HRB Open Research Blog

Covid-19 research updates: ethics, mental health, and social distancing

By Guest Author

29 January 2021

Today, we share the Q&As with three authors who have published in the Coronavirus Collection for readers to gain deeper insight into the undergoing investigations. The three interviewees discuss three valuable projects; one to influence health policies, one to safeguard human participants in clinical trials, and one to provide much needed mental health support to healthcare workers on the frontline.

Celebrating the achievements of our Covid-19 rapid response research

By Guest Author

14 December 2020

As 2020 draws to a close, we thought we would share some of the projects that researchers have been busy working on to help improve people’s health and wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic. So far, we have 19 articles published in the Coronavirus collection, which was set up to highlight research related to coronavirus on our publishing platform, HRB Open Research. Read on for the article highlights, and to hear from the researchers we interviewed to discuss the work they have published as part of this funding call.

‘Why would I review a Study Protocol?’ – how Study Protocols improve the reproducibility and transparency of research

By Jack Nash

07 December 2020

As Editorial Assistants, our peer reviewers will often say to us “I won’t review the Study Protocol, but I will review the results”, which made us wonder why Study Protocols are disregarded by some? In this blog post, Charlie Vickers, Senior Editorial Assistant, explains why Study Protocols are important – not only for science in general, but as part of the HRB Open Research model too.

Improving patients’ well-being by increasing the choice of available therapy interventions to help with mental health

By Guest Author

10 November 2020

Mental health is a growing public health concern in Ireland, where 18.5% of the Irish population reported having a mental health illness, such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is the most common treatment to help people struggling with mental health and mood disorders. However, CBT is not always the preferred […]

Making space for Public and Patient Involvement in Research

By Guest Author

15 October 2020

The Health Research Board (HRB) has been at the forefront of public and patient involvement (PPI) in health research in Ireland. We are delighted to announce the launch of the PPI Collection on HRB Open Research Platform. In this blog, we hear from the collection advisors, Éidín Ní Shé, School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, and Avril Keenan, Health Research Charities Ireland, who tell us why this collection is so important and how they anticipate that these papers will be a source of guidance and inspiration to many others.

Using evidence and stakeholder engagement to optimise and standardise care for women and men who experience recurrent miscarriage

By Guest Author

12 October 2020

The loss of a baby at any stage of pregnancy can have a devastating impact on a woman, her partner, and their family. If this loss occurs several times, the experience can often be intensified and prolonged. In this blog, Marita Hennessy, Rebecca Dennehy & Rachel Rice discuss the work and research that is being carried out to evaluate services for those who experience recurrent miscarriage in the Republic of Ireland.

Trust is built on openness and transparency

By Jack Nash

24 September 2020

In our second blog post for Peer Review Week, the Peer Review Team talk about how we build trust between our authors, reviewers and the wider research community, discussing our author-led process, which means no editorial bias, and going through the revision and response process here at HRB Open Research.

Peer Review: A matter of trust

By Jack Nash

22 September 2020

As this week (21st-25th September) marks Peer Review Week, the Peer Review Team delve into the meaning of this year’s theme of ‘Trust in Peer Review’ and explore how our transparent peer review process is ideally suited to building trust.