Dr Helen O'Leary is a Physiotherapist and Post-doctoral Researcher at the School of Allied Health, University of Limerick.  Her clinical and research experience has focused on knee osteoarthritis, musculoskeletal disease and the translation of evidence into practice. In 2020, she was a recipient of a prestigious Health Research Board (HRB) Clinician Scientist Post-doctoral Fellowship to investigate the implementation of clinical recommendations for degenerative meniscal tears into practice. Helen completed her PhD at the University College Dublin in 2016 in the area of pain mechanisms and knee osteoarthritis, having been awarded a Health Research Board Clinical Research Doctoral Fellowship for Healthcare Professionals. Helen is also a Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist at University Hospital Kerry, where she works closely with the Orthopaedic and Rheumatology teams to assess and manage patients with musculoskeletal pain.

 

Helen was the recipient of a HRB Knowledge Translation Award that led to the co-design of a web resource for people with joint pain in Ireland (JointPain.ie) and is widely used and prescribed in the Irish healthcare system as a means of education patients on their musculoskeletal conditions. This resource is currently being evaluated to demonstrate its impact on patients' knowledge, beliefs, self-efficacy, and quality of life.