Project Area: Population health research
Project Summary
This PhD project will develop and evaluate “Pain Cafés”—a new, community‑based model of support for older adults living with chronic pain. Pain Cafés are informal sessions held in local community spaces, offering education, peer support, and opportunities for social connection. The project will use co‑design methods to work with older adults, healthcare professionals, and community organisations to shape the Pain Café model. It will then pilot the cafés in community settings to assess feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes. The final phase will develop an implementation framework to support national scale‑up. This project is ideal for a Scholar interested in ageing, chronic pain, community health, co‑design, and implementation science.
Skills Required
(If applying for this project you will be asked to outline how you meet the skills required below)
Essential Skills
- Undergraduate or master’s degree in a health‑related discipline (e.g., physiotherapy, psychology, public health, occupational therapy, nursing, social science).
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Interest in ageing, chronic pain, and community health.
- Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.
- Strong organisational skills and ability to manage multiple project components.
Desirable Skills
- Experience with qualitative research (e.g., interviews, focus groups).
- Experience working with older adults or community organisations.
- Knowledge of co‑design or participatory research methods.
- Experience with data analysis software (e.g., NVivo, SPSS, R).
- Interest in implementation science or health service innovation.
Supervisory team:
Prof Karen McCreesh, PI/Primary Supervisor
Professor in Physiotherapy at the School of Allied Health at the University of Limerick
Prof Kieran O’Sullivan, Professor in Physiotherapy in the School of Allied Health at the University of Limerick.
Dr Nóirín Lennox, Associate Professor A in Medical Education, School of Medicine, University of Limerick
Dr Laura Keyes, Director of the multidisciplinary Centre for Implementation Research at the University of Limerick
Prof Brian McGuire, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Centre for Pain Research, University of Galway
This project will be based in the University of Limerick
