A Review of the Bio-medical Evidence on Breast, Ovarian and Cervical Cancer

This review aims to provide good quality, up-to-date biomedical evidence of the therapies available to women in Ireland to treat breast, cervical and ovarian cancer. This review summarises evidence from guidelines and high quality studies. It should be noted however that scientific evidence is not infallible, and knowledge in this field is constantly evolving. The evidence summarised in this review presents the current consensus. Download document here   Download summary of report

National Men's Health Policy 2008-2013

National Mens Health Policy 2008-2013 Click here to download PDF 1.3mb Reference Document PDF 1.3mb Progress Report PDF 92kb

Changing Cardiovascular Health: National Cardiovascular Health Policy 2010 - 2019

This new cardiovascular policy, Changing Cardiovascular Health covering the period 2010-2019, comes a decade after the first national cardiovascular health strategy, entitled Building Healthier Hearts, was published by the Department of Health in 1999. The new policy is timely given the pace of scientific discovery and related changes in medical practice, changes in health service structures, and patterns and influences on population health behaviours in Ireland over the decade. Cardiovascular health and its maintenance is a microcosm of health more generally. A policy that can improve cardiovascular health and cardiovascular disease management will have beneficial effects for the whole healthcare system and population.Download this document

North South Feasibility Study - Final Report 2009

This Study was jointly commissioned by the Department of Health and Children in Ireland and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland. The main purpose of the Study is to develop a strategic framework for taking forward on a North-South basis future collaborative work in health and social care and in planning and delivering health and social care services, as may be appropriate. The Study sets out examples of current North-South cooperation and Identifies a number of potential areas within which further collaborative work may benefit people living in each jurisdiction. A participative approach was adopted in conducting this work and the outcome represents the collective views of key professionals and managers in both healthcare systems. While North-South collaboration on health related issues is not new, what this Study provides is a structured approach to its ongoing development, with clearly identified areas for further cooperation and explicit roles and responsibilities for Departments and Agencies in both jurisdictions.   Click here to download PDF 213KB

National Carers' Strategy

A key objective of Government policy for older people, children and adults with an illness or a disability is to support them to live in dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. Carers are vital to the achievement of this objective and are considered a backbone of care provision in Ireland. Click here to download PDF 1.8mb

The Efficacy of Minimum Unit Pricing, Fiscal and other Pricing Public Policies for Alcohol

This report was commissioned from CJP Consultants Limited by the Department of Health. It sets out the issues relating to hazardous and harmful consumption of alcohol in Ireland. It looks at the international experience and policy response;and makes recommendations about how the problems caused by hazardous alcohol consumption can and should be tackled in Ireland. Click here to download Report on The Efficacy of Minimum Unit Pricing, Fiscal and other Pricing Public Policies for Alcohol PDF 1MB

Suboxone Feasibility Study

An Expert Group was established by the Department to examine the regulatory framework required to facilitate the availability of buprenorphine / naloxone or buprenorphine-only products as an alternative to methadone for the treatment of opioid dependency. The Group’s recommendations in relation to the future use of such products in Ireland, taking into account a report by Create Consultancy Ltd evaluating a feasibility study on their use in the Irish context, have been forwarded to the HSE with a request that the HSE revert to the Minister for Primary Care with proposals for the Recommendations’ implementation. Click here to download Evaluation of Suboxone Feasibility Study in Ireland – Create Consultancy Ltd. – April 2011   PDF 870KB Click here to download Recommendations of the Expert Group on the Regulatory Framework for products containing buprenorphine/naloxone and buprenorphine-only for the treatment of opioid dependence in Ireland – August 2011 PDF 56KB  

National Clinical Effectiveness Committee (NCEC) Annual Report 2013

This first Annual Report of the NCEC outlines the activity of NCEC and provides information on the development for the first time in Ireland processes for prioritisation and quality assurance of National Clinical Guidelines. The Annual Report sets the agenda for NCEC going forward in line with its terms of reference. Of note two National Clinical Guidelines were quality assured by NCEC and endorsed by the Minister for Health in 2013. These are National Clinical Guideline No. 1 – National Early Warning Score and National Clinical Guideline No. 2 – Prevention and Control Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The implementation of National Clinical Guidelines is a significant patient quality and safety initiative and will improve health outcomes for patients, reduce variation in practice and improve the quality of clinical decisions. Quality assured National Clinical Guidelines will help to further improve the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of healthcare across Ireland. Download the Report  

Health Statistics 2005

The four key principles guiding the development of the Health Strategy (2001): Quality and Fairness: A Health System for You are equity, people-centredness, quality and accountability. Statistical information is fundamental to the delivery of each of these principles. This compendium of health statistics brings together data from a wide variety of sources on demography, health status and the delivery of health services. It provides a broad overview of health in Ireland as well as serving as a resource and reference for those interested in particular aspects of health and thehealth services. Read the Statistics report (PDF, 4.1mb)

North South Survey of Children's Height, Weight and Body Mass Index, 2002

As part of a North South Survey of Childrens Oral Health conducted in Ireland in 2001/’02 [1], the heights and weights of a representative sample of children and adolescents age 4-16 years was measured. Data were collected by 34 teams of trained and calibrated dentists and dental nurses for 17,518 children aged 4-16 in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) and 2,099 in Northern Ireland (NI). This report presents the results of the study which provide a baseline measurement of Childrens height and weight against which future change can be measured. By comparing these data with international norms we can estimate the current prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Ireland.

Strategic development review of health board food control laboratories

The Official Food Safety laboratories have a critical role in ensuring food safety and public health for the whole population of the Republic of Ireland. These public health laboratories are made up of 7 microbiological testing laboratories and 3 chemical or Public Analyst’s laboratories. The laboratories are regionally based and offer an accredited (INAB) service to 10 health boards thus spanning the country. The role of the laboratories is to test food for compliance with the relevant legislation and guidelines, identify food-borne hazards and disease outbreaks, provide essential risk assessment information for national and international needs, provide a food testing service for consumers and a water testing service on a national basis. They also participate in dedicated National and EU surveys under the auspices of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). There has been significant investment and development in food-related public health protection in Ireland in recent years. However, there are still a number of issues that have the potential to impact on these laboratories in delivering a fully effective public health service in a cost efficient manner. Building on what has been achieved to date, this strategic review identifies those issues to be addressed in order to ensure (1) a cost effective national co-ordinated food safety laboratory service, (2) that future laboratory service needs are accounted for in the delivery of their Public Health role, and (3) that this Service meets both national and international requirements and standards.

Attitudes of the public towards policies to address obesity

Key points Obesity and the related health burden is a growing problem in Ireland. Understanding public attitudes to policy interventions is important, as it provides a key indicator of the potential effectiveness of interventions and the readiness of the general public for policy implementation. The present research aimed to determine public acceptance of a range of policies to address obesity in Ireland. To this end, a survey of attitudes towards obesity-oriented policies among a nationally representative sample of the population of Irish adults was conducted. Strikingly high levels of public support were evident for a wide range of obesity-oriented interventions. The findings support prior research on behaviour change in key policy areas such as diet and smoking which demonstrates that support for interventions tends to decrease as the intrusiveness of interventions increases. Consistent with previous research, socio-demographic factors only explain a small portion (2 - 6%) of the variance in policy support. Overall, the findings indicate substantial public readiness for addressing obesity in Ireland, particularly through child-focused policies, informational measures, subsidies for healthy foods and co-operation between government and the food industry. - See more at: http://www.safefood.eu/Publications/Research-reports/Attitudes-of-the-public-towards-policies-to-addres

Enough is Enough - Food Poverty Scoping Exercise

In March 2015, over 80 people, representing food banks, churches, advice services, community organisations, statutory agencies and universities attended the ‘Enough is Enough’  launch event in City Church, Belfast to examine the rising demand for emergency food across the city.The ‘Enough is Enough’ project aims to harness the expertise of health and social care professionals, city councillors, advice workers, food banks, community and faith based organisations and strategic bodies across Belfast to collectively address the issue of food poverty. This scoping study lays the foundation for developing an action plan to tackle food poverty in Belfast in collaboration with the community, voluntary and statutory sectors.The Belfast Food Network (BFN) commissioned the project with funding from the Public Health Agency. The research was carried out by Jenny McCurry, who also wrote the report, on behalf of Advice NI.  The project was initiated and developed by Dr Elizabeth Mitchell, Institute of Public Health in Ireland, in her role as convener of the BFN Food Poverty Working Group (BFN/FPWG). Thanks are due to Kevin Higgins, Head of Policy, Advice NI, and Kerry Melville, Co-ordinator, BFN, for their involvement in the project.The BFN is a founding member of the pioneering Sustainable Food Cities Network (SFC). Therapidly growing BFN was established in March 2014 to work with partners to establish a successful Sustainable Food City in Belfast.ACCESS AUDIO AND VIDEO FROM THE EVENT

A Sociological Analysis of Contemporary Irish Social Drinking Patterns

This thesis seeks to provide an understanding of contemporary Irish social drinking patterns by conducting a detailed analysis of the evolving sociological theories of alcohol consumption in Ireland. ‘Alcohol is a social drug which, to this day, evokes the divisive moral qualities that originated, or at least were solidified, in the last century with the birth of temperance movements’ (Cassidy, 1997:175). The temperance movement in Ireland under Father Mathew, a legacy which still reverberates in Irish society, served to further ingrain the ‘image of the whisky drinking Irishman’ (Ibid: 17). This is seen in such work as Stivers (1976) who uses sociological labelling theory to provide verification of a deviant Irish status, biologically, socially and culturally predisposed to alcohol. The author argues that these temperance movements sought to remove the linkages of alcohol and “Irishness” but this quasi-stigmatisation process created a “self-fulfilling prophecy”, which further abetted the legitimisation of alcohol within cultural spheres. The tourism industry, in connection with drink manufacturers, has had a monumental role in alcohol’s contemporary position within the upper echelons of Irish culture and heritage. Their hand in the commodification of “Stage Irishy”, seen as “craic”, has further entrenched the links between consumption of alcohol and the consumption of Irish Identity “McGovern, 2002). Furthermore, commercial interests are keen to cash in and maintain the dominance of alcohol in Irish society. This thesis concludes that this factor, in connection with the accelerated modernisation that Ireland has experienced since the mid-nineties, has malleable consequences for Irish society. As Keohane and Kuhling (2007) assert, post-modern consumption patterns of excess and ‘insatiability’ have been introduced into contemporary Irish drinking patterns and are affecting the nature of alcohol consumption in Ireland.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Accepting Methadone: The Evolution of an Institutional Decision

This is a study of organisational decision making among senior civil servants in the Department of Health (DOH) in relation to the acceptance of methadone maintenance as a valid treatment modality for opiate misuse in Ireland. A qualitative strategy was adopted with an emergent design and grounded theory perspective. The data was collected using a naturalistic mode of inquiry and comprised of documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The aspects of decision making chosen for the study were: 1. Identifying the actors involved considering the heretofore dominant 'corporation sole' culture of the Irish public administration. 2. Identifying two (out of the myriad) processes involved in decision making. 3. Identifying what theoretical model(s) of decision making most closely approximates to this case. The findings were as follows: 1. Actors involved at all levels of the decision making could be identified, albeit with some difficulty. This as a result of the strategic management initiative. Previously, it may not have been possible. Stages or phases could not, in this case, be readily identified though limitations of this study may prove significant. 2. Both the processes selected in decision-making in this case were confirmed. Personal and professional support provided by peers and seniors is crucial to decision making. Decision making does occur within networks: these tend to be those that are formally appointed rather than informal ones. 3. The model closest to that of this case was that of incremental decision making within network settings.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.