Biography
Dr Martin McMahon, BNSc, MSc, H.Dip, PGCE, PhD, RNID, RCN, RNT, FHEA Associate Professor & Head of Discipline, Intellectual Disability Nursing
Dr Martin McMahon is Associate Professor and Head of Discipline in Intellectual Disability Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin. He is a registered nurse in the intellectual disability, children's, and nurse tutor divisions, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
Martin has extensive clinical and academic experience, having worked across a range of nursing and specialist roles in Ireland and internationally. His practice background includes paediatric nephrology, care for children with life-limiting conditions, community intellectual disability nursing, and psychiatry of intellectual disability, where he served as an independent and supplementary prescriber. He has also held senior roles in practice education and regulation.
Martin's primary research interest lies in addressing health inequalities and inequities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities. His current work focuses on cancer care inequities in this population, where he leads both national and international research projects. He is Principal Investigator on several large-scale studies, including projects funded by the Health Research Board and the Irish Cancer Society. Martin is also Associate Director of the Trinity Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability (TCAID) and a Work Group Leader on the European COST Action CUPID (CA21123), advancing cancer prevention for people with intellectual disabilities across Europe
In addition, he conducts research on care models that support people with intellectual disabilities to age in place. Martin is also a Co-applicant on the Intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA). IDS-TILDA tracks the ageing trajectories of over 750 adults with intellectual disabilities aged 40 and over in Ireland. It provides comprehensive data on health, social inclusion, service use, and quality of life, and plays an important role in shaping evidence-informed policy and practice in Ireland. Martin contributes to multiple thematic areas within the IDS-TILDA study, including cancer, mental health, and end-of-life care.
Martin supervises a number of PhD students and welcomes supervision enquiries from prospective PhD candidates. He is particularly interested in projects that address health inequalities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities, with a specific focus on cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Doyle C., Cleary M., Eustace Cook J., Fleming S., McMahon M., Sheerin F., Moore K.,, Factors that Lead to Behaviours that Challenge and Prevention and Management of Crisis Situations among children and young adults(CYA) with disability - a scoping review, THEconf, Trinity College 5/6 March 2025, Dublin, 5/6 March 2025, 2025
Doyle, C., Fleming, S., McMahon, M., Cleary, M., Eustace Cook, J., Sheerin, F.,Moore, K., What"s in a Name? Exploring the Shift from `Challenging Behaviour" to `Behaviours That Challenge" or Alternative terms, Shaping the Future of Intellectual Disability Nursing in Ireland Conference: Advancing Intellectual Disability Nursing in Contemporary Practice, Kilashee Hotel, Naas, 28th May 2025, 2025
Shiling, C., McMahon, M., Eustace-Cook, J., Burke, EA., " Sarcopenia in Adults with Intellectual Disability: A Scoping Review Protocol to map and describe the existing research., HRB Open, 2025
Wark, S., Hussain, R., Mccausland, D., McCarron, M., McCallion, P., Burke, É., & McMahon, M, Social Support Across Borders: A Comparative Analysis of Intellectual Disability in Ireland and Australia., International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), Chicago, USA, 5th-8th August 2024, 2024
Wormald, A., Lane, J., McCallion, P., McMahon, M., McCarron, M. & Ryan, K., The underlying cause of death in people with an intellectual disability: The special case of people with Down syndrome, IASSIDD 17th World Congress 2024, Chicago, 5 - 8 August, 2024
Burke, E., McMahon, M., McCarron, M., McCallion, P., Hussain, R., & Wark, S., Wellness matters: bridging the gap in physical health for individuals with intellectual disabilities, IASSIDD 17th World Congress 2024, Chicago, 5 - 8 August, 2024
Wark, S., Hussain, R., McCausland, D., McCarron, M., McCallion, P., Burke, E. & McMahon, M., Social support across borders: a comparative analysis of intellectual disability in Ireland and Australia, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, IASSIDD 17th World Congress 2024, Chicago, 5 - 8 August, 2024
Doyle C., Cleary M., Eustace Cook J., Fleming S., McMahon M., Sheerin F., Moore K., Literature Review on the Factors that Lead to Behaviours that Challenge and Prevention and Management of Crisis Situations among children and young adults(CYA) with disability., TCD/NDA, October, 2024, p1 - 132
McMahon, M., Corrigan, S., Wormald, A., McCallion, P. & McCarron, M., Participation in national cancer screening programmes in Ireland: wave 4 and 5 findings of IDS-TILDA, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, IASSIDD 17th World Congress 2024, Chicago, 5 - 8 August, 2024
McMahon, M., Wormald, A., Walsh, S., Eustace-Cook, J., McCarron, M., McCallion, P., Smith, V., & Lynch, L., Prevalence and Incidence of Cancer Amongst Adults with Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review., International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), Chicago, USA, 5th-8th August, 2024
McMahon, M., McCausland, D., Burke, É., McCarron, M., McCallion, P., Wark, S., & Hussain, R., Balancing Lives: Personal Wellbeing in Focus"A Comparative Study of Intellectual Disability in Ireland and Australia. In M. McCarron (Chair), Aging across continents: Insights from Ireland and Australia"A symposium on the health and wellbeing of adults with intellectual disability., International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), Chicago, US, 5th-8th August 2024, 2024
McMahon, M., Wormald, A., Mahar, A., Eustace-Cook, J., McCarron M., McCallion, P. Smith, V., A systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the prevalence and incidence of cancer in adults with intellectual disability, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, IASSIDD 17th World Congress 2024, Chicago, 5 - 8 August, 2024
McCarron, M., Burke, E., Haigh, M., McCausland, D., McMahon, M., Lynch, L. McCallion, P., Measuring intergenerational change in the lives of people with an intellectual disability aged 40-49 years: Findings from IDS-TILDA, IASSIDD 17th World Congress 2024, Chicago, 5 - 8 August, 2024
Hussain, R., Wark, S., Mulryan, N., McCarron, M., McCallion, P. & McMahon, M., Navigating minds: mental health perspectives in people with intellectual disability-a cross-cultural study, IASSIDD 17th World Congress 2024, Chicago, 5 - 8 August, edited by Journal of Intellectual Disability Research , 2024
McMahon M, Wormald A, Eustace-Cook J, McCarron M, McCallion P and Smith V, Prevalence and incidence of cancer amongst adults with intellectual disability " a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol, HRB Open, 2024
Chapman, H.M., McMahon, M., Kaley, A., Mafuba, K. and O'Donovan, M.-A., Editorial: The case for more action and more research into healthcare provision and health inequalities for people with intellectual disabilities., British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 52, 2024, p437 - 442
McMahon Martin, Doyle Carmel, Burke à ilish, Fleming Sandra, Cleary Michelle, Byrne Kathleen, McGlinchey Eimear, Keenan Paul, McCarron Mary, Horan Paul, Addressing health inequality and inequity for people with intellectual disabilities: a collective responsibility for all nurses , Tizard Learning Disability Review , 2024
Haigh M., McCarron M., McCallion P., Pavithra P., McMahon M., Good quality end-of life care for people with an intellectual disability: A critical interpretive synthesis protocol, PLoS ONE, 19, (11), 2024
McMahon, M., Corrigan, S., Wormald, A., McCallion, P., & McCarron, M., Participation in national cancer screening programmes in Ireland: Wave 4 and 5 findings of IDS-TILDA. In Symposium: Cancer Screening in People with Intellectual Disabilities: Insights from Australia, the UK, Netherlands and Ireland., International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), Chicago, USA., 5-8th August 2024, 2024
McMahon, M., McCallion, P. & McCarron, M., An invisible population: Late-stage cancer diagnosis for people with intellectual or developmental disability, Cancer, 130, (5), 2023, p668 - 670
McMahon, M., Wormald, A., McCallion, P. & McCarron, M., Cancer deaths in older adults with intellectual disability in Ireland, Trinity Health and Education International Research Conference 2023 (THEconf2023): "Back to normal or forward to better? New horizons in healthcare., School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin., 8th - 9th March, 2023
Martin Mc Mahon, Andrew Wormald, Philip McCallion, Mary McCarron, Cancer-related mortality among older people with intellectual disabilities: Results from Waves 1-4 of Intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA), Trinity Health and Education International Research Conference 2023 (THEconf2023), Dublin Ireland, 7-9th March 2023, 2023
Vladimir Vukovic, Martin McMahon, Pinar Soylar, Betul Tosun, Lara Carneiro, Kate Sykes, Peter Knapp, Vladimir Trajkovski, Members of the CUPID Cancer prevention policies working group, European national cancer screening and prevention policies in relation to intellectual disabilities, 24th IPOS World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, Milan, Italy, 31-8-23 - 3-9-23, 2023
Martin McMahon, Subjective Socioeconomic Status and Health in Adults with Intellectual Disability, Nursing and Midwifery - Leading the World to Better Health, Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland, 22nd & 23rd Feb 2023, 2023
David Morrissey, Elizabeth A. O'Donnell, Laura Behan, Martin McMahon, Laura Keyes, Definitions of serious injury in long-term residential care: a systematic review protocol, HRB Open, 2023
Martin McMahon, People with intellectual disability are often diagnosed with cancer when it is already well advanced, The Conversation, 2023
Vukovic, V., Banda, A., Carneiro, L., Dogan, S., Knapp, P., McMahon, M., Milutinovic, D., Soylar, P., Sykes, K., Tosun, B., Yava, A., Trajkovski, V., Wells, J., & Cuypers, M., he importance of cancer prevention policies to inform and guide preventative and screening measures for people with intellectual disabilities: The COST project "Cancer- Understanding Prevention in Intellectual Disabilities", Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 2023
Martin McMahon, The health needs of people with intellectual disability " an overview of key contextual issues and its influence on medical and social models of healthcare provision , Understanding Differences, Learning Disability and Autism Conference , Jersey, Channel Islands, 20/10/2023, 2023, Care College Jersey
Martin J McMahon , Aisling M O'Connor, Paul Dunbar, Anna Delany, Laura Behan, Carol Grogan, Laura M Keyes, Mortality in residential care facilities for people with disability: a descriptive cross-sectional analysis of statutory notifications in Ireland, BMJ Open , 2023
McMahon, M. and Hatton, C. and Hardy, C. and Preston, N.J., The relationship between subjective socioeconomic status and health in adults with and without intellectual disability, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 2022
McMahon, M, Hatton, C, Preston, N, Hardy, C., Subjective socioeconomic status and its association with health in adults with and without intellectual disability, Trinity Health and Education International Research Conference 2022 (THEconf2022), Trinity College Dublin, 8th - 10th March, 2022
Dunbar Paul, McMahon Martin, Durkan Ciara, Walsh Kieran A, Keyes Laura M, Incidence and type of restrictive practice use in nursing homes in Ireland , BMC geriatrics , 22 , (1 ), 2022, p1 - 9
Martin McMahon, Health inequalities in people with intellectual disability, Health inequalities in people with intellectual disability, Lancaster University, 2022
O' Connor, A, McMahon, M, Dunbar, P, Behan, L, O' Connor, L. , Examining unexpected and expected deaths of people with a disability in residential settings in Ireland: a categorical content analysis, Trinity Health and Education International Research Conference 2022 (THEconf2022), Trinity College Dublin , 8th-10th March 2022, 2022
McMahon, Martin, Incidence and type of restrictive practice use in residential disability facilities in Ireland, a cross‐sectional study, Health & Social Care in the Community , 2022
McMahon, M, O' Connor, A, Dunbar, P, Behan, L, O' Connor, L., An examination of the determinants of mortality in residential disability services in Ireland, Trinity Health and Education International Research Conference 2022 (THEconf2022), Trinity College Dublin, 8th-10th March 2022, 2022
McMahon, M. and Hatton, C. and Bowring, D.L. and Hardy, C. and Preston, N.J., The prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in adults with intellectual disability, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 65, (10), 2021, p930-940
McMahon, M. and Hatton, C., A comparison of the prevalence of health problems among adults with and without intellectual disability: A total administrative population study, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34, (1), 2021, p316-325
McMahon M, Dunbar P, O' Connor A, Grogan C, Dunnion M, O' Connor L., Mortality in residential care services for people with disabilities in Ireland , European Journal of Public Health , 31 , (Supplement_3 ), 2021, pckab164 - 650
McMahon, M. and Hatton, C. and Bowring, D.L., Polypharmacy and psychotropic polypharmacy in adults with intellectual disability: a cross-sectional total population study, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 64, (11), 2020, p834-851
McMahon, M. and Hatton, C. and Stansfield, J. and Cockayne, G., An audit of the well-being of staff working in intellectual disability settings in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tizard Learning Disability Review, 25, (4), 2020, p237-246
McMahon Martin, Hatton Chris, Subjective socioeconomic status and self-rated health in adults with and without intellectual disability , Journal of Intellectual Disability Research , 63 , (7 ), 2019, p796 - 797
McMahon Martin, Hatton Chris, Analysis of drug use and drug-drug interactions in a total population sample of adults with intellectual disability , Journal of Intellectual Disability Research , 63 , (7 ), 2019, p802 -
McMahon, M. and Bowring, D.L. and Hatton, C., Not such an ordinary life: a comparison of employment, marital status and housing profiles of adults with and without intellectual disabilities, Tizard Learning Disability Review, 24, (4), 2019, p213-221
McMahon, M. and Hatton, C. and Alberici, S., Professional collaboration in searching the evidence for an ill-defined concept, Health Information and Libraries Journal, 35, (3), 2018, p246-250
Bowring, D.L. and Totsika, V. and Hastings, R.P. and Toogood, S. and McMahon, M., Prevalence of psychotropic medication use and association with challenging behaviour in adults with an intellectual disability. A total population study, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 61, (6), 2017, p604-617
McMahon M, The Attitudes of Nurses Towards Persons with an Intellectual Disability: Validation of a Multidimensional Attitudinal Instrument in a Nursing Sample. , 2017
McMahon Martin, White Geoff, Introducing nurse independent and supplementary prescribing to Jersey , Nurse Prescribing , 14 , (6 ), 2016, p294 - 299
McMahon Martin, Nurses' attitudes towards intellectual disability , RCN International Research Conference, Nottingham, England,, 20 - 22 April 2015, 2015
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Shiling Chen, Martin McMahon, Jessica Eustace-Cook, Eilish Burk, "Sarcopenia in Adults with Intellectual Disability: A Scoping Review Protocol to map and describe the existing research.", HRB Open Research, 2025
Burke, É., McMahon, M., McCarron, M., McCallion, P., Hussain, R., & Wark, S.., Wellness Matters: Bridging the Gap in Physical Health for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities., International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), Chicago, USA, 5th-8th August 2024, 2024
Hussain, R., Wark, S., Mulryan, N., McCarron, M., McCallion, P., & McMahon, M., Navigating Minds: Mental Health Perspectives in People with Intellectual Disability"A Cross-Cultural Study, International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), Chicago, USA, 2024
Martin McMahon, Cancer deaths in people with intellectual disability, Academic Workshop - HSC Doctorates, University of Chester, 26/5/2023, 2023
Research Expertise
Projects
- Title
- Exploring the Unmet Needs of Irish Cancer Patients from Underserved Communities - EuCan
- Summary
- Collaborating with colleagues from the School of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, The Trinity St James"s Cancer Institute, The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), and Queen"s University in Canada the aim of this study is to generate evidence relating to the barriers to and enablers of timely access to cancer care for underserved communities such as people over the age of 65 and those with physical and intellectual disabilities. By 2040 it is projected that 28 million cancer cases will be diagnosed annually worldwide, an increase from 18 million cases in 2020. Cancer is now the leading cause of death in Ireland. Socially excluded and underserved communities face additional access challenges that result in greater inequities across the cancer care continuum. For some specific groups which include people with intellectual and physical disabilities and those over 65, research documenting the barriers and potential enablers to increase timely access is lacking; a greater understanding of these issues is necessary and this study " funded by the Irish Cancer Society - as planned here will help identify new solutions. To address this issue, we will employ a mixed methods approach using nationally representative longitudinal data to explore cancer diagnosis and associations with vulnerability factors that lead to late-stage diagnoses. We will engage with professionals providing cancer services and directly interact with members of these underserved communities to explore issues surrounding cancer diagnosis. People from underserved communities will be at the forefront of this research, and we will explore the barriers and enablers they experience, the worries they have, and other human costs that are not frequently highlighted. This study will identify actionable measures that can be implemented to enhance access to cancer diagnosis for underserved communities.
- Funding Agency
- Irish Cancer Society
- Date From
- March 2024
- Date To
- April 2024
Recognition
Awards and Honours
Trinity Excellence in Teaching School Award Winner 2024
Memberships
COST ACTION: CA21123 - Cancer- Understanding Prevention in Intellectual Disabilities (CUPID)