Dr Elaine Mooney

Elaine is a lecturer in the School of Home Economics. She is a Home Economics and Biology graduate of St. Angela’s College Sligo with a MSc in Food Science from UCD and a PhD from University of Ulster. In May 2018, Elaine along with Amanda McCloat presented to the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs on Tackling Childhood Obesity on behalf of the School of Home Economics of St. Angela's College, Sligo. Elaine is the Director of the National Centre of Excellence for Home Economics at St. Angela's College.

Elaine works collaboratively on a wide range of research teams such as: 

Assessment of the use of meat thermometers by consumers on the island of Ireland.(May 2019-ongoing). Partner with UU & University of Surrey Research team including St. Angela’s College (Dr. E Mooney & Amanda Mc Cloat), University of Ulster and Surrey University. Funding Source: (€126,000) Safefood. 

Food safety advice for vulnerable patients/residents in healthcare settings on the Island of Ireland.(Sept.2019-ongoing). Partner with UU & University of Surrey Research team including St. Angela’s College (Dr. E Mooney & Amanda Mc Cloat), University of Ulster and Surrey University.
Funding Source:(€116,114) Safefood.

The impact of nutrition and health claims on the perceived healthiness and consumption by adults on the island of Ireland (2015- 2019). Research team including St. Angela’s College (Dr. E Mooney & A. Mc Cloat), Queen’s University Belfast and Surrey University.
Funding Source: (€150,000) Safefood.

The impact of cooking and food related food skills on healthiness of diets(2014 – 2016). Research teamincluding St. Angela’s College (Dr. E Mooney & AMc Cloat), Queen’s University Belfast and UniversityUlster.
Funding Source: €250,000 Safefood.

Fun with Food – Community Home Economics food education intervention and funded research project (2017 – ongoing) Member of research team with colleagues from STACS. National Lottery funding (€10,000)

Recipes for Success (2014 – ongoing). Collaborative nutrition education project with the GAA, St. Angela’s and the ATHE.

“What’s Ireland Cooking? Parents’ cooking skills an island of Ireland study” (2013 –2016). Member of cross border research team St. Angela’s College and University Ulster.
Funding Source: Merici Research Bursaries, St. Angela’s College. €6,500

“Development of Culinary Skills educational intervention to initiate dietary change and positively influence eating habits of the targeted group and their families within the community” (2013- 2014)
Funding Source: Department of Social Protection. €2,000

“An investigation into the experiences of primary school teachers with regard to their teaching of healthy eating guidelines within the curriculum” E. Mooney, E. Kelly-Blakeney & A. Mc Cloat in collaboration with the School of Education, University of Ulster.
Funding Source: SCoTENS (2008 – 2011) £6,500 (sterling)

Recipes for Success: Lessons learned from the implementation of a food skills and nutrition education workshop with Gaelic athletic players on the Island of Ireland (IOI)” is now published and your complimentary e-copy is available at https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/6JT9GYCTWBSSKJ5JUPAZ/full

Lavelle, F., Mooney, E., Coffey, S., Lydon, R., Dean, M. and McCloat, A., 2023. Fun with food-A parent-child community cooking intervention reduces parental fear and increases children's perceived competence. Appetite, 180, p.106347. 

Hollywood, L., Issartel, J., Gaul, D., McCloat, A., Mooney, E., Collins, C.E., and Lavelle, F. 2022. Cook like a Boss Online: an adapted intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic that effectively improved children’s perceived cooking competence, movement competence and wellbeing. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 19, 146 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-022-01378-x 

Lydon, R., McCloat, A., Mooney, E., & Kelly-Blakeney, E. (2022). Recipes for Success: Lessons learned from the implementation of a food skills and nutrition education workshop with Gaelic athletic players on the Island of Ireland (IOI). Health Education Journal,  https://doi.org/10.1177/00178969221136838 

Dean M, O’Kane C, Issartel J, McCloat A, Mooney E., McKernan C, Brooks S, O’Kane N, Crowe W, Murphy B, Lavelle F. Cook Like A Boss: An effective co-created multidisciplinary approach to improving children’s cooking competence. Food Quality and Preference, Under Review. 

Benson, T., Murphy, B., McCloat, A., Mooney, E., Dean, M. and Lavelle, F., 2022. From the pandemic to the pan: the impact of COVID-19 on parental inclusion of children in cooking activities: a cross-continental survey. Public health nutrition, 25(1), pp.36-42. 

Dean, M., Issartel, J., Benson, T., McCloat, A., Mooney, E., McKernan, C., Dunne, L., Brennan, S.F., Moore, S.E., McCarthy, D., Woodside, J.V., and Lavelle, F. 2021. CooC11 and CooC7: The Development and Validation of Age Appropriate Children’s Perceived Cooking Competence Measures, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-021-01089-9.

Dean, M., O’Kane, C., Issartel, J., McCloat, A., Mooney, E., Gaul, D., Wolfson, J.A. and Lavelle, F., 2021. Guidelines for designing age-appropriate cooking interventions for children: the development of evidence-based cooking skill recommendations for children, using a multidisciplinary approach. Appetite. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105125.

Murphy B, Benson T, McCloat A, Mooney E, Elliott C, Dean M, Lavelle F. (2020). Changes in Consumers’ Food Practices during the COVID-19 Lockdown, Implications for Diet Quality and the Food System: A Cross-Continental Comparison. Nutrients. DOI: 10.3390/nu13010020.

Benson T, Lavelle F, McCloat A,Mooney E, Bucher T, Egan B, Dean M. (2019). Are the claims to blame? Understanding the effects of nutrition and health claims on perceptions and consumption. Nutrients. DOI: 10.3390/nu11092058.

Lavelle F,Benson T, Hollywood L, Surgenor D, McCloat A,Mooney E, Caraher M, Dean M. (2019). Modern Transference of Domestic Cooking Skills. Nutrients. DOI: 10.3390/nu11040870.

Benson T,Lavelle F,Bucher T, McCloat A,Mooney E, Egan B, Collins CE, Dean M.(2018). The Impact of Nutrition and Health Claims on Consumer Perceptions and Portion Size Selection: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey. Nutrients. DOI: 10.3390/nu10050656.

Lavelle F,McGowan L, Hollywood L, Surgenor D, McCloat A,Mooney E, Caraher M, Raats M, Dean M.(2017). The development and validation of measures to assess cooking skills and food skills. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-017-0575-y.

Hollywood L, Surgenor D, Reicks M, Lavelle F, Spence M, Raats M, McCloat A,Mooney E,Caraher M, Dean M. (2017). Critical review of Behaviour Change Techniques applied in intervention studies to improve Cooking Skills and Food Skills among adults. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition. DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2017.1344613.

Lavelle F,Hollywood L, Caraher M, McGowan L, Spence M, Surgenor D, McCloat A,Mooney E, Raats M, Dean M. (2017). Increasing intention to cook from basic ingredients: A randomised controlled study. Appetite. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.024.

Surgenor D, Hollywood L, Furey S, Lavelle F, McGowan L, Spence M, Raats M, McCloat A,Mooney E, Caraher M, Dean M. (2017). The impact of video technology on learning: A cooking skills experiment. Appetite. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.03.037.

Lavelle F,Spence M, Hollywood L, McGowan L, Surgenor D, McCloat A, Mooney E, Caraher M, Raats M, Dean M. (2016). Learning cooking skills at different ages: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-016-0446-y.

McGowan L, Pot GK, Stephen AM, Lavelle F, Spence M, Raats M, Hollywood L, McDowell D, McCloat A, Mooney E, Caraher M, Dean M. (2016). The influence of socio-demographic, psychological and knowledge-related variables alongside perceived cooking and food skills abilities in the prediction of diet quality in adults: a nationally representative cross-sectional study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-016-0440-4.

Lavelle F,McGowan L, Spence M, Caraher M, Raats M, Hollywood L, McDowell D, McCloat A, Mooney E, Dean M. (2016). Barriers and Facilitators to cooking from ‘scratch’ using raw or basic ingredients: A qualitative interview study. Appetite. DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.08.115.

McGowan L, Caraher M, Raats M, Lavelle F, Hollywood L, McDowell D, Spence M, McCloat A, Mooney E, Dean M. (2015). Domestic cooking and food skills: A review. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition. DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2015.1072495.

Benson, T., Lavelle, F., McCloat, A.,Mooney, E., Bucher, T., Egan, B., Dean. M (2019) Are the claims to blame? A qualitative study to understand the effects of nutrition and health claims on perceptions and consumption of food. Nutrients. 11, 2058

Lavelle, F.; Benson, T.; Hollywood, L.; Surgenor, D.; McCloat, A.; Mooney, E.; Caraher, M.; Dean, M. (2019) Modern Transference of Domestic Cooking Skills. Nutrients 2019, 11, 870.

Benson, T., Lavelle, F., Bucher, T., McCloat, A.,Mooney, E., Egan, B., Collins, C., Dean. M (2018) The Impact of Nutrition and Health Claims on Consumer Perceptions and Portion Size Selection: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey. Nutrients, 10, 656

Hollywood L, Surgenor D, Reiks M, McGowan L, Lavelle F, Spence M, Raats M, McCloat A, Mooney E,Caraher M, Dean M. (2017) Identification of Behaviour Change Techniques applied in interventions to improve Cooking Skills and Food Skills among adults. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.

Lavelle F, Hollywood L, Caraher M, McGowan L, Spence M, Surgenor D, McCloat A, Mooney E, Raats M, Dean M. (2017). Increasing intention to cook from basic ingredients: A randomised controlled study. Appetite. 116: 502-510.

Lavelle F, McGowan L, Hollywood L, Surgenor D, McCloat A, MooneyE, Caraher M, Raats M, Dean M. (2017). The development and validation of measures to assess cooking skills and food skills. International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity. Vol. 14, p.118.

Surgenor D, Hollywood L, Furey S, Lavelle F, McGowan L, Spence M, Raats M, McCloat A, Mooney E,Caraher M, Dean M, (2017). The impact of video technology on learning: A cooking skills experiment. Appetite, 114, pp.306-312.

McCloat, A., Mooney, E.,& Hollywood, L.E. (2016) Have Irish parents put cooking on the back burner? An Island of Ireland study of the food skills, cooking confidence and practices of parents. British Food Journal, Vol. 119 Issue: 5, pp.992-1002

Lavelle. F., McGowan, L., Spence, M., Caraher, M., Raats, M., Hollywood, L., McDowell, D, McCloat, A., Mooney, E., Dean, M. (2016). Barriers and facilitators to cooking from ‘scratch’ using basic or raw ingredients: A qualitative interview study. Appetite.107,  383-391

Lavelle F, McGowan L, Spence M, Caraher M, Raats M, Hollywood L, McDowell D, McCloat A, Mooney E, Dean M. (2016) Learning cooking skills at different ages: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity (2016) 13:119

McGowan, L., Pot, G.K., Stephen, A.M.,Lavelle, F., Spence, M., Raats, M., Hollywood, L., McDowell, D., McCloat, A., Mooney, E., Caraher, M., Dean, M. (2016). The influence of socio-demographic, psychological and knowledge-related variables alongside perceived cooking and food skills abilities in the prediction of diet quality in adults: a nationally representative cross-sectional study. International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity.13(1), 1-13  

McCloat, A., Mooney, E. & Lydon, R. (2016) Recipes for Success: The Promotion of Home Economics in a Community Sports Setting.International Federation for Home Economics (IFHE) XXIII World Congress, Korea July 2016. (Oral Research Presentation)

McGowan L, Caraher M, Raats M, Lavelle F, Hollywood L, McDowell D, Spence M, McCloat A, Mooney E, Dean M. (2015). Domestic Cooking and Food Skills: A Review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. Nov.30:0.

Mooney, E., Kelly-Blakeney, E.,Mc Cloat, A.& Black, D.  (2015) Adding to Food Literacy? Primary teachers’ perspectives on food education in the primary curriculum. NUI Galway. ‘Health Promotion Conference. Health Literacy: Research, Policy and Practice’. 18^th of June, 2015. (Oral Research Presentation)

Mc Cloat, A., Mooney, E., Coffey, S., Lydon, R. & O’Hara (2014). A community based food educationintervention amongst disadvantaged families in the North-West of Ireland. IFHE International Home EconomicsConference, IFHE Council 2014, Brescia College, July 2014 (Oral Research Presentation)

Mc Cloat, A. &Mooney, E., Hollywood, L. (2014) Are Parents really cooking up a storm? Understanding andfostering creativity in the Kitchen. University of Surrey July 2014 (Oral Research Presentation)

Mooney, E., Kelly-Blakeney, E., Mc Cloat, A. & Black, D. (2011) Primary School Teachers’ experiences of teaching healthy eating within the curriculum: A report for the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS). Armagh: Centre for Cross Border Studies. (Published Report)

Mooney, E., Farley, H.  & Strugnell, C. (2010). Body Dissatisfaction and Dieting amongst Adolescent Females in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) - A quantitative study. Nutrition and Food Science, Vol.40 No.2 pp176-185.

E. Mooney,E. Kelly Blakeney, A. Mc Cloat & D. Black. (2009). Teaching Healthy Eating: Primary school teachers’ experiences. Poster Presentation at The Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South (SCoTENS) October, 2009.

Mooney, E., Farley, H.  & Strugnell, C. (2009). A qualitative investigation into the opinions of adolescent females regarding their body image concerns and dieting practices in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Appetite, 52 (2) pp 485-491.

Mooney, E., Kelly-Blakeney, E., Mc Cloat A. & Black, D. (2009). Primary school teachers’ experiences of teaching healthy eating in the classroom; an all - Ireland study. Proceedings of the 4^th International Consumer Sciences Researach Conference in Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, June, 2009. (Oral Research Presentation)

Mooney, E. & Mc Cloat, A. (2008) How to make the most of money. Irish Independent, 10th December 2008. (Newspaper Article).

Mooney, E., Farley, H. & Strugnell, C. (2007). “Thin is In!” – An investigation into the dieting practices of Irish adolescent females. Sibéal Speaks Conference in University of Limerick, October 2007. (Oral Research Presentation)

Mooney, E., Farley, H. & Strugnell, C. (2007). ‘The Weighting Game” – A study into the dieting practices of Irish adolescent females’. Proceedings of The 3^rd International Institute of Consumer Sciences (incorporating home economics) Conference in University of Ulster, Jordanstown, June, 2007. (Oral Research Presentation)

Mooney, E., Farley, H. & Strugnell, C. (2005). ‘Waisting Away’ – Some preliminary results of an Irish study investigating dieting behaviour amongst adolescent females. Proceedings of The 2^nd International Institute of Consumer Sciences (incorporating home economics) Conference in Liverpool John Moores University, July, 2005. (Oral Research Presentation)

Mooney, E., Farley, H. & Strugnell, C. (2004). Are Irish female adolescents watching their weight? Proceedings of the 20^th World Congress of the International Federation of Home Economicsin Japan, August, 2004. (Oral Research Presentation)

Mooney, E., Farley, H. & Strugnell, C. (2004). Dieting among adolescent females–some emerging trends. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 28, (4) pp 347-354.

Kelly, E &Mooney, E. (2000). Perspectives on Food Labelling among Primary Household Food Purchasers in Ireland. Proceedings of  XIXth World Congress the International Federation of Home Economics in Ghana, August 2000. (Oral Research Presentation)

Mooney, E. (1996). The Menopause - A Positive Challenge.  Poster Presentation at the International Federation for Home Economics XVIIIth World Congress in Bangkok.

Mooney, E. (1996). The Menopause-A Positive Challenge. Newsletter for the Association of Teachers of Home Economics.

Mooney, E. (1995). Osteoporosis - A Bone of Contention. Health Links, Western Health Board.

• Member of Safefood Advisory Committee 2016-2019
• Member of Association of Teachers of Home Economics.
• Member of International Federation for Home Economics.
• Past membership of the Nutrition and Health Foundation Executive board, past Chairperson of their Scientific Committee