Dr Simon Dunne awarded the 2019 Stimulus Award from the Irish Cancer Society
Dr Simon Dunne, School of Psychology, DCU

Dr Simon Dunne Awarded the 2019 Stimulus Award from the Irish Cancer Society

Dr Simon Dunne, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Dublin City University has been announced as the recipient of the 2019 Stimulus Award from the Irish Cancer Society.

Dr Dunne’s project is a lung cancer intervention development study called Supportive Care fOR Everybody (SCORE).

The Stimulus Award which Dr Dunne has received will facilitate the development of an evidence-based supportive care intervention to increase the quality of life and reduce distress in lung cancer survivors and their families/caregivers.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Ireland. Its diagnosis, consequences and treatment are associated with symptoms such as pain and dyspnoea; high rates of distress; and stigma.

Earlier research by Dr Simon Dunne and Professor Pamela Gallagher, also funded by the Irish Cancer Society in 2017, which examined the Supportive Care Needs (e.g physical, emotional, social) of lung cancer survivors, found that there was also an urgent need to develop evidence-based interventions to address the needs of lung cancer survivors and their caregivers/families.

Speaking about the award Dr Dunne said:

"The availability of a supportive care intervention for individuals with lung cancer and their families is timely and required in Ireland. Importantly, there is limited service provision in this country for lung cancer survivors who often have substantial psychological needs, and experience significant stigma and shame relating to their condition. In our earlier programme of research, we have also found that there appears to be a complete lack of support for caregivers and families of such individuals in this country, in spite of the wider recognition that these groups have a substantial burden of care. This programme of research will involve important developmental work that will contribute to the design of an intervention which would target both of these groups."

The purpose of the Irish Cancer Society’s Stimulus Award is to provide early-to mid-stage cancer researchers, nurses, and allied health professionals with an opportunity to drive forward a research project which, if given an injection of funding, has the potential to be both highly competitive and impactful.

Applications to the Stimulus Award are reviewed by an International Scientific Review Panel in the first instance, then shortlisted applicants are subsequently reviewed by an external PPI Panel.

The PPI Panel has the final decision in selecting the successful recipient of the Stimulus Award.

20th November, 2019