Eileen Savage (PI UCC), Dawn Sinclair (Project Manager), Anthony O Reilly, Selena Hans (Research Assistants) in collaboration with all healthcare disciplines across Higher Education Institutes in Ireland, and the HSE. Anna O Leary is UCC champion for MECC.

Pictured above (l-r): Dr Orlaith O’Reilly, HSE, Professor Eileen Savage, Dawn O’Sullivan & Anna O’Leary (UCC).

44

CONTENTS

BACK

FORWARD