MU Psychology represented at Psychology, Health and Medicine conference 2025

MU Psychology represented at Psychology, Health and Medicine conference 2025

Wednesday, June 4, 2025 – 13:30

The Department of Psychology represented at the 21st Psychology, Health and Medicine Conference 

The 21st Annual Psychology, Health and Medicine Conference was celebrated last Tuesday 27 May 2025 in Queen’s University Belfast at Riddel Hall. This year the conference was hosted by the Northern Irish Branch of the Division of Health Psychology of the British Psychological Society (DHP NI), in association with the Division of Health Psychology of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI DHP). The theme of this year’s conference was Health Psychology: Bridging the Gap to Wellbeing.  

The Department of Psychology from Maynooth University was represented at the conference this year by four PhD candidates: Joan Alaboson, Jennifer Deane-King, Shannon Richardson and Yanet Morejon Hernandez. Their contributions to the conference are detailed below.   

Joan Alaboson, co-supervised by Dr Rebecca Maguire and Dr Laura Coffey, presented a lightning talk on “Peer Support Need and Associates of Wellbeing in People with Multiple Sclerosis,” and a poster “Embedding Public and Patient Involvement in PhD Research: Case Study of a Project Exploring Psychological Wellbeing in People Affected by Multiple Sclerosis.” In the talk, Joan shared findings from a mixed-methods survey among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their informal caregivers. The key takeaway was “Peer support is needed, particularly following diagnosis and with experiences of higher disability, which have implications for targeted services.” The poster detailed how public patient involvement (PPI) panel was conceived, designed, and implemented through her research and its considerations in multiple research outputs. Two separate PPI panels consisting of seven people with MS and three MS caregivers, as well as MS Ireland staff, co-designed all stages of this PhD project. PPI ensures that 1) people with experiential knowledge are central in research, 2) research efforts prioritise relevance, and that 3) its outputs meaningfully contribute to personal outcomes, scientific knowledge and service improvement. 

Jennifer Deane-King, supervised by Dr Rebecca Maguire, presented a lighting talk on “Awareness of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) among people living in Ireland.” This research is directed by her previous qualitative study, where individuals with COPD and their caregivers indicated the lack of awareness, knowledge and understanding on the disease by themselves, their families and the general public. It is a mixed method study. It is hoped to incorporate the findings into a broader understanding of awareness of COPD in the hope to improve access to more information particularly about prevention and also clear information about the disease, especially at the time of diagnosis. She said “I was delighted with the opportunity to present my research and meet other researchers in the health psychology field. I would encourage other researchers to attend conferences as it gives you confidence about your research.”  

Shannon Richardson, supervised by Dr Unai Diaz-Orueta and Prof. Andrew Coogan presented a poster; “Examining Cross-Sectional Associations of Sleep and Eating Behaviour Factors in Migraine”. This research is informed by previous research highlighting the role of homeostatic based behaviours such as sleep and eating in migraine pathophysiology.  Findings from this research suggested a significant role of sleep duration, self-regulation of eating and eating behaviours such as hunger and food fussiness in individuals with migraine compared to healthy controls. This research highlights the need to include a comprehensive psychological and behavioural approaches to migraine alongside current pharmacological interventions. She said “It was an excellent opportunity to present my research at PHM, 2025. The research being conducted in Ireland and The United Kingdom on health psychology is inspiring. The takeaway message of the importance interdisciplinary collaboration between disciplines including patient and public involvement is extremely important for our research to have the greatest impact was meaningfully conveyed.” 

Yanet Morejon Hernandez, supervised by Prof. Deirdre Desmond, presented a poster; “Interplay of identity, ageing, disability and Assistive Technology (AT) use through lived experiences: a case study using Giorgi’s Phenomenological Psychological Method.” The case study is part of a longitudinal study with a group of 10 participants (60+). This research emphasises the need for ongoing multidimensional AT support addressing barriers to AT use, while also supporting older people’s identity adjustments during AT incorporation.   

The PHM conference annually reunites researchers working in the areas of psychology, health and medicine in Ireland and Northern Ireland. For us, as early career researchers, it was an opportunity for sharing our research contribution to the field and evidence its development and impact in policy and practice. We strongly recommend researchers to attend future editions.  
 

From left to right: Shannon Richardson, Jennifer Deane-King, Yanet Morejon Hernandez and Joan Alaboson at PHM 2025, Queen’s University, Belfast.