Biography
Brenda Monaghan qualified from UUJ with first class honours in 1995 receiving both the Northern Bank and CSP awards for clinical and academic excellence. She completed a higher diploma in Health Sciences in UEA in 2003 and an MSc in Advanced Practice of Physiotherapy in UUJ in 2005. Brenda has strong interest in clinical research and believes clinical change must be evidenced based. She has been employed as a Clinical Specialist physiotherapist in the HSE for 15 years and has developed an innovative role as a clinical physiotherapist blending research and clinical innovation. All research projects have been clinically based and focused on multi-disciplinary clinical teams. Many have focused on audit and clinical effectiveness.
In 2016 she completed a PhD in UCD. This followed successful achievement of a clinical fellowship from the HRB which enabled her to carry out an RCT evaluating functional exercise after total hip replacement. This project was delivered on time and within budget and it has resulted in peer reviewed published articles and a change in clinical practice. She is currently leading a Slainte Care funded research project investigating the addition of weight management to an education and exercise programme for patients with knee osteoarthritis ARMED (Arthritis Rehabilitation through the management of exercise and diet).
In 2018/2019 she completed a 12-month leadership programme designed by the IMI and KPMG to develop senior leaders in the health service. In 2020 she commenced work here in TCD as an assistant professor in the school of physiotherapy. She believes her clinical experience together with her research, education and leadership skills will allow her to continue her clinically focussed research work together with a new teaching role here in Trinity College Dublin.
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Monaghan Brenda, Monaghan Ann, Mockler David, Ain Qurat Ul, Duggan Sinead, Conlon Kevin C, Gormley John, Physical activity for chronic pancreatitis: A systematic review, HPB, 2022
Monaghan B, Reidy R, O' Connor K, Kacprzak P, Kelly MB, O' Flynn J, A feasibility study of a virtual weight management, education, and physical function programme for overweight patients with knee osteoarthritis at the primary/secondary care interface, International Conference of Integrated Care, Odeon, Odense, Denmark , 23/May/2022, 2022
Monaghan, B., Bourton Cassidy, L., Glynn, A., Hurley, M., Kacprzak, P., Kelly, M., . . . Cusack, T., ARMED to ESCAPE COVID-19: the impact of COVID-19 on a mixed methods feasibility study of a weight management, education and physical function programme for patients with knee osteoarthritis at the primary/secondary care interface, Primary Health Care Research & Development,, 2021
Monaghan B, Bourtan-Cassidy L, Glynn A, Hurley M, Kacprzak P, Kelly MB, O' Connor K, O'Flynn J, Mc Kenna F, Reidy R, Rodgers SJ, Cusack T , ARMED TO ESCAPE COVID-19: An evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 on a feasibility study to evaluate the effect of a self-management weight, education and exercise programme on pain, weight, and physical function in patients with knee arthritis at the Primary/Secondary interface. , ICIC Virtual Conference 2021, Virtual International Conference, 26/05/2021, 2021
Ward, M.E.; De Brún, A.; Beirne, D.; Conway, C.; Cunningham, U.; English, A.; Fitzsimons, J.; Furlong, E.; Kane, Y.; Kelly, A.; McDonnell, S.; McGinley, S.; Monaghan, B.; Myler, A.; Nolan, E.; O'Donovan, R.; O'Shea, M.; Shuhaiber, A.; McAuliffe, E, Using Co-Design to Develop a Collective Leadership Intervention for Healthcare Teams to Improve Safety Culture, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 1182., 2018
Monaghan BM, Functional Exercise after total hip replacement: The FEATHER project, International Journal of Integrated Care., Dublin, 17, (5), 2017, ppA106
Brenda Monaghan Monaghan B, Cunningham P, Harrington P, Hing W, Blake C, O Doherty D, Cusack T , Functional Exercise after total hip replacement- The Feather project. , 17TH International Conference on Integrated Care 2017, University College Dublin, 2017, 2017
Brenda Monaghan, An investigative retrospective audit reviewing functional outcomes of antero-lateral and posterior surgical approaches in patients post THR (Project IARLA) , ISCP , Galway, 20/10/2017, 2017
Brenda Monaghan Cunningham P, Harrington P, Hing W, Blake C, O Doherty D, Cusack T. , Randomised control trial to evaluate a physiotherapy-led functional exercise programme after total hip replacement., Journal of Physiotherapy, 6/j.physio 2016.01.0, (February 2016Physiot), 2016, p283 - 288
Monaghan B, Cunningham P, Harrington P, Hing W, Blake C, O Doherty D, Cusack T. , Randomised control trial to evaluate a physiotherapy-led functional exercise programme after total hip replacement., WCPT 2016 Conference Presentation Singapore, Singapore, 2016, 2016
Monaghan B, Cunningham P, Harrington P, Hing W, Blake, C, O Doherty D, Smith B, Brennan L, Griffin E, Given J, Rowe C, Cusack T., The effect of a functional exercise programme following total hip replacement on the relaxed posterior gluteus medius thickness as measured by real-time ultrasound: a pilot randomised controlled trial. , Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 37, 2015, p19 - 29
Monaghan B, Cusack T., Effectiveness of delayed rehabilitation programmes in patients following total hip replacement, a systematic review. , Physical Therapy Reviews, 2014, p94 - 104
Primary Health Care Research & Development,, (2012)
Brenda Monaghan, The effect of femoral nerve blocks on early outcomes following total knee replacement, WCPT 2011, Amsterdam, May 2011, 2011
Brenda Monaghan B, Caulfield B, O'Mathúna DP., Surface neuromuscular electrical stimulation for quadriceps strengthening pre and post total knee replacement. , Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 201, 2010
Monaghan, B., Caulfield, B. and O'Mathúna, DP., Surface neuromuscular electrical stimulation for quadriceps strengthening pre and post total knee replacement, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (2), 2008, p1465 - 1858
Brenda Monaghan, The effect of age on the short term outcomes post total knee replacement, WCPT 2007, Vancouver, June 2007, 2007
Monaghan, B., Harrington, P. and Niazi A , A prospective audit to evaluate the effect of femoral nerve blocks on the short term outcomes of rehabilitation following total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis. , Physiotherapy Ireland, 28, (2), 2007, p43 - 44
Monaghan B, Baxter D, Post total knee arthroplasty: age as a factor in early post-surgical outcome,, Physical Therapy Reviews, 10, (3), 2005, p141 - 151
Research Expertise
Description
I believe clinical change must be evidenced based and I have developed an innovative role in my clinical specialty, blending research and clinical innovation. I am interested in clinical orthopaedics specifically in projects that enable patients to self manage their chronic conditions with a particular interest in the role of weight management and physical exercise. I am also interested in collective leadership and I have some previous experience in co-design. All of my research projects to date have been clinically based,and have involved multi-disciplinary clinical teams. Many have focused on audit and clinical effectiveness.Projects
- Title
- FEATHER A randomised controlled trial to evaluate functional exercise after total hip replacement
- Summary
- Background to this project. It was evident there was an insufficient evidence base to evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapy following total hip replacement(THR). This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a physiotherapy-supervised functional exercise programme between 12 and 18 weeks following THR. These time-points coincide with increased functional demand in patients. This was an adequately powered assessor-blinded randomised controlled trial. Patients were recruited at a pre-operative assessment clinic and randomised following surgery. Sixty-three subjects were recruited and randomised to either the usual care group (control, n= 31) or the functional exercise + usual care group (n = 32). Interventions: Patients in the functional exercise group attended a physiotherapy-supervised functional exercise class twice weekly from 12to 18 weeks following THR. Patients in the control group followed the usual care protocol with no exercise intervention. The main outcome measurement was the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis Index(WOMAC) questionnaire, and the secondary outcomes included walking speed, hip abduction dynamometry, Short Form 12 physical and mental health scores, and visual analogue pain scale score. At 18 weeks post surgery, WOMAC function and walking speed improved significantly more in the functional exercise group [mean difference −4.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) −7.0 to 1.0 (P < 0.01); mean difference 21.9 m, 95% CI 0.60 to 43.3 (P < 0.04)] than the control group, but there was no significant difference in hip abductor strength. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that patients who undertake a physiotherapy-led functional exercise programme between 12 and 18weeks after THR may gain significant functional improvement compared with patients receiving usual care.
- Funding Agency
- Health Research Board
- Date From
- 2012
- Date To
- 2015
- Title
- ARMED
- Summary
- Arthritis rehabilitation through the management of exercise and diet (ARMED). This is a feasibility study to evaluate the addition of a weight management programme to the ESCAPE pain exercise, education and self management programme to improve pain and function of patients with knee osteoarthritis at the primary/secondary care interface.
- Funding Agency
- Slainte Care D.O.H
- Date From
- 2020
- Date To
- 2021
Recognition
Awards and Honours
HRB Fellowship
Cochrane Scholar Award
Memberships
ISCP