Evidence Synthesis Ireland Fellowship Scheme
The overall objective of the Fellowship is to give the Fellow the opportunity to learn about evidence synthesis in general, as well as to develop the practical skills of how to plan, design, conduct and report an evidence synthesis.
The ESI Fellowship scheme involves placing Fellows (in a virtual environment1) with experienced evidence synthesis centres and review teams in Ireland and internationally. Fellows will receive structured theoretical training from ESI and join an existing or new review team being led by experienced reviewers within the respective centre/group to gain hands-on evidence synthesis experience in a high-quality environment. Fellows will also receive one-to-one mentorship from a designated mentor from the review centre/group. This will afford the Fellow the opportunity of networking with a range of stakeholders in evidence synthesis and will provide direct experience for ESI Fellows in the conduct of evidence synthesis projects that ultimately inform decision making for clinical practice, health services and heath policy.
Award details
Up to 16 Evidence Synthesis Ireland Fellowships are available per year. Award duration is until review completion or for up to 24 months maximum2. There is a bursary for receipted travel and/or dissemination expenses up to a value of €1,000 available to each Fellow (for example to support travelling to the host centre or seminar/conference attendance). Fellows will be eligible to attend all ESI training workshops for free during their Fellowship.
Benefits for Fellows
It is expected that ESI Fellows will gain the following benefits from their participation in the Fellowship scheme:
- The opportunity to develop a variety of evidence synthesis methodology skills
- Evidence synthesis experience without the need to manage or lead a review team
- Free attendance at ESI evidence synthesis training workshops
- Co-authorship on high quality review reports/publications3
- €1000 bursary to support travel and/or dissemination expenses
- Mentorship in evidence synthesis from high quality review teams
- Networking and collaboration opportunities with national and international experts
Who should apply
Fellows may be in full or part time employment, be clinicians or clinician-academic trainees, researchers and/or postgraduate students resident in the island of Ireland and working in health and/or social care areas. As this is a training Fellowship, there are no restrictions on career stage and applications from those with no prior experience and/or structured training in conducting evidence synthesis are encouraged. It is highly recommended that applicants emphasise the new skills/knowledge they will accrue from this Fellowship.
September 2019 Reviews (CLOSED – next call in early 2020)
Review 1: Strategies for enhancing the implementation of school‐based policies or practices targeting risk factors for chronic disease
Centre: Cochrane Public Health
Mentor: Associate Professor Luke Wolfenden
Review details available here
Review 2: Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: a Scoping Review
Centre: Unity Health Toronto
Mentor: Associate Professor Andrea Tricco
Review details available here
Review 3: In acute hospital in-patients, does the use of all single room accommodation compared with use of mixed single rooms and/or multi-bed rooms result in reduced incidence of healthcare-associated infection?
Centre: HIQA
Mentor: Michelle O’Neill
Review details available here
Review 4: Physiological track-and-trigger/early warning systems for use in maternity care
Centre: Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group
Mentor: Professor Valerie Smith
Review details available here
Review 5: Exploring the Existence of Gender Inequity with an Intersectionality Lens in Academic Health Care, Health Sciences and Health Policy and Interventions to Optimise Gender Equity
Centre: Unity Health Toronto/Joanna Briggs Institute
Mentor: Associate Professor Andrea Tricco
Review details available here
