Maria Brenner

Maria Brenner is a Professor in the Department of Nursing within the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems at University College Dublin. Her research focuses on pediatric nursing, bioethics, and healthcare decision-making for children with complex care needs. She leads national evaluations of nursing curriculum and develops quality metrics for pediatric care systems across Ireland.

Her research interests center on ethical dilemmas in pediatric intensive care, nurse advocacy for children requiring life-sustaining technologies, and development of care standards for technology-dependent children. She investigates how healthcare professionals navigate legal frameworks when making decisions about life-sustaining treatments and examines trust-building in relationships between healthcare providers and pediatric patients.

An analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on pediatric bioethics, nursing-sensitive quality indicators, and transitional care models for children with complex needs. Her work increasingly incorporates digital health interventions and consensus methodology for developing meaningful evaluation metrics. She frequently collaborates with Children's Health Ireland and international partners on studies addressing gaps in pediatric care systems.

Professor Brenner actively contributes to national healthcare policy through her leadership in evaluating undergraduate nursing and midwifery curricula and developing national quality care metrics for children. She serves as principal investigator on multiple studies examining decision-making processes in pediatric intensive care units and the implementation of cancer support services.

She leads the SPARKLe project for transitional care of children with complex needs and collaborates with multidisciplinary teams across pediatric healthcare services. Her research directly informs practice guidelines and policy development for children's healthcare services in Ireland and internationally.