Perspectives on the production, and use, of rapid evidence in decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Objectives: To describe perceptions of providing, and using rapid evidence, to support decision making by two national bodies (one public health policy and one front-line clinical practice) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Descriptive qualitative study (March-August 2020): 25 semistructured interviews were conducted, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed.

Setting: Data were obtained as part of an evaluation of two Irish national projects; the Irish COVID-19 Evidence for General Practitioners project (General Practice (GP) project) which provided relevant evidence to address clinical questions posed by GPs; and the COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis Team (Health Policy project) which produced rapid evidence products at the request of the National Public Health Emergency Team.

Rapid response and learning for later: establishing high quality information networks and evaluation frameworks for the National Ambulance Service response to COVID-19 - the ENCORE COVID Project Protocol.

The National Ambulance Service (NAS) is at the forefront of Ireland's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As directed in Ireland's National Action Plan, NAS significantly expanded prehospital services, including provision of a novel COVID-19 testing service. Additionally, other health services rely on NAS's capacity to assess, transport and/or treat COVID-19 patients.

An analysis of general practitioners' perspectives on patient safety incidents using critical incident technique interviews.

Background: General practitioners report difficulty in knowing how to improve patient safety.

Objectives: To analyse general practitioners' perspectives of contributing factors to patient safety incidents by collecting accounts of incidents, identifying the contributory factors to these incidents, assessing the impact and likelihood of occurrence of these incidents and examining whether certain categories of contributory factors were associated with the occurrence of high-risk incidents.

Methods: Critical incident technique interviews were carried out with 30 general practitioners in Ireland about a patient safety incident they had experienced.

Perceived safety climate in Irish primary care settings-a comparison with Scotland and England.

Background: Safety climate (SC) measurement is a key component of quality and safety initiatives in primary healthcare.

Objectives: To (1) measure perceived SC in Irish primary care; (2) examine whether perceptions of safety varied according to respondent characteristics; and (3) compare responses from our Irish sample to data from England and Scotland.

Methods: PC-SafeQuest Survey was administered to all practice staff in Irish general practices between March and May 2016.

The construct validity of HPAT-Ireland for the selection of medical students: unresolved issues and future research implications.

Aptitude tests are widely used in selection. However, despite certain advantages their use remains controversial. This paper aims to critically appraise five sources of evidence for the construct validity of the Health Professions Admission Test (HPAT)-Ireland, an aptitude test used for selecting undergraduate medical students.

The fairness, predictive validity and acceptability of multiple mini interview in an internationally diverse student population--a mixed methods study.

Background: International medical students, those attending medical school outside of their country of citizenship, account for a growing proportion of medical undergraduates worldwide. This study aimed to establish the fairness, predictive validity and acceptability of Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) in an internationally diverse student population.

Methods: This was an explanatory sequential, mixed methods study.

Views of doctors of varying disciplines on HPAT-Ireland as a selection tool for medicine.

Background: Selection tools for medicine must achieve political validity and enjoy stakeholder acceptability. This qualitative study aimed to establish the perspectives of doctors, from various clinical specialities, on HPAT-Ireland, a new selection tool for undergraduate medical students.

Methods: Fifteen doctors participated over three iterative cycles of recruitment, interviewing and analysis.

To what extent does the Health Professions Admission Test-Ireland predict performance in early undergraduate tests of communication and clinical skills? An observational cohort study.

Background: Internationally, tests of general mental ability are used in the selection of medical students. Examples include the Medical College Admission Test, Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test and the UK Clinical Aptitude Test. The most widely used measure of their efficacy is predictive validity.