A Rapid Evidence Support System Assessment (RESSA) of health policymaking in Ireland – A Protocol
This protocol outlines the methods for assessing Ireland’s evidence support system for health policymaking. By documenting our approach in detail, we aim to enhance transparency and replicability, providing a foundation for easier comparison and contrast with similar assessments conducted by other groups. While this study focuses on health, the methodology and findings may also inform […]
PRO EDI becomes a Trials requirement from 1 January 2026
Great news for fairer evidence. From 1 January 2026, trials will require a short PRO EDI table in all protocols and results papers. This table will help authors report who is in their studies across six core participant characteristics and make findings easier to interpret. Developed by Trial Forge in collaboration with Evidence Synthesis Ireland (who also […]
Quality Appraisal Tools Used in QES in Maternity Care Research: A Scoping Review
Congratulations to Aoife Smith, an ESI Summer Student (2024 cohort), on the recent co-publication of ‘Quality Appraisal Tools Used in Qualitative Evidence Syntheses in Maternity Care Research: A Scoping Review.’ Aoife completed her ESI Summer Student Scholarship in 2024 under mentor Prof. Valerie Smith, based at UCD. Read the full publication here.
ESI Training & Webinar Schedule – Now Live
We are delighted to announce the ESI Training & Webinar Schedule for September 2025 to February 2026! Check out the upcoming events: Introduction to Systematic Reviews, Advanced Meta-Analysis for Effectiveness Systematic Reviews, Mixed-Methods Evidence Synthesis, Search Strategies, Systematic Review Search Methods and Core GRADE. More info here.
The effectiveness of care bundles for reducing caesarean section safely
ESI fellow Kate O’Doherty, mentored by Prof Valerie Smith (UCD), recently published a systematic review and meta-analysis titled ‘The effectiveness of care bundles for reducing caesarean section safely‘. This research examines how care bundles can safely lower the number of caesarean sections. The review provides valuable insights for healthcare professionals looking to improve maternal health […]
Meet the Fellows: Dr Elayne Ahern
Dr Elayne Ahern shared her positive experience with the ESI Fellowship. She discussed the valuable skills she gained in Cochrane methodology, meta-analysis and qualitative evidence synthesis through the review process and ESI workshops. As an Associate Professor at UL, she used her fellowship experience to secure an ESI SWAR award in 2024, collaborating on the […]
New Publication: HIET-1 trial Protocol
The HIET-1 trial protocol has been published in The Journal of Clinical Epidemiology: Comparison of AI-assisted and human-generated plain language summaries for Cochrane reviews: protocol for a randomised trial (HIET-1) Led by ESI team members Prof. Declan Devane, KM Saif-Ur-Rahman, Dr. Nikita Burke PhD and Dr. Tom Conway, this protocol outlines a study exploring how […]
Dr. Barbara Whelan to present at HRB National Conference 2025
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Barbara Whelan, Acting Programme Manager and Research Fellow at Evidence Synthesis Ireland and Cochrane Ireland, will present at the HRB National Conference 2025. Barbara will present during Session 2: Evidence-informed policy making – What works and where are the gaps?, sharing findings from the R/ESSA project and on […]
ESI Summer Scholarships 2025
Congratulations to Isabel O’Byrne, Alice McKeon, Laura Kosner, Maria Manneh and Aoife McMullen who received ESI Summer Scholarships. The ESI Summer Scholarships offer undergraduates a chance to learn important skills in evidence synthesis. Students work on projects that involve design, conducting, reporting, or translating knowledge. These projects can also include questions about methodology. It’s a great […]
New Publication: Integrating “real-world evidence” with randomized trials
Beyond the binary: integrating “real-world evidence” with randomized trials in contemporary health care Evidence Synthesis Ireland Director Prof Declan Devane, with Prof Martin O’Donnell (University of Galway), Birol Emir (Pfizer) and Stephen Watt (Pfizer) published a recent article in the Journal for Clinical Epidemiology. This paper outlines a new framework to promote the integration of […]