Projects per year
Personal profile
Interests
Carmel Hughes PhD is a pharmacist by training and Professor in Primary Care Pharmacy at the School of Pharmacy. Her research interests focus the quality of drug use in older people particularly in long-term care setting and primary care, using a variety of study designs. She has published extensively on these topics and has led programmes of research in intervention studies in nursing homes for older people. Prof. Hughes was the first pharmacist to have been awarded a Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. She spent her fellowship year at the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University where she collaborated with Profs. Kate Lapane and Vince Mor on pharmacoepidemiological studies in nursing homes.She was awarded the British Pharmaceutical Conference Medal for her research in September 2001. She is the only pharmacist to have been awarded a National Primary Care Career Scientist Award from the Research and Development Division of the Department of Health in London. She has been a Cochrane Fellow, Editor for the EPOC group in the Cochrane Collaboration and was formerly the Joint Clinical Lead for the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network. She is an Associate Editor for Pilot and Feasibility Studies. She is a member of the NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research Commissioned Prioritisation Committee and a member of Sub-Panel 3 for REF 2020.
Research Statement
Prof. Hughes's research interests lie in care of older people. She has undertaken a range of studies in primary and long-term care, ranging from observational epidemiology to cluster randomised controlled trials, and qualitative exploratory studies. Emphasis has been on elucidating factors which may influence prescribing in settings, notably long-term care, such as structural characteristics, pharmacist interventions and more recently, treatment culture. She has also undertaken studies on MRSA prevalance in nursing homes, an infection control education intervention study in nursing homes and led the N. Ireland contribution to the European Surveillance on Antimicrobial Consumption Point Prevalence studies in nursing homes, part of a 22 EU country project. She has contributed to a number of Cochrane systematic reviews. She has a particular interest in interventions studies and the development of interventions using a systematic approach. This has informed a number of ongoing studies on medicines optimisation for people with dementia, and the prescribing of appropriate polypharmacy in primary care. Prof. Hughes's research has been funded from a range of sources including goverment, charities and the EU.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R2087CPH: Medicines in an ageing society – an interdisciplinary research programme: MED-AGE
McGuinness, B. (PI), Barry, H. (CoI), Carney, G. (CoI), Ellis, G. (CoI), Heron, N. (CoI), Hughes, C. (CoI), Maguire, A. (CoI), McKenna, G. (CoI) & Montgomery, L. (CoI)
13/12/2023 → …
Project: Research
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R4133GFS: Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (PATH-SAFE) Summary
McGrath, J. (PI), Bamford, C. (CoI), Cameron, S. (CoI), Creevey, C. (CoI), Gilmore, B. (CoI), Gilpin, D. (CoI), Hughes, C. (CoI), Kelly, S. (CoI), McKinley, J. (CoI) & Tunney, M. (CoI)
23/11/2022 → 31/03/2024
Project: Research
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R1779PMY: Understanding and improving antimicrobial prescribing in care homes: a multidisciplinary approach
Hughes, C. (PI)
28/06/2017 → 30/06/2022
Project: Research
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R2995PMY: Development of an intervention to improve appropriate polypharmacy in older people in primary care
Hughes, C. (PI), Gormley, G. (CoI), Passmore, P. (CoI) & Ryan, C. (CoI)
01/08/2012 → 30/09/2015
Project: Research
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R4489PMY: Pharmacy prescribing in Northern Ireland - a quantitative and qualitative assessment <PHAR/MDB>
Hughes, C. (PI), Gormley, G. (CoI) & Parsons, C. (CoI)
01/08/2008 → 28/02/2011
Project: Research
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Antibiotic prescribing for care-home residents: a population-based, cross-classified multilevel analysis in Scotland, UK
De Souza, N., Guthrie, B., Grant, S., Lorencatto, F., Dickson, J., Herbec, A., Hughes, C., Sneddon, J., Donnan, P. T. & Marwick, C. A., 09 Jan 2025, In: Age and Ageing. 54, 1, 10 p., afae288.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Citations (Scopus)3 Downloads (Pure) -
Antidepressant and anxiolytic use and mortality risk in people with dementia in Northern Ireland: a nested case-control study
Sinnamon, C., Hughes, C. M., Cardwell, C. R. & Barry, H. E., 04 Jul 2025, In: Age and Ageing. 54, Supplement 2, 3126.Research output: Contribution to journal › Meeting abstract › peer-review
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A qualitative interview study of care home managers’ experiences of medicines optimisation for residents with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic
Alsulami, N., Hughes, C. M. & Barry, H. E., 20 Jan 2025, In: BMJ Open. 15, 9 p., e091645.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
A time-series analysis to examine the impact of COVID-19 on psychotropic medication use by care home residents with dementia
Alsulami, N., Hughes, C. M., Maguire, A. & Barry, H. E., 04 Jul 2025, In: Age and Ageing. 54, Supplement 2, 3047.Research output: Contribution to journal › Meeting abstract › peer-review
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Barriers and facilitators to medicines use in patients with vision impairment: a theory-informed qualitative study of patients and caregivers
Kentab, B. Y., Barry, H. E., Al-Aqeel, S. A. & Hughes, C. M., Apr 2025, In: Health Expectations. 28, 2, 13 p., e70234.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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Best Oral Presentation. Learning together is better: Students’ perceptions of a novel interprofessional simulation activity.
McCormick, M. (Recipient), Hughes, C. (Recipient), Murray, C. (Recipient), Quee, G. (Recipient), Rice, B. (Recipient), Best, P. (Recipient) & Girvin, B. (Recipient), 06 Sept 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Chemist and Druggist Pharmacy Practice Research Medal. Title of Medal lecture: 'Lessons from America: Legislating for better drug use and quality care in nursing homes.'
Hughes, C. (Recipient), 2001
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund, New York. Title of project: An evaluation of prescribing and related clinical outcomes in US nursing homes: the basis of a model of care in the United Kingdom.
Hughes, C. (Recipient), 1998
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively
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National Primary Care Career Scientist Award
Hughes, C. (Recipient), 2001
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Health Services Research and Pharmacy Practice Conference
Hughes, C. (Participant)
2026 → …Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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Queen's on Ageing symposium
Carney, G. (Organiser), Hughes, C. (Organiser), Doumas, M. (Organiser) & McCann, M. (Organiser)
11 Oct 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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QUB-USC Gerontology Summer School
Carney, G. (Organiser), Hughes, C. (Invited speaker), McKnight, A. J. (Invited speaker) & Quee, G. (Invited speaker)
27 Jul 2023 → 28 Jul 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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An investigation of INR home monitoring in patients with adult congenital heart disease
Hughes, C. (Examiner)
Mar 2023Activity: Examination types › PhD external examination
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University of Hong Kong (External organisation)
Hughes, C. (Advisor)
2023 → …Activity: Membership types › Membership of peer review panel or committee
Press/Media
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Proof aspirin fights cancer - Front page Daily Express
Anderson, L., Murray, L., Wilson, J., Hughes, C. & Black, A.
30/03/2013
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
Impacts
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Citation in NICE Evidence Search
Maguire, A. (Participant), Hughes, C. (Participant), O'Reilly, D. (Participant) & Cardwell, C. (Participant)
Impact: Health Impact
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Reduced prescribing of inappropriate medication in nursing home residents through a pharmacy intervention
Hughes, C. (Participant) & Cardwell, C. (Participant)
Impact: Health Impact