Biography
Assistant Professor in Mental Health Nursing Peter Kelly obtained his PhD from University College Cork. Prior to this, he completed his MSc in Clinical and Public Health Aspects of Addiction at Kings College London. His undergraduate nursing qualifications were obtained at the University of West London and Waterford Institute of Technology. In addition to this, he holds a Diploma in Drug Counselling Theory and Intervention Skills from University College Dublin.
His research interests include substance misuse, workforce development, implementation science and mental health. His PhD study explored the relationship between organisational readiness to change and; (i) innovation adoption (ii) service user engagement, in community opiate substitute prescribing services in Ireland. He is widely published in the field of addiction and mental health.
Principal teaching scholarship interests include curriculum development for professional practice and inter-professional teaching and learning. He has led the re-design and accreditation of post graduate nursing programmes and is currently the course coordinator for the mental health nursing post graduate programme at the school. He has successfully supervised and examined a number of MSc students. He has held an external examiner role in the UK and currently holds one in Ireland.
Since qualifying as a mental health nurse in 2001, Peter spent the majority of his clinical career working in substance misuse treatment services where he has held posts in both Ireland and the UK as a staff nurse, clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner and senior manager.
In 2009, as a Royal College of Nursing Steward in the UK, Peter established a national network for addiction nurses and he chaired quarterly meetings between this group and the Department of Health professional Leadership Team (UK) for two years. Peter was a founding member and the first president of The Ireland Chapter of The International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA) which was founded in 2016 as the first chapter outside of the US. In his role as chapter president he contributed to the Irish National Drugs Strategy (2017) as a member of the continuum of care focus group. Peter sat as a ministerial invite to The National Oversight Committee for The National Drugs Strategy at The Department of Health as a clinical expert in nursing and substance misuse from 2022-2025. In 2023, Peter was invited to present to the Citizens Assembly on Drugs and recommendations related to his presentation were subsequently voted in to the final report. He was called as a witness before the Parliamentary Committee on Drugs in October 2024.
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Kelly P, Saab M, Hurley EF, Heffernan S, Goodwin J, Mulud ZA, O Malley M,O Mahony J,Curtin M, Groen G, Ivanova S, Jorns-Presentati A, Korhonen J, Kostadinov K, Lalova V,Lahti M, Petrova G, O Donovan A, Trauma informed interventions to reduce seclusion, restraint and restrictive practices amongst staff caring for children and adolescents with challenging behaviours: A Systematic Review, Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 2023
Banka-Cullen, S.P., Comiskey, C., Kelly, P., Zeni, M.B., Gutierrez, A., & Menon, U., Nurse prescribing practices across the globe for Medication-Assisted Treatment of the Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD): A Scoping Review, Harm Reduction Journal, 20, (1), 2023, p1 - 10
Healy R., Goodwin J., Kelly, P.,, `As for dignity and respect.....me bollix': A human rights-based exploration of service user narratives in Irish methadone maintenance treatment, International Journal of Drug Policy, 110, 2022
Goodwin J., Kilty C., Kelly P., O Donovan A., White S., O Malley M.,, Undergraduate student nurses' views of online learning, Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 2022
Goodwin J., White S, O'Malley M, Hurley E, O Donovan A., Kelly P., 'It's good to have the knowledge and the confidence': Mental health student nurses' views of a medication workshop, International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 2022
Kelly P, Hegarty J., Dyer KR., O Donovan A, An exploration of organizational characteristics and training adoption in Irish community drug treatment services, Journal of Addiction Nursing, 2022
Kelly P., Hegarty J., Dyer KR., O Donovan A, 'They don't actually join the dots': An exploration of organizational change in Irish opiate community treatment services, Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2021
Clancy C., Kelly P., Loth C.,, Walls Are Not the Answer! Addiction Nurses Show the Way in Cross-National Collaboration, Journal of Addiction Nursing, 2019
Clancy C., Kelly P., Loth C.,, State of the Art in European Addictions Nursing Perspectives From the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands, Journal of Addiction Nursing, 2019
Kelly P, Hegarty J., Dyer KR., O Donovan A, The relationship between staff perceptions of organizational readiness to change and client outcomes in substance misuse treatment programmes: A systematic review, Journal of Substance Misuse, 2018
Foley M., Kelly P., Deluca, P., Kimergard, A.,, Advertising of Over-the-Counter Codeine-Containing Medicines in the EU: Differences in the Regulation of Advertising Between Member States, Pharmaceutical Medicine , 2018
Kelly P, Hegarty J, Barry J, Dyer KR, Horgan A., A systematic review of the relationship between staff perceptions of organizational readiness to change and the process of innovation adoption in substance misuse treatment programs., Journal of substance abuse treatment, 80, 2017, p6-25
Goodwin J., Behan L., Kelly P., Mc Carthy K., Horgan A.,, Help-seeking behaviors and mental well-being of first year undergraduate university students, Psychiatry Research, 2016
John Goodwin and Sheila White and Maria O'Malley and Emma Hurley and Aine O'Donovan and Peter Kelly, `It's good to have the knowledge and the confidence": Mental health student nurses' views of a medication workshop, International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 2022
Kelly Peter and J. Hegarty and R. Dyer Kyle and A. O Donovan, `They don't actually join the dots": An exploration of organizational change in Irish opiate community treatment services, Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2021, p108557
Aine Horgan, Peter Kelly, John Goodwin, Laura Behan, Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation among Irish Undergraduate College Students, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 39, (7), 2018, p575--584
Peter Kelly, Josephine Hegarty, Kyle Dyer, Aine O Donovan, Organizational attributes and client engagement in community opiate substitute prescribing services, Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 2022, p1--14
Sadie Lavelle Cafferkey, Peter Kelly, Catherine Comiskey, `Selling their souls? Nurses' understanding of addiction and recovery in acute hospital settings, British Journal of Nursing, 2024, phttps://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.
Kelly, P, Nurse prescribing practices across the globe for medication-assisted treatment of the opioid use disorder, Harm Reduction Journal, Trinity Helath and Education International Reesearch Conference 2024, School of Nursing and Midwifery, TCD, 6th March 2024, 20, (1), Harm Reduction Journal, 2023
Kelly P, Hegarty J, Dyer KR, Donovan AO, An Exploration of Organizational Characteristics and Training Adoption in Irish Community Drug Treatment Services., Journal of addictions nursing, 2022
Kelly P., Searby A., Goodwin J., An exploration of organizational climate in community-based opiate prescribing services; a mixed methods study, Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 162, (209362), 2024, p1 - 13
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Comiskey C., Kelly P., Hennessy A., Hyland M., O Neill D.,Prakashani Banka-Cullen S., Lavelle Cafferkey S.,, A Consulation to inform the delivery of new integrated alcohol services., November 2023, 2023
Kelly P., O Neil D., The Development of a Toolkit & Guidelines to Support Peer Engagement, Trinty College Dublin- UISCE, December, 2024
Research Expertise
Projects
- Title
- Developement of a toolkit and guidelines to support peer engagement
- Summary
- Explore the importance of peer engagement in harm reduction and advocating for the active involvement of marginalized community members in decision-making processes. The findings from a report inform the development of toolkit and guidelines which was co-produced by the peer network and the academic researchers in a partnership.
- Funding Agency
- UISCE
- Date From
- July 2024
- Date To
- February 2025
- Title
- An Evaluation of the Education, Prevention, and Intervention Team (EPIT) at the Clondalkin Prevention Lab
- Summary
- Evaluation of a schools based prevention programme for substance misuse
- Funding Agency
- Clondalkin Drugs Task Force
- Date From
- pending
- Date To
- pending
- Title
- Determining the Utility of Sports in Preventing Youth engaging in Drug or Alcohol Use in the North Inner City
- Funding Agency
- North Inner City Drugs Task Force
- Title
- SUMIT (Substance Use & Mental Health Interventions using Digital Technology)
- Summary
- Co-occurring substance use and mental health issues (SUMHI) are a shared public health challenge. Associated stigma and access difficulties prevent people seeking help. Driven by the need to transform healthcare systems, SUMIT will provide an integrated cross-border programme of intervention research, training, and skills development,informing digitally enabled service transformation for people with SUMHI. Digital solutions are globally recognised as enabling transformation but cannot be introduced effectively without engaging and upskilling the workforce and service users
- Funding Agency
- Special EU Progammes Body
Recognition
Representations
Was invited as a witness to the Joint Committee on Drugs at The Oireachtas.
Kelly P An exploration of organisational climate in Irish community treatment prescribing services, e-communication, Lisbon Addictions conference. Lisbon
Presented to The Citizens Assembly on Drugs. Topic: Policy- workforce development
Kelly P. `Organisational Readiness and Innovation Adoption". Health Research Implementation Science Conference; Complexities and Applications. The University of Limerick.
Kelly P. `Harm Minimisation in the Context of Irish Drug Policy and Treatment". Student Addiction Awareness and Harm Reduction Week. UCC. [online].
Kelly, P Organisational Readiness to Change in Irish Community OST Prescribing Services. IntNSA International Education Conference [online].
Kelly P. `Irish Community-Based Opiate Treatment Services- Ready, Willing and Able'. International Nurses Society on Addictions annual educational conference,[online].
Kelly P. `What Drug Policy Looks Like in Ireland and Canada". Support don"t Punish Global Day of Action/ Students for Sensible Drug Policy., UCC. [online].
Kelly P., Moore G., `Rebuilding People with Empty Bottles and Used Syringes; A Contemplation on Irish Addiction Nursing" Nurses Working in Marginalised Health Care Conference. Dublin.
Kelly P, Horgan A, Goodwin J. `Mental Wellbeing and Employee Support at Work"; Bon Secours Hospital, Cork. 6th April, Bon Secours Hospital, Cork. 28th April, Diageo headquarters, Dublin. 30th May, GEA process technologies Ireland, Co Kildare 4th December.
Kelly P, Clancy C, Murphy-Parker D, Flynn M, Loth C. International Council of Nursing Nurse Practitioner / Advanced Practice Nursing Conference Rotterdam. `(i) Treating Complex Cases in Substance Misuse (ii) Inter-Disciplinary Working in Substance Misuse Treatment Services"
Kelly, P Introduction and Overview to the Context of Addiction Nursing in Ireland. Opinion piece presented at The Ireland Chapter of The International Nurses Society on Addictions `Hot Topics in Addiction" conference. Dublin City University.
Memberships
Member of The International Nurses Society on Addictions