Health Promotion Staff, Verna McKenna

Verna McKenna BA MA, [E-Mail]

Lecturer

Profile

Verna McKenna BA MA  is a Lecturer at the Department of Health Promotion, National University of Ireland, Galway. Verna is a graduate of the Department of Psychology, University College Dublin and the Masters in Health Promotion, National University of Ireland Galway. She has worked as a researcher at the Health Promotion Research Centre and as Project Manager for a number of Center for Disease Control and Prevention projects at Boston Public Health Commission in Boston, Massachusetts. In her current role she is coordinating the Understanding Health and Illness in Society stream of the new undergraduate medical curriculum. She has previously coordinated the Health Studies stream of the part-time BA programme. She also teaches on the Postgraduate Diploma/MA in Arts (Health Promotion) Galway and the Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (Health Promotion) Dublin courses. Current research and teaching projects include the development and evaluation of a blended learning enquiry based module for best practice of evaluation skills in health promotion which is supported by a NAIRTL grant (2009).

Research Interests

• Evidence in health promotion and influences on practice and policy.

• Development of implementation guidance for health promotion practice.

• Health service access and health inequalities

Teaching Interests

• Foundations of Health Promotion

• Evaluation in health promotion

• Healthy Public Policy

• Behavioural Science

  
  

Publications

Hodgins, M., & McKenna, V. (2010). Social welfare, housing and health policy and the determinants of quality of life for older people in the Republic of Ireland . Quality In Ageing and Older Adults, 11 (2) (in press)

McKenna, V., Connolly, C. & Hodgins, M. (2010). Usefulness of a competency based reflective portfolio for student learning on a Masters Health Promotion Programme. Health Education Journal (in press).

Mc Nair, A., Moran, C., Mc Grath, E., Naqvi, S., Connolly, C., Mc Kenna,V& Kropmans, T. (2010). How we implemented an integrated Professionalism curriculum to 2nd year medical students within the National University of Ireland Galway, with examples from the students final output. Medical Teacher (in press).

Pursell, L., McKenna, V., & Griffin, B., (2010). Evaluation of a competency based module in health promotion. Report submitted to the National Academy for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning. Galway: Health Promotion Research Centre. download (559KB)

Pursell, L., McKenna, V., Griffin, B., & McGrory, S. (2010). Development and delivery of a competency-based module in health promotion: A guide using blended learning. Galway: Health Promotion Research Centre download (3.54MB)

Pursell, L., McKenna, V., & Griffin, B., (2010). Evaluation of a blended learning enquiry based module for best practice of evaluation skills in health promotion. National Institute of Health Sciences Research Bulletin (in press)

Hodgins, M., McKenna, V. & D’Eath, M. (2008). Enhancing the Quality of Life of Older People Reliant on the State Pension. Health Promotion Research Centre, NUI, Galway. download (143KB)

McKenna, V., Rowel, D. & Barry, M.M. (2007). Obesity Prevention: Getting Health Promotion Evidence into Practice. Health Promotion Research Centre, NUI, Galway.  download (1MB)

McKenna, V., Friel, S. & Barry, M. (2004). Review of the National Health Promotion Strategy. Department of Health and Children: Dublin. download (465KB)

*McKenna, VB.,Gunn, JE., Auerbach, J., Brinsfield, K., Dyer, S. & Barry, MA. (2003). Local Collaborations: Development and Implementation of Boston’s Bioterrorism Surveillance System. Journal of Public Health Management Practice. 9(5), 384-393. download (4KB)

*Brinsfied, K.H., Gunn , J.E., Barry , M.A., McKenna, V.B., Dyer, K.S. & Sulis, C. (2002). Using Volume-Based Surveillance for an Outbreak Early Warning System. Academic Emergency Medicine 8(15), 492a download (4KB)

*McKenna, V.B., Sager, A., Gunn, J.E., Tormey, P., & Barry, M.A. (2002). Immunization Registries: Costs and Savings. Public Health Reports, 117, 386-392 download (4KB)

O’Donovan, O., Hodgins , M., McKenna, V. & Kelleher, C. (1997). Training Carers of Older People: An Advisory Report. Dublin: National Council for the Elderly. download (4KB)

O’Donovan, O., McKenna ,V,. McCarthy ,Patricia., McCarthy, D. & Kelleher, C. (1995). Health Service Provision for the Travelling Community in Ireland: A Study Commissioned by the Task Force on the Travelling Community and the Department of Health. Centre for Health Promotion Studies, University College Galway. download (4KB)

* from Boston Public Health Commission

Conference presentations

McKenna, V., Rowel, D. & Barry, M. (2008).  Obesity prevention: evidence into practice. Paper presented at the Health Promotion Summer Conference, NUI, Galway, June 2007.

McKenna, V. & Barry, M. (2006). Building capacity in health promotion in Ireland: past progress and future challenges. Paper presented at the Health Promotion Summer Conference, NUI, Galway, June 2006.

*Serino, R., McKenna, V., Gunn, J.E. & Barry, M.A.  ( 2003). Effect of Field Based Emergency Medical Services During Large-scale Public Events on Hospital Emergency Department Visits.  Paper  presented at the 131 ^st Annual meeting of the APHA, San Francisco, CA, USA. November 2003.

*Gunn, J.E., McKenna, V., Brinsfield, K.H., Dyer, K.S. & Barry, M.A. (2002). Boston’s Early Warning System for Bioterrorism: September 11-November 11, 2001.  Presented at Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases Atlanta, GA, USA, 2002.

*McKenna, V., Sager, A., Gunn, J.E., Tormey, P., Bajaj, R. & Barry, M.A. (2000). Cost Effectiveness and Cost Efficiency of an Urban Immunization Registry.  Paper presented at the 128 ^th annual American Public Health Association (APHA) conference, Boston, MA, USA, 2000.

*McKenna, V., Sager, A., Gunn, J.E., Tormey, P., Bajaj, R. & Barry, M.A. (2000). Perceived vs. Actual Costs of an Immunization Registry.  Paper presented at the 128 ^th annual American Public Health Association (APHA) conference, Boston, MA, USA, 2000.

*McKenna, V., Gunn, J., Tormey, P., Bajaj, R., Sager, A. & Barry, M.A. (1999). Start-up and Operational Costs of an Immunization Registry: Presented at the National Immunization Conference, Dallas, TX, USA, 1999.

*McKenna, V., Gunn, J., Tormey, P., MacConnell, P., Sager, A. & Barry, M.A. (1998). The Boston Immunization Information System (BIIS): Assessing Cost. Paper presented at the National Immunization Conference, Atlanta, GA, USA, 1998.

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