University launches research into mental health impact of defective concrete crisis

A team of researchers at Ulster University have launched research into the mental health impacts and the effects on families of the defective concrete crisis in Donegal and across Ireland. 

Academics from the university’s schools of psychology, geography and environmental sciences and the Ulster Business School are working on the research along with PhD researcher Oisin Keenan.

Dr Karen Kirby, senior lecturer of psychology at Ulster University

The research involves an online survey. Anyone over the age of 18 who resides in a defective blocks property, is the owner of a business affected by the crisis, or believes they may have a defective blocks issue but have not been tested as yet, is asked to take the time to complete the online survey, which takes approximately 30 minutes. The link includes the participant information details and consent form. Multiple people from the same household are asked to complete the survey''. 

Dr Karen Kirby, senior lecturer of psychology at Ulster University, who is the chief investigator on the research said: “It is important to point out that this study is strictly confidential and participants can be assured that their data will not be shared with anyone outside of this research project. The findings will provide us with critical insights into how family members have been affected from a mental health perspective. We hope to get thousands of participants to engage with this very important study so as we can analyse and quantify the true impact. We aim to publish the outcomes in an open-access, peer-reviewed, scientific journal(s) when complete, and we predict this may be from October 2024''.