Post Graduate Research Support Officer from the Department of Nursing and Health Care, Ms Tracey Dermody recently presented two poster presentations at the Better Together for Digital Health, National Digital Health Conference on 1 December 2023 at the Convention Centre Dublin.
The Better Together for Digital Health Conference theme focused on shaping the digital future for a better health service, and reliable data for decision-making and care at home.
Tracey is currently employed in the SETU Dept. of Nursing and Health Care as Post Graduate Research Support but was previously employed in the south east as an advanced nurse practitioner in tissue viability and wound management. Tracey has a special interest in wound management, chronic disease management, primary care, and digital health.
The topics of the poster presentations were ‘Digitising Wound Assessment, Management, and Documentation within an Irish Public Health Nursing Service – a Proof of Concept Evaluation’, and ‘Advanced Nurse Practitioners Actualising, Adopting, Integrating and Championing Digital Transformation a Case Study’.
Digital health project
The poster presentations focused on an innovative digital health project that she co-led which encompassed primary care, wound management, digital health, and advanced nursing practice. The poster presentations were co-authored by Ms Louise Skerritt, who is currently undertaking her PhD within the department. This project was supported by the Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Units in the south east and Dublin south Kildare and Wicklow, the Office of Nursing and Midwifery Services Director, the HSE Office of the Chief Clinical Information Officer, and the HSE eHealth team.
The posters demonstrate the process and key skills required when adopting digital health technologies into clinical practice. Both the clinical leads shared their “lived experience” and identified the pivotal role advanced nurse practitioners have and the skills required for nursing and midwifery staff to be at the forefront of digital transformation in health care. The authors are in the process of sharing their experiences with undergraduate and post-graduate nursing and healthcare students.
The authors were awarded second place in the conference poster competition for their poster titled: Digitising Wound Assessment, Management and Documentation within an Irish Public Health Nursing Service – a Proof of Concept Evaluation.