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Personal Information
Name Doyle, Martha
Main Department Social Studies
College Title Research Fellow
E-mail martha.doyle@tcd.ie
College Tel  
Web http://people.tcd.ie/doylem5
Fax +353 1 896 2911
 
Representations
Details Date
Committee Member Irish Social Policy Association 2008
Committee Member School of Social Work and Social Policy Research Ethical Approval Committee 2009
 
Membership of Professional Institutions, Associations, Societies
Details Date From Date To
International Sociological Association (ISA)Research Committee 11 (Sociology of Ageing) 2006
Irish Social Policy Association 2008
European Social Policy Association (ESPAnet) 2007
Political Studies Association of Ireland 2009
International Political Science Association. 2009
 
Description of Research Interests
Over the past decade Martha has conducted research in a diverse range of social policy areas, including migration, comparative long-term care and social care policies and intergenerational transfers. Her PhD thesis which she submitted in October 2011, focuses on the political participation and representation of older people and examines the mechanisms through which older people's interest organisations attempt to ensure the realization of their social and political rights. She has a keen interest in qualitative research methodologies and in particular research methods which aim to engage members of civil society in the production of academic research.
 
Research Interests
AGEING Action research Age related social policy Citizenship
Civic Engagement Community services Community-based participatory research Critical gerontology
Domicilliary care Intergenerational Solidarity International Social Care Systems Long-term care workforce
Migrant long-term care workers National Planning/Policy New Institutionalism OLDER PEOPLE
Older people's interest groups Participatory Research Methods Political implications of ageing societies Political participation of older people
Politics of the welfare state Social Constructivism Social Security Systems Social Services Planning/Policy
 
Research Projects
Project title Living Independently at Home: Reforms in Organisation and Governance of European Home Care for Elderly and Disabled People
Summary The project will identify how 9 European countries have reformed their home help systems, by identifying the drivers of changes and responses in the organisation, provision, regulation and quality of home care/help. Hypotheses are that cross-national variation in reforms in home care policies 1) influence the involvement of different care sectors and the use of services vs. cash benefits, 2) shape the degree of formalisation/informalisation and the degree of professionalization, and 3) contribute to the quality of care. The study will be based on national legislation and statistics, national and international literature reviews, and on comparable OECD health data. The following countries participate: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Austria, UK and Ireland. PI for Irish strand of the study is Virpi Timonen, Co-Investigators Martha Doyle & Ciara O'Dwyer, Trinity College Dublin
Funding Agency Ministère de la santé, de la jeunesse, des sports et de la vie associative (France)
Programme European collaborative research project led by The Danish National Centre for Social Research
Type of Project
Date from January 2010
Date to December 2010
Person Months
Project title Grandparents' role in divorced and separated families in Ireland
Summary Divorce and separation impact upon relationships within nuclear and extended families, including relationships between grandparents, the divorced/separated couple and grandchildren. This study seeks to acquire a better understanding of how these inter-generational relationships are affected following divorce/separation. In particular, it seeks to explore some aspects of the experience and practical consequences of family break-up from the perspective of grandparents, a group rarely considered in discussions on divorce/separation. PI Virpi Timonen, Co-Investigators Ciara O'Dwyer and Martha Doyle.
Funding Agency Family Support Agency
Programme
Type of Project Research grant
Date from May 2008
Date to
Person Months
Project title Applying participatory research methods to improve community services for older people.
Summary The project examines service needs and utilisation among older people in the parish of Marino and Fairview in Dublin. It will provide an overview of the current levels of provision of supportive services for older people and shall make recommendations for better co-ordination of services at a local level. With the view to promoting the voice of the older people in the community, the research will identify priority issues and needs of the older people living in the area. The research will also seek to explore the opinions and concerns of service providers and informal care-givers in the area and address gaps in services, thus identifying how greater coordination of service activities can be achieved. PI Martha Doyle and Virpi Timonen
Funding Agency HSE and Northside Partnership
Programme
Type of Project Research grant
Date from 2007
Date to
Person Months
Project title MILES (Migrant Labour in the Elder Care Sector)
Summary This is a pan-European research network that focuses on migrant care workers employed in the elder care sector. The project is co-ordinated by Dr Leeson and Dr Hoff of the Oxford Institute on Ageing. Irish partners are Virpi Timonen and Martha Doyle, Social Policy and Ageing Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin.With the Irish strand of Norface, I along with Virpi Timonen have completed 40 semi-structured interviews with migrant care workers. The purpose of these interviews was inter alia to explore the migrants care workers’ understandings and experiences of social security and the Irish welfare state; their negotiations of work and family responsibilities and their relationships with the older persons to whom they deliver care(Virpi Timonen and Martha Doyle).
Funding Agency NORFACE
Programme
Type of Project Research network
Date from 2006
Date to 2009
Person Months
Project title An international comparative analysis of home care provision in Denmark, Germany and California.
Summary As part of this study I completed 20 interviews and 3 day-long observation exercises (with home carers) in Copenhagen, Berlin and San Francisco. Interviews which explored key policy developments within the respective long-term care systems were conducted with key administrative players, academics and senior public servants. The results of this study are compiled in the forthcoming publication 'Home Care for Ageing Populations: A Comparative Analysis of Domiciliary Care in Denmark, Germany and the United States', published by Edward Elgar (Martha Doyle and Virpi Timonen).
Funding Agency Trinity College Start-up Fund
Programme
Type of Project
Date from June 2005
Date to October 2006
Person Months
More Research Projects>>>
 
Publications
Peer Reviewed
Anderson, S and Doyle, M , Student and staff mental health literacy and MindMatters Plus, Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, vol 15, (2), 2005, p209 - 221
Anderson, S and Doyle, M , Intervention and Prevention Programs to Support Student Mental Health: The Literature and Examples from the MindMatters Plus Initiative, Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, vol 15, , (2), 2005, p220 - 227
Anderson, S and Doyle, M , Developing Community Partnerships to Support Student Wellbeing: What have we Learned from the MindMatters Plus Demonstration Schools, Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, vol 15, (2), 2005, p228 - 234
 
Non Peer Reviewed
Timonen, V., Doyle, M. and Prendergast , D. , No place like home: Domiciliary Care Services for Older People in Ireland, Liffey Press, Dublin., 2006
More Publications>>>
 

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Last Updated:12-FEB-2012