Dónal P. O'Mathúna

Image

First Name

Dónal

Last Name

O'Mathúna

Credentials

B.Sc.(Pharm), MA, PhD

Professor

omathuna.6@osu.edu

614-514-5800

Address

Heminger Hall

Address (Line 2)

1577 Neil Avenue

City

Columbus

State

Zip Code

43210

Research Interests

Dr. Dónal P. O’Mathúna has research interests in both healthcare ethics and evidence-based practice (EBP). His ethics research focuses on disasters, pandemics and humanitarian crises, in particular examining ethical issues in One Health research. One Health is an increasingly important approach to global health at the intersection of human, animal and environmental factors that raise challenging ethical issues. He leads a number of funded research and training grants on One Health ethics and disaster bioethics and has contributed to ethics initiatives with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and other international agencies. He is a member of WHO’s Research Ethics Review Committee. His funded research seeks to develop practical tools and support strategies that facilitate reflection on ethical issues in humanitarian research (see below). He has spoken and published widely in bioethics, including co-editing a number of books on disaster bioethics and research ethics (see below).

Dr. O’Mathúna’s work in EBP primarily involves conducting Cochrane systematic reviews. He is the director of the Cochrane Affiliate at the Helene Fuld Institute for EBP through which he offers systematic review workshops. He was the inaugural director of Cochrane Ireland from 2014 to 2017 and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Cochrane US Network. He has co-authored six Cochrane systematic reviews and published peer-reviewed articles on evidence-based practice. A selection of these can be viewed at the links below.

View complete bibliography in PubMed

Books

O’Mathúna D, Iphofen R, eds. Ethics, Integrity and Policymaking: The Value of the Case Study. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature; 2022. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-15746-2. Open access.
O’Mathúna D, Just B, Jeremiah W, Eppinette M, eds. Bioethics in Real Life: Lessons We're Learning from COVID-19. Deerfield, IL: The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity; 2022. ISBN 978-1735765303
Iphofen R, O’Mathúna D, eds. Ethical Evidence and Policymaking: Interdisciplinary and International Research. Bristol, UK: Policy Press; 2022. https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/ethical-evidence-and-policymaking. Open access.
Iphofen R, O’Mathúna D, eds. Ethical Issues in Covert, Security and Surveillance Research. Bingley, UK: Emerald; 2021. doi: 10.1108/S2398-6018202108. https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/doi/10.1108/S2398-6018202108. Open access
O’Mathúna DP, de Miguel Beriain I, eds. Ethics and Law for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear & Explosive Crises. Dordrecht: Springer Nature; 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11977-5
O’Mathúna DP, Dranseika V, Gordijn B, eds. Disasters: Core Concepts and Ethical Theories. Dordrecht: Springer; 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92722-0. Open access
O’Mathúna DP, Gordijn B, Clarke M, eds. Disaster Bioethics: Normative Issues When Nothing is Normal. Dordrecht: Springer; 2014. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3864-5
O’Mathúna DP. Nanoethics: Big Ethical Issues with Small Technology. London: Continuum Press; 2009. ISBN 978-1847063953
O’Mathúna D, Larimore L. Alternative Medicine: The Christian Handbook. Updated and Expanded Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2007. ISBN 978-0310269991. Translations: Alternatív medicina. Budapest, Hungary: Harmat Kiadó; 2009. Alternativna Medicina

Chapters

Iphofen R, O’Mathúna D. Introduction: ethical issues in covert, security and surveillance research. In: Iphofen R, O’Mathúna D, eds. Ethical Issues in Covert, Security and Surveillance Research. Bingley, UK: Emerald; 2021:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1108/S239
Iphofen R, Kolstoe SE, Macnish K, Spicker P, O’Mathúna D. Guidance notes for reviewers and policymakers on covert, deceptive and surveillance research. In: Iphofen R, O’Mathúna D, eds. Ethical Issues in Covert, Security and Surveillance Research. Bingley,
O’Mathúna DP. Ethics and integrity for research in disasters and crises. In: Iphofen R, ed. Handbook of Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity. Cham: Springer; 2019:1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76040-7_33-1
O’Mathúna DP. Health care workers’ obligations in CBRNE crises. In: O’Mathúna DP, de Miguel Beriain I, eds. Ethics and Law for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear & Explosive Crises. Cham: Springer Nature; 2019:185-197. https://doi.org/10.1007/978
O’Mathúna DP, de Miguel Beriain I. Introduction to ethical and legal issues in CBRNE crises. In: O’Mathúna DP & de Miguel Beriain I, eds. Ethics and Law for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear & Explosive Crises. Cham: Springer Nature; 2019:7-13.
O’Mathúna DP. Christian theology and disasters: where is God in all this? In: O’Mathúna DP, Dranseika V, Gordijn B, eds. Disasters: Core Concepts and Ethical Theories. Cham: Springer; 2018:27-42. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92722-0_3. Open access
O’Mathúna DP, Gordijn B. Conceptualizing and assessing disasters: an introduction. In: Disasters: Core Concepts and Ethical Theories. In: O’Mathúna DP, Dranseika V, Gordijn B, eds. Disasters: Core Concepts and Ethical Theories. Cham: Springer; 2018:1-9. h
O’Mathúna DP. Ethical considerations for evidence implementation and evidence generation. In: Melnyk BM, Fineout-Overholt E, eds. Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice, 4th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2019:681-699
O’Mathúna DP, Fineout-Overholt E. Critically appraising quantitative evidence for clinical decision making. In: Melnyk BM, Fineout-Overholt E, eds. Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice, 4th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kl
O’Mathúna DP. Humanitarian ethics: from dignity and solidarity to response and research. In: Lysaught MT, McCarthy M, eds. Catholic Bioethics & Social Justice: The Praxis of US Health Care in a Globalized World. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press; 2018:34
O’Mathúna DP. The dual imperative in disaster research ethics. In: Iphofen R, Tolich M, eds. SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Ethics. London: SAGE; 2018:441-454.

Publications

O’Mathúna D, Smith J, Zadvinskis I, Monturo C, Kelley MM, Tucker S, Miller PS, Norful AA, Zellefrow C, Chipps E. Ethics and frontline nursing during COVID-19: a qualitative analysis. Nursing Ethics. Epub 27 March 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330221143150
Norful A, Tucker S, Miller PS, Roberts H, Kelley MM, Monturo C, O’Mathúna D, Smith J, Zadvinskis I, Zellefrow C, Chipps E. Nursing perspectives about the critical gaps in public health emergency response during the COVID-19 pandemic: recommendations for future preparedness. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 2023;55(1):22-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12795
O’Mathúna D, Upadhaya N. Should children be enrolled in clinical research in conflict zones? AMA Journal of Ethics. 2022;24(6):e463-e471. https://doi.org/10.1001/amajethics.2022.463
O’Mathúna DP. Ivermectin and the integrity of healthcare evidence during COVID-19. Frontiers in Public Health. 2022;10:788972. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.788972
Cleary-Holdforth J, O’Mathúna D, Fineout-Overholt E. Evidence‐based practice beliefs, implementation, and organizational culture and readiness for EBP among nurses, midwives, educators, and students in the Republic of Ireland. Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing. 2021;18(6):379-388. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12543
Kelley MM, Zadvinskis I, Miller PS, Monturo C, Norful AA, O’Mathúna D, Roberts H, Smith J, Tucker S, Zellefrow C, Chipps E. United States nurses' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: A grounded theory. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2021 Sep 15. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16032. Online ahead of print.
Borges do Nascimento IJB, O'Mathúna DP, von Groote TC, Abdulazeem HM, Weerasekara I, Marusic A, Puljak L, Civile VT, Zakarija-Grkovic I, Pericic TP, Atallah AN, Filoso S, Bragazzi NL, Marcolino MS. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic: an overview of systematic reviews. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2021;21:525. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06214-4
Yimer G, Gebreyes W, Havelaar A, Yousuf J, McKune S, Mohammad A, O’Mathúna D. Community engagement and building trust to resolve ethical challenges during humanitarian crises: experience from the CAGED Study. Conflict and Health. 2020;14:68. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-020-00313-w
Borges do Nascimento IJB, von Groote TC, O'Mathúna DP, Abdulazeem HM, Henderson C, Jayarajah U, Weerasekara I, Pericic TP, Klapproth HEG, Puljak L, Cacic N, Zakarija-Grkovic I, Guimarães SMM, Atallah AN, Bragazzi NL, Marcolino MS, Marusic A, Jeroncic A. Clinical, laboratory and radiological characteristics and outcomes of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection in humans: a systematic review and series of meta-analyses. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(9): e0239235. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239235
Romney D, Fox H, Carlson S, Bachmann D, O’Mathúna D, Kman N. Allocation of scarce resources in a pandemic: a systematic review of U.S. State Crisis Standards of Care documents. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 2020;14(5):677-683. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2020.101
Borges do Nascimento IJB, Cacic N, Abdulazeem HM, von Groote TC, Jayarajah U, Weerasekara I, Esfahani MA, Civile VT, Marusic A, Jeroncic A, Junior NC, Pericic TP, Zakarija-Grkovic I, Guimarães SMM, Bragazzi NL, Bjorklund M, Sofi-Mahmudi A, Altujjar M, Tian M, Arcani DMC, O'Mathúna DP, Marcolino MS. Novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in humans: a scoping review and meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020;9(4): 941. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9040941
O’Mathúna DP, Escartín CP, Roche P, Marlowe J. Engaging citizen translators in disasters: virtue ethics in response to ethical challenges. Translation and Interpreting Studies. 2020;15(1):57-79. http://doi.org/10.1075/tis.20003.oma
O’Mathúna DP, Hunt M. Ethics and crisis translation: insights from the work of Paul Ricoeur. Disaster Prevention and Management. 2020;29(2):175-186. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-01-2019-0006
Dawson A, Lignou S, Siriwardhana C, O’Mathúna DP. Why research ethics should add retrospective review. BMC Medical Ethics. 2019;20(68):1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-019-0399-1
Mitrović VL, O’Mathúna DP, Nola IA. Ethics and floods: a systematic review. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13(4):817-828. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2018.154. Open access: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30626460
O’Mathúna DP. La enseñanza de la ética a través de canciones populares: afecto y pensamiento. International Journal on Subjectivity, Politics and the Arts. 2018;14(1):61-75. Open access: http://www.aesthethika.org/La-ensenanza-de-la-etica-a-traves-de-canciones-populares-Afecto-y-pensamiento. Translation of O’Mathúna DP. Teaching ethics using popular songs: feeling and thinking. Monash Bioethics Review. 2008;27(1-2):42-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03351295
Mezinska S, Kakuk P, Mijaljica G, Waligóra M, O’Mathúna D. Research in disaster settings: a systematic qualitative review of ethical guidelines. BMC Medical Ethics. 2016;17(1):1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-016-0148-7
O’Mathúna D. Ideal and nonideal moral theory for disaster bioethics. Human Affairs. 2016;26(1):8-17. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2016-0002
Matthews A, Haas DM, O’Mathúna DP, Dowswell T. Interventions for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015;9. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd007575.pub4
O’Mathúna DP. Research ethics in the context of humanitarian emergencies. Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine. 2015;8(1):31-35. https://doi.org/10.1111/jebm.12136
Hunt M, Schwartz L, Pringle J, Boulanger R, Nouvet E, O'Mathúna E, & participants of the Humanitarian Healthcare Ethics Forum. A research agenda for humanitarian health ethics. PLOS Currents Disasters. 2014;1. https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.dis.8b3c24217d80f3975618fc9d9228a144
O’Mathúna DP. Christian bioethics and the Bible. Christian Bioethics. 2014;20(2):246-259. https://doi.org/10.1093/cb/cbu017
Greaney A-M, O’Mathúna DP, Scott PA. Autonomy and choice in healthcare: self-testing devices as a case in point. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. 2012;15(4):383-395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-011-9356-6

Recent Research Activities

Post-research ethics analysis: A tool for sharing lessons-learnt from health
research in humanitarian crises. Funder: Research for Health in Humanitarian
Crises (R2HC). (Principal investigator)
2016-2017: R2HC Ethical Framework Review and Revision. Funder: Enhanced Learning
and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA). (Co-principal investigator)
2014-2017: Convenor of Cochrane Ireland. Coordinate and develop Cochrane activities on
the island of Ireland. Funder: Health Research Board of Ireland and the R&D
Office of the HSC Public Health Agency of Northern Ireland. (Principal
investigator)
2014: Clinical and economic systematic literature review to support the Paediatric
Early Warning Score (PEWS) clinical guideline being developed for the Irish
health system. Funder: Irish Department of Health. (Co-investigator)
2012-2016: COST Action IS1201: Disaster Bioethics – addressing ethical issues triggered by
disasters. Funder: European Cooperation in Science & Technology, Brussels.
(Chair and Principal Investigator)

Funded Research Grants

2022-2027 R25 Masters in One Health and Emergency Research Ethics (MOHERE).
NIH Fogarty International Center. Principal Investigator (PI).
2020-2023 One Health Ethics And Regulatory Procedures (OHEARP). NIH Bioethics
Supplement, Fogarty International Center. PI.
2021-2022 Narrative Nursing Intervention: Effects on Moral Injury, Resilience, and
Well-Being among Ohio Registered Nurses Practicing during COVID-19.
Ohio Nurses Foundation. Co-PI.
2021-2022 An Exploration of Frontline Nurse Managers Experience during the 2020
COVID Pandemic. Association for Leadership Science in Nursing.
Co-I.
2020-2021 Developing an Online Ethics Toolkit for Humanitarian Research. OSU
College of Nursing Seed Funding. PI.
2019-2020 Advancing Health Research in Humanitarian Crises. Case Studies Project.
Funder: NIH Fogarty International Center. Co-PI.
2018-2021: PROmoting integrity in the use of RESearch results (PRO-RES). Funder:
European Commission, Horizon 2020 - Research and Innovation Framework
Programme. Co-I.
2016-2018: Post-research ethics analysis (PREA): A tool for sharing lessons-learnt from
health research in humanitarian crises. Funder: Research for Health in
Humanitarian Crises (R2HC).PI.
2012-2016: COST Action IS1201: Disaster Bioethics – addressing ethical issues
triggered by disasters. Funder: European Cooperation in Science &
Technology, Brussels. Chair/PI.

Technical Reports

Siriwardhana C, Lignou S, Doherty S, O’Mathúna D. Research Ethics Tool. Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises, 2017. https://www.elrha.org/researchdatabase/r2hc-research-ethics-tool/
Veen H, Norton I, … O’Mathúna D, et al. Management of Limb Injuries During Disasters and Conflicts. Geneva: ICRC, WHO and AO Foundation, 2016. https://icrc.aoeducation.org/
World Health Organization. Guidance for Managing Ethical Issues in Infectious Disease Outbreaks. Geneva: WHO, 2016. http://www.who.int/ethics/publications/infectious-disease-outbreaks/en/
Berman G, Hart J, O'Mathúna D, Mattellone E, Potts A, O'Kane C, Shusterman J, Tanne T. What we know about ethical research involving children in humanitarian settings: an overview of principles, the literature and case studies. Innocenti Working Paper No.
O'Mathúna D. Learning objective 3.1: Identify possible harm and benefit to individuals and communities resulting from public health practice and surveillance. Learning objective 6.3: Identify issues of benefit-sharing with communities under public health

News

September 26, 2025

Punches and team awarded $5.1 million NIH/NINDS grant to study pain trajectories in emergency department patients

Four-year study to develop predictive models for personalized pain care

September 23, 2025

College of Nursing awarded five-year continuation of NIH T32 training program

College to accept candidates for January 2026 and August 2026 cohorts

The Ohio State University College of Nursing has received a $1.8 million, five-year continuation of its Training in the Science of Health Development (TSHD) program.