Molly hoping to change attitudes to our health

The health of the general population could be a lot better if people changed their habits of behaviour, and a new international study is aiming to do just that.

Led by Dr Molly Byrne, a lecturer and health psychologist at NUI Galway, the group will focus on  the design and evaluation of behavioural interventions to improve health outcomes relating to people with diabetes and heart disease.

Molly’s team will develop expertise, capacity and practice in behaviour changes in order to positively influence people’s health-related behaviours.

Just recently, Molly was one of three Galway researchers among six chosen by the Health Research Board, a state agency, to lead new initiatives, totalling an investment of €9 million.

That half of those chosen should come from NUIG speaks volumes for the college. Molly’s initiative will secure €1.5 million to deliver relevant and timely evidence that can be used in health care decision making.

Molly is already engaging with health care professionals and agencies to ensure that the research reaches its target. There is no question of the research gathering dust on some lofty shelves for years to come.

This type of research is relatively new in Ireland and Molly is excited that her team’s work will be used by policy makers and of course she is hoping that it will make a difference.

“It’s an investment in the future of our health. It’s a way of changing people’s habits and behaviour to ensure they lead healthier lifestyles. It’s about influencing behaviour and informing people.

“An increasing number of the healthcare problems we face are linked to our behaviour. There is powerful evidence that changing people’s health-related behaviour for example, smoking, poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, failure to screen for illness and risky sexual practice, can impact positively on leading causes of mortality and morbidity, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.”

Molly is currently putting the team together and has just advertised the post graduate position. She will also have positions for two team members with a Masters and a PhD respectively.

She stresses that the funding is to cover the first five years and that there’s an onus on her to source further funding to continue the research.

“Basically, this type of funding frees me up from lecturing, gives me the opportunity to focus on the research. It will also create jobs and in the current climate, these jobs are like gold dust. And of course, I will continue to engage with Masters students of health psychology.”

She had started working with Dr Seán Dinneen, a consultant endocrinologist in University Hospital Galway, who works with diabetes patients, so it made sense that this would form part of her research work.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.