Our national electronic Database of Statutory Notifications is the central part of a new collaborative research project between HIQA, the HSE and South East Technological University (SETU).
The Database of Statutory Notifications from Social Care is a national data collection of the statutory notifications received by HIQA. The database brings together notifications received from residential centres for older persons and people with disabilities, since the introduction an electronic system for receipt of notifications in 2013. It has been published open-access and is available for researchers to interrogate and use to inform evidence-based policy making and practice, and to stimulate innovation in the provision of quality and safe care in residential care services.
The new research project, which was launched in September, will explore the topic of the use of restrictive practice in residential care, using data from the database.
Restrictive practices are interventions that restrict a person’s voluntary movement or behaviour. These interventions may be physical or environmental in nature or could look to limit a person’s choices or preferences. Although sometimes considered necessary, restrictive practices are increasingly seen as infringements to human rights principles. In HIQA, we are ambitious to move residential care in Ireland to a restraint-free environment in line with national policy; however, we acknowledge that there is currently a mismatch between policy and practice. This research collaboration aims to deepen the understanding of what is happening in practice so as to improve knowledge and support practitioners in reducing the use of restrictive practices.
Speaking about the launch of this project, Dr Laura Keyes, Regulatory Practice Development and Research Manager with HIQA, said: “The project provides a unique collaborative opportunity to examine practice and to explore learning opportunities in order to enhance the lives of people who are living in communities, hospitals and care facilities.
We look forward to the coming years of collaboration and the results of the research that will improve the provision of quality and safe care for people in residential services.”
The research project is funded by the CARE Collaboration, a scholarship programme that was founded in 2008 and is a collaboration between the HSE’s Nursing and Midwifery Planning Development Unit (NMPDU), the South East Office and the Department of Nursing and Health Care at SETU. The CARE Collaboration provides funding for postgraduate nurses and midwives to further their education in the attainment of a Masters of Science (MSc) degree in Nursing by research. Four MSc students and one PhD student from the Department of Nursing and Health Care will work on this project.
(Pictured above: Dr Laura Keyes, HIQA, attending the launch of a new joint research project at South East Technological University recently. (Photo credit, George Goulding SETU 2023)