ProfessorEilish McAuliffe

My research activity is primarily focused on strengthening health systems. My work spans high to low-income countries based on my belief that many health problems have common underlying causes relating to inequality, poverty and poor service provision and that they require evidence- based solutions derived from multi-country research. Building a vibrant interactive multidisciplinary community to address some of the most pressing global health problems is of great importance to me. In order to achieve this goal, I have formed strong partnerships, not just with other academic institutions, but with civil society organisations and practitioners. Over the past five years I have conducted several multi-country studies aimed at exploring and addressing the underlying factors contributing to the human resources crisis i.e. the severe shortage of health professionals in many African countries. My work has influenced the shift from a focus on increasing remuneration and increasing training places to improving human resources management and incentives to attract and retain health workers. My current research activity is focused on changing healthcare cultures to support quality and safety in healthcare delivery (see Research Projects for more information). Utilising a systems approach to understanding and changing organisational culture necessitates the incorporation of leadership, teams, technology, organisation policies and processes, all of which form part of our research in the health systems group. As my research has shifted from problem definition and analysis to synthesis of evidence and designing and trialling interventions, my focus is more on implementation science and understanding what works, where and why. Sustainability and scalability are considerable challenges in the healthcare environment where there is a tendency to implement small-scale programmes often without regard to the evidence-base for, or acceptability of these programmes in the local context or their impact on the broader healthcare environment. In addition there is the problem of perpetuating practices and even services that are clearly not working. Such problems can only be addressed through research that engages policy makers, industry and implementing agencies in a collaborative effort. As a researcher my concerns are not so much about getting research into policy and practice, but more about embedding research in this context by doing research in policy and practice.

Accepting PhD applicants in 2023