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Biography

Louise is an Assistant Professor in Social Policy in the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin. She holds a PhD in Social Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where she was awarded an LSE PhD Scholarship to undertake her research. Louise also holds a Full Post-Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching (PGCHE) from the LSE, an MSc in Applied Social Research from Trinity College Dublin and a BA (International) in Political Science and History from University College Dublin (UCD). Immediately prior to joining Trinity College Louise worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Division of Health and Social Care, King's College London, and prior to entering academia she worked as a research consultant, delivering numerous reports for government and NGO clients in Ireland and the UK. Louise teaches the following modules: Evaluation Methods - MSc Applied Social Research Critical Analysis & Argument Development - BA Sociology & Social Policy & BA Social Studies Contemporary Social Policy Debates - Online Diploma/MSc in Social Policy & Practice

Research Projects

Project Title

Realist Synthesis of Signs of Safety

From

2019

2020

Summary

Signs of Safety is a complex, integrated framework for doing children's services work. It has been implemented in more than 100 jurisdictions worldwide and in 2017 was introduced in Ireland as the national child protection framework. Realist Synthesis complements more established approaches to systematic review, which have been developed and used mainly for simpler interventions like clinical treatments or therapies. Using pre-existing literature, the study aims to provide an explanatory analysis of how and why Signs of Safety might work (or not) in particular contexts or settings. To do so it will use a broad array of literature and wider evidence to identify and test Signs of Safety's underlying causal mechanisms and to explore how those mechanisms might operate under varying conditions.

Funding Agency

Resolutions Consultancy

Project Type

Research

Representations

Details	Date
Louise is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Authority. Further information at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/individuals/fellowship	Since 2013
Louise is an Associate on the K4U Horizon 2020 Study, led by Prof. Nancy Cartwright at Durham University. K4U's aim is to construct a radically new picture of how to use social science to build better policies. Further information: https://www.dur.ac.uk/k4u/ .	March 2016 to present
UNICEF Reference Group for Review of Child Protection Systems in Four Countries in South Asia. I am providing guidance to the project on the use of a systems approach.	February 2017 to November 2017

Publications and other Research Outputs

Caffrey, Louise, How everyone's business can become no one's business: a systems study of interprofessional referral to child contact centres , Journal of Children & Youth Services Review , 2019, Journal Article, IN_PRESS

Caffrey, Louise, Ferlie, Ewan, McKevitt, Christopher, The strange resilience of new public management: the case of medical research in the UK's national health service, Public Management Review, 2018, p1-22 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text DOI

Weinrot, M., Caffrey, L., McKevitt, C., Patient-initiated recruitment for clinical research: evaluation of an out-patient letter research statement, Health Expectations, 2017, Journal Article, PUBLISHED URL

Caffrey, L & Munro, E, A Systems Approach to Policy Evaluation, Evaluation, 23, (4), 2017, Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text URL

Love, S., Brown, S., Weir ,C., Harbron, C., Yap, C., Gaschler-Markefski, B., Matcham, J., Caffrey, L., McKevitt, C., Clive, S., Craddock, C., Spicer, J., & Cornelius, V., Embracing model-based designs for dose-finding trials, British Journal of Cancer, 2017, p332 - 339, Journal Article, PUBLISHED URL

Caffrey, L., Wyatt, D., Fudge, N., Mattingley, H., Williamson, C. & McKevitt, C. , Gender Equity Programmes in Academic Medicine: a realist evaluation approach to Athena SWAN processes, BMJ OPEN, 6, (9), 2016, Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text DOI URL

Caffrey, L., McKevitt, C., & Wolfe, C. , Embedding Research in Health Systems: lessons from complexity theory, Health Research Policy and Systems, 14, (54), 2016, Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text URL

Caffrey, L. (2016) , The BMJ's stance on qualitative research is epistemologically naïve, BMJ, 352, 2016, Journal Article, PUBLISHED URL

Caffrey, L. , The Importance of Perceived Organisational Goals: A Systems Thinking Approach to Understanding Child Safeguarding in the Context of Domestic Abuse, Child Abuse Review, 2015, Journal Article, PUBLISHED TARA - Full Text URL

Adams, M., Caffrey. L. & McKevitt, C. , Barriers and opportunities for enhancing patient recruitment and retention in clinical research: findings from an interview study in an NHS academic health science centre, Health Research Policy and Systems, 13, (8), 2015, Journal Article, PUBLISHED URL

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Awards and Honours

Award	Date
UCD Entrance Scholarship	2002
LSE PhD Scholarship	2010-2014

Research Interests

Description Of Research Interests

Louise's research interests centre on substantive areas of social policy as well as questions of research methodology. Substantively, Louise's research focuses on the challenges organisational complexity presents for policy implementation and organisational safety; theorising service-user engagement; and investigating the intended and unintended consequences of public management approaches. Louise's research has investigated these issues in both child & family services and health services. Louise has published in the areas of child protection, child contact, inter-professional working, domestic violence, health research systems, welfare to work policy, public management and gender equity initiatives. Methodologically Louise specialize in conceptual frameworks that seek to address organizational complexity, including systems approaches and Realist Evaluation.

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

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Dr. Louise Caffrey