Donna Fitzsimons

Professor Donna Fitzsimons is a faculty member in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen's University Belfast. Her academic role focuses on advancing care for individuals with chronic conditions, particularly in self-management, palliative care, and evidence-based clinical practice. She leads projects on cardiovascular health, including digital education for nursing students and interventions for heart failure patients and their caregivers.

• Research Interests: Chronic disease self-management, palliative care in chronic illness, cardiac cachexia, and clinical practice guidelines.
• Professional Roles: Councillor on the European Society of Cardiology Board, Editorial Board Member of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, and Co-Clinical Lead for the Northern Ireland Cardiovascular Clinical Research Network.

Her research explores innovative interventions to address complex health challenges, including co-designing digital tools for cardiovascular risk assessment and improving patient and family involvement in care escalation. Supervised PhD students have worked on topics like ICU nurse burnout, cardiac rehabilitation, and genetic counseling for hereditary cancers.

Recent articles highlight her work in heart failure caregiver support programs, digital health interventions for hypertension, and multimodal approaches to cachexia management. She actively collaborates on grants to enhance nursing education and patient-centered care strategies.