Dr Mairead Furlong

    Psychology

    Researcher

    John Hume Building
    Second
    SF28
    (01) 708 3977 / 353 87 936 8199
    https://cmhcr.eu/

    About

    Dr Mairead Furlong is a postdoctoral researcher within the ENRICH research programme, a 5-year, HRB-funded evaluation of complex wraparound interventions for vulnerable children and families in Ireland. She holds a BA in Psychology, qualified as a Counselling Psychologist in 2007, and was awarded a PhD in 2013 for a process evaluation of the Incredible Years Parenting Programme within socially disadvantaged areas. Her doctoral fellowship was conducted within the context of the larger Incredible Years Ireland Study, which involved three randomised controlled trial evaluations of the Incredible Years parent, child and teacher training series within community-based services in Ireland. Mairead was awarded funding from the Health Research Board (HRB) from 2008 to 2011 to conduct a Cochrane review that examined the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of parenting programmes for behavioural problems in young children. Since then, she has been involved in conducting several other Cochrane and Campbell systematic reviews in the fields of crime prevention, family mental health, childhood dyscalculia, and independent living for older adults. She is also currently involved, along with Dr Sinead McGilloway, in planning Cochrane reviews in palliative care and school-based mindfulness interventions and a Campbell review in the field of disability. Mairead is an Associate Lecturer with the UK Cochrane Centre, Oxford, and delivers Cochrane training workshops in Ireland and the UK, and is co-founder and Director of PRISM, a research and training hub set up in the Department of Psychology to develop expertise and capacity in conducting systematic reviews in Ireland.​ She was also recently elected as Co-Chair of the Campbell Collaboration Social Welfare Group and as member of the Campbell Steering Group (www.campbellcollaboration.org).

    Research Interests

    • Child development and mental health
    • Early intervention and evidence-based practice
    • Systematic reviews
    • Mixed methods  
    • Active ageing
    • Learning difficulties
    • Counselling and Clinical Psychology
    • Health and psychosocial inequities 

    Publications

    Journals

    • Furlong, M. and McGilloway, S. (2014). The longer term experiences of parent training: A qualitative analysis. Child: Care, Health and Development. doi:10.1111/cch.12195.
    • Furlong, M. and McGilloway, S. (2014) ‘Barriers and facilitators to implementing evidence-based parenting programmes within disadvantaged settings: A qualitative study.’ Journal of Child and Family Studies. doi:10.1007/s10826-014-9984-6
    • Furlong, M., McLoughlin, F., McGilloway, S., Butterworth, B. and Hayes, N. (in press) ‘Interventions to improve mathematical outcomes for children with dyscalculia (Protocol).’ Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
    • McGilloway, S., Ni Mhaille, G., Bywater, T., Leckey, Y., Kelly, P., Furlong, M., Comiskey, C., O'Neill, D. and Donnelly, M. (2014) ‘Reducing child conduct disordered behaviour and improving parent mental health in disadvantaged families: A 12-month follow-up and cost analysis of a parenting intervention.’ European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1007/s00787-013-0499-2.      
    • Cochrane, A., McGilloway, S., Furlong, M., Molloy, D. W., Stevenson, M. and Donnelly, M. (2013) ‘Home-care re-ablement services for maintaining and improving older adults' functional independence (Protocol)’. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, 11.
    • Cochrane, A., McGilloway, S., Furlong, M. and Donelly, M. (2013) Ageing Research and Philanthropy in Ireland: An Overview. Irish Journal of Medical Science, 182 (6), S179-S296: S191.
    • Cochrane, A., McGilloway, S., Furlong, M. and Donnelly, M. (2013) ‘The role and contribution of philanthropy to the lives of older people in Ireland.’ The International Journal of Ageing and Society, 2 (2), 13-23.
    • Furlong, M., McGilloway, S., Bywater, T., Hutchings, J., Smith, S. M. and Donnelly, M. (2012) ‘Behavioural and cognitive–behavioural group-based parenting programmes for early onset conduct problems in children aged 3 to 12 years.’ Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, 2. Art. No.: CD008225.
    • McGilloway, S., Ni Mhaille, G, Bywater, T., Furlong, M., Leckey, Y., Kelly, P., Comiskey, C. and Donnelly, M. (2012) ‘A parenting intervention for childhood behavioural problems: A randomised controlled trial in disadvantaged community-based settings.’ Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80 (1), 116-127.
    • Furlong, M. and McGilloway, S. (2012) ‘The Incredible Years Parenting Program in Ireland: A qualitative analysis of the experience of parents living in disadvantaged areas.’ Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 17 (4), 616–630.
    • Furlong, M., McGilloway, S., Bywater, T., Hutchings, J., Smith, S. M., Donnelly, M. and O’ Neill, C. (2010) ‘Behavioural and cognitive–behavioural group-based parenting programmes for early onset conduct problems in children aged 3 to 12 years (Protocol).’ Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010, 1. Art. No.:CD008225. 

    Book Chapters

    • Furlong, M. and McGilloway, S. (2012) ‘Challenges and future directions in the evaluation of parenting programmes.’ In P. Barberis, & S. Petrakis (Eds.), Parenting: Challenges, Practices and Cultural Influences. New York: Nova science publishers.

    Reports

    • Furlong, M. and McGilloway, S. (2013). ‘A wrap-around intervention for children in care: A pilot study (Report).’ Dublin: Archways.
    • McGilloway, S., Ni Mhaille, G., Furlong, M., Hyland, L., Leckey, Y., Kelly, P., Bywater, T., Comiskey, C., Lodge, A, O’ Neill, D. and Donnelly, M. (2012) ‘Long-term outcomes of the Incredible Years Parent and Teacher Classroom Management training programmes (Combined 12-month Report).’ Dublin: Archways.
    • Cochrane, A., McGilloway, S., Furlong, M. and Donnelly, M. (2012) ‘The Atlantic Philanthropies Ageing Programme in the Republic of Ireland: 2008-2011. Evaluation Report: No 2.’ Dublin: Social Research and Evaluation Services.
    • Cochrane, A., McGilloway, S., Donnelly, M. and Furlong, M. (2012) ‘The Atlantic Philanthropies Ageing Programme in the Republic of Ireland: Preliminary Report.’ Dublin: Social Research and Evaluation Services.
    • McGilloway, S., Ni Mhaille, G., Bywater, T., Furlong, M., O’Neill, D., Comiskey, C. and Donnelly, M. (2009) ‘Proving the power of positive parenting: A randomised controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of the Incredible Years BASIC Parenting program in an Irish context (Short-term outcomes).’ Dublin: Archways. 

    Conference Presentations

    • M. Furlong and S. McGilloway. ‘The use of qualitative synthesis to inform the large scale implementation of evidence-based parenting programmes.’ Invited speaker at the 2014 Campbell Collaboration Conference, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 16-19 June, 2014.
    • A. Cochrane, S. McGilloway, M. Furlong, D. W. Molloy, M. Stevenson and M. Donnelly. ‘Home-care re-ablement services for maintaining and improving older adults' functional independence.’ Research presented at the Tenth Annual  Cochrane in Ireland Conference, Dublin City University, Dublin, 24 January, 2014.
    • M. Furlong and S. McGilloway. ‘Do parenting programmes help families in the longer term? A controlled trial process evaluation.’  Research presented at the 2nd annual Children’s Research Network Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 10 December 2013.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly. ‘Improving child mental health and wellbeing: A Cochrane systematic review of parenting programmes.’ Poster presentation at the 2nd annual Children’s Research Network Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 10 December 2013.
    • M. Furlong and S. McGilloway. ‘Implementing an evidence-based parenting intervention in disadvantaged settings: A process evaluation of stakeholder experiences.’ Poster presentation at the 2nd annual Children’s Research Network Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 10 December 2013.
    • A. Cochrane, S. McGilloway, M. Furlong, D. W. Molloy, M. Stevenson and M. Donnelly. ‘Home-care re-ablement services for maintaining and improving older adults' functional independence.’  Research presented at the 14th Healthcare Interdisciplinary Student Colloquium, TCD, Dublin, 5 November, 2013.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly. ‘Treating conduct problems and antisocial behaviour in children: A Cochrane systematic review of group-based parenting programmes.’ Research presented at A Global Gathering for Early Childhood conference, Dublin, Ireland, 16-19 October, 2013.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, G. NiMhaille, Y. Leckey, P. Kelly and M. Bracken. ‘Evaluating the effectiveness of psychosocial behavioural training interventions for children with symptoms of ADHD: A randomised controlled trial.’ Poster  presentation at the 15th International Congress of the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dublin, Ireland, 6-10 July, 2013.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly.‘Are group-based parenting programmes effective in the treatment of childhood conduct problems? A Cochrane review.’  Research presented at the 15th International Congress of the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dublin, Ireland, 6-10 July, 2013.
    • M. Furlong and S. McGilloway.  ‘Implementing an evidence-based parenting intervention in mainstream health services: A process evaluation of stakeholder experiences’. Research presented at the 15th International Congress of the European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dublin, Ireland, 6-10 July, 2013.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly. ‘Preventing antisocial and criminal behaviour: A Cochrane review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of group-based parenting programmes for childhood  conduct problems.’ Research presented at the 21st Annual Conference of the Society for Prevention Research, San Francisco, California, 29-31 May, 2013.
    • M. Furlong and S. McGilloway. ‘Improving psychosocial health and wellbeing in distressed families: A Cochrane systematic review of parenting programmes for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.’ Research presented at the 10th Annual Psychology, Health and Medicine conference, School of Nursing and Human Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland, 1 May, 2013.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly. ‘Parenting programmes for conduct problems and antisocial behaviour.’ Invited speaker at the Health Research Board’s launch of ‘Picture of Health’ Dublin, Ireland, 6 December 2012.
    • A, Cochrane, S. McGilloway, M. Donnelly and M. Furlong. ‘The Role and Contribution of Philanthropy to the Lives of Irish Older People.’ Research presented at the Aging and Society: An Interdisciplinary Conference, Vancouver, Canada, 5-6 November 2012.
    •  M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly. ‘The effectiveness of behavioural parenting programmes for childhood conduct problems.’  Poster presented at the 1st annual Children’s Research Network Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 26 September 2012.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly. ‘Reviewing the effectiveness of behavioural group-based parenting programmes for childhood conduct problems: Some key methodological  challenges.' Invited speaker at the Campbell Collaboration Colloquium, Copenhagen, Denmark, 29-31 May 2012.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly. ‘Behavioural and cognitive-behavioural group-based parenting interventions for early-onset conduct problems in children age 3-12 years.’  Poster presentation at the 2012 Campbell Collaboration Colloquium, Copenhagen, Denmark, 29-31 May 2012.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly. ‘The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of behavioral group-based parenting interventions in treating early-onset conduct problems in children age 3-12 years.’ Poster presented at the 8th Annual Cochrane in Ireland Conference, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland, 27 January 2012.
    • M. Furlong, S. McGilloway, T. Bywater, J. Hutchings, S. Smith and M. Donnelly. ‘Investigating the evidence for behavioural and cognitive-behavioural group-based parenting programmes for early-onset conduct problems: A Cochrane review’. Poster presented at the 34th Annual Congress of Psychology  Students, Queens University Belfast, N. Ireland, 23-24 March 2012.
    • McGilloway et al. Research Symposium (4 papers): Halting the development of conduct problems in childhood: Community-based early intervention and research. Research presented at the 41st Annual Psychological Society of Ireland Conference, Salthill, Co.Galway, Ireland, 10-13 November 2011.

    - S. McGilloway, G. Ni Mhaille, T. Bywater, M. Furlong, Y. Leckey, P. Kelly, C. Comiskey and M. Donnelly: Evaluating the effectiveness of the Incredible Years BASIC parent training intervention within an Irish context. 

    - M. Furlong and S. McGilloway: "My life is completely different between this time last year and now": A qualitative study of the experiences of Irish parents in implementing the Incredible Years BASIC Parenting Programme in disadvantaged settings.

    • M. Furlong and S. McGilloway. ‘Challenges and successes in implementing the Incredible Years Parenting Programme at long-term follow up: A qualitative study of the experiences of Irish parents in disadvantaged settings.’ Research presented at the 2011 Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society, Glasgow, Scotland, 3-5 May 2011. 
    • McGilloway et al. Research Symposium (4 papers): Halting the development of conduct problems in Ireland: Evaluating the effectiveness of the Incredible Years Parent and Teacher training series within a ‘high risk’ community-based setting. Research presented at the 25th HAll-Ireland Social Medicine Meeting, Belfast, 9th September 2010.  

    - S.McGilloway, G.Ni Mhaille, T.Bywater, M.Furlong, D.ONeill, Y.Leckey,  P. Kelly, C.Comiskey and M. Donnelly. S. Preventing conduct problems in disadvantaged communities: A randomised controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of the Incredible Years BASIC parent training programme in an Irish context.
     
    - M.Furlong and S.McGilloway. How and why does the Incredible Years’ Parenting Programme work? A Qualitative analysis of Irish parents’ experiences within a ‘high risk’ context.

    • McGilloway et al. Research Symposium (4 papers): Emotional and behavioural difficulties in childhood: Context, communities and evidence-based intervention. Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, 14-16 April 2010.  

    - M. Furlong and S. McGilloway: Parents' experiences of the Incredible Years' Parenting Programme within an Irish community-based context.

    - S.McGilloway, G.Ni Mhaille, T.Bywater, M.Furlong, D.ONeill, Y.Leckey, P. Kelly, C.Comiskey and M. Donnelly. A randomised controlled trial of the Incredible Years Parenting programme in Ireland.

    • S.McGilloway, G.Ni Mhaille, T.Bywater, M.Furlong, D.ONeill, Y.Leckey, P. Kelly,  C.Comiskey and M. Donnelly.  ‘A randomised controlled trial of the Incredible Years Parenting programme in Ireland: Short-term outcomes.’  Research presented at the 2009 Annual Archways conference, Dublin, Ireland, 21 September, 2009.
    • M. Furlong and S. McGilloway. ‘Parents’ experiences of the Incredible Years Parenting programme: A qualitative analysis.’ Research presented at the 2009 Annual Archways conference, Dublin, Ireland, 21 September, 2009.