A Survey of NHS Services for Opiate Dependents in Scotland

The aim of this study was to investigate the range of opiates available within the Scottish NHS for patients with opiate dependancy and to assess the process underlying clinical decision-making. Clinicians, representitives of drug action teams and NHS personnel were apporached and semi-structured phone conversations were the primary means to elicit information. Whilst methadone is almost universally prescribed in Scotland, buprenorphine, dihydrocodeine (not currently licensed for opiate dependance management), lofexidine and naltrexone are also used. Alternative therapies are variably used.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

A Survey of Poly-drug (Multiple-drug) Use Among Patients Receiving Methadone for the Treatment of their Opioid Addiction in the Northern Area Health Board

The objective of this study is to determine the extent of the problem of poly-drug (multiple-drug) use among patients receiving methadone. The study investigated levels and patterns of cocaine and cannabis use in opiate dependent patients receiving methadone treatment. This research also examines risks associated with injecting cocaine. A total number of 851 methadone patients receiving treatment for opiate related problems participated in the survey from a total number of 1082 patients receiving treatment in these clinics. This figure accounts for 80.1%. Participants reported the frequency and intensity of cocaine and cannabis use. Data collected showed that 42% of the methadone patients are using cannabis on a daily basis and that 77.47% had a history of cocaine use. The figure of cocaine use is an important indicator of the level and extent of cocaine use. It is valuable from a public health perspective to assess needs, and to plan and evaluate services. The survey concluded that cocaine abuse is emerging as a problem in the Irish drug sceneThis resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

A Kilkenny Post-primary School Survey: A Survey of Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour Relevant to Noncommunicable Disease

The Kilkenny post-primary school survey was carried out in the spring of 1987 on a stratified random sample of 445 post-primary school children in county Kilkenny. The study was designed as the basis for evaluation of the Kilkenny Health Project's school health education programme. The study examined knowledge, attitudes and behaviour relevant to non-communicable disease. The results showed that levels of adolescent alcohol and tobacco use were similar to those found in neighbouring countries. Smoking and drinking increased during adolescence and were more prevalent in males. Physical activity decreased throughout adolescence and a high intake of 'snack' foods was found. Health related knowledge levels were high but were not related to behaviour; however attitudes were found to be consistent with behaviour. These and other results are discussed. Literature relevant to school health education and the aetiology of non-communicable disease is described, with particular reference to Ireland. The evidence supporting health promotion intervention programmes against non-communicable disease is examined and WHO and Irish policies on health promotion outlined. The importance of health and disease prevention programmes commencing in youth is emphasised and the suitability and efficacy of school health education programmes are noted. A number of school health education programmes world-wide are described. The role of the community physician in relation to such programmes is discussed. Finally recommendations are made and areas for further research are made.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

A Survey of Health Service Utilisation and Health Needs of a Population of Patient with HIV/ AIDS

This study described the demographic and medical characteristics of a population of patients with HIV/AIDS attending the department of Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) at a major Dublin hospital. The study population's utilisation of statutory and voluntary medical and social services at primary care level, satisfaction with services received and perceived need for services examined. The information obtained was used to make recommendations concerning the provision of care to patients with HIV/AIDS. The study was carried out between February and November 1994. Data was collected from a consecutive sample of eighty inpatients using n interviewer-administered questionnaire which contained both closed and open questions. The first forty patients interviewed were reviewed six months following the initial interview to document changes in physical condition and uptake of medical services over that time period. Data for the second part of the study was obtained by review of the patients' medical case notes and interview with the individual hospital medical social worker assigned to each patient. Over ninety percent of respondents were from the Greater Dublin Area. Almost three quarters were intravenous drug users (IVDUs), and the majority of these patients came from south inner city Dublin. The methodology was biased towards sampling patients with advanced disease and 73% had CDC Stage 4 disease. Twenty percent required some assistance with the activities of daily living when first interviewed. Most were reliant on informal carers. Social and physical dependency increased substantially over the six month period of the follow-up study of forty patients. Financial difficulties were identified as a particular area of need. Only ten percent of those interviewed were in current employment and over 80% were dependent on statutory payments. There is a need for greater co-ordination between the providers of services to patients HIV/AIDS and an improved system of data collection regarding patients' uptake of services and unmet needs is required to assist in future service planning.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Young People's Health in Great Britain and Ireland: Findings from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC)Survey, 2006.

This report presents data from the 2006 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey; a World Health Organization (WHO) collaborative cross-national study and focuses on data collected from young people in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It expands on the findings from the international report Inequalities in Young People's Health (Currie et al, 2008), with additional variables and prevalence rates that allows more comprehensive and focussed comparisons to be made between the four countries.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition in Ireland. Mental Health and Social Well-being Report

SĹN 2007: Older People, Loneliness and Social Support to Mental HealthSĹN, the national Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition, shows that most Irish adults have a reasonably high level of positive mental health. It is the largest national survey on positive and negative mental health and social well-being in the Irish adult population.��One finding highlights the significance of loneliness and social support to mental health. Finding reveal that 14% of respondents reported being often lonely in the last four weeks, with women, older people and respondents in lower social class groups reporting high levels of loneliness. The SĹN report indicates that being widowed and not being in paid employment are the strongest overall predictors of loneliness. Respondents who are widowed are about five times more likely to feel lonely than those who are married or cohabiting, while 17% of respondents aged 65 and over report being often lonely.��SLAN 2007 highlights the significance of loneliness and social support to mental health. It proposes community-based interventions, including community development approaches and strategies to promote community involvement as a way to tackle such social and health inequities at local level. The report also highlights the importance of implementing the recommendations of the policy document A Vision for Change. It says that protection and promotion of the future health and well-being of the Irish population requires the implementation of effective cross-sectoral policies that will help create and maintain a mentally healthy society, with consequent health, economic and social benefits for all.����SLAN is commissioned by the Department of Health and Children and involved face-to-face interviews with 10,364 respondents aged 18 years and over.��

Appendix 4. Initiatives in the East Midlands to Address Health Inequalities Between Ethnic Groups: Results of a survey undertaken by Champa Patel in May-July 2004 on behalf of EMPHO and Voice-East Midlands

Initiatives in the East Midlands to Address Health Inequalities Between Ethnic Groups: Results of a survey undertaken by Champa Patel in May-July 2004 on behalf of EMPHO and Voice-East Midlands.

Horwath Report Survey

The Office of the Minister for Integration (OMI), in collaboration with the Department of Education and Science have commissioned consultants, Horwath Consulting Ire-land and their partners, to carry out an independent review to assist in the develop-ment of a National English Language Policy and Framework for legally–resident Adult Immigrants. This is inclusive of asylum seekers. This review aims to identify the strengths and weakness of current provision, to sug-gest ways in which the strengths can be optimised and the weaknesses can be mini-mised. The review will assist in identifying barriers to participation, taking into ac-count Ireland’s rapidly changing demographics, and will suggest ways of overcoming these barriers. To achieve as broad a view as possible the consultants are engaging in a multi-pronged consultative approach. Key stakeholders have been interviewed, focus group meetings have been arranged and to expand the process it is proposed to carry out this survey. This survey seeks to obtain the views of providers of English Language to adult immigrants and interest groups. The views received will be analysed and will be used to inform the process.

Cope with Confidence - survey of heart failure patient experience

Your views matter - if you have heart failure, or are close to someone who does, please complete our survey by 31st�March 2012 (link below).Heart failure is a common condition affecting at least 20,000 people in Northern Ireland. The aim of this survey is to find out how to increase the confidence of people living with heart failure so they have a better quality of life, and can work in partnership with health care professionals and support services in managing their condition. The findings of this survey will be used to help improve services.Your views are important and we would encourage you to complete the survey. It should only take around 20 minutes. Participation is confidential which means that your identity will not be revealed. You are asked for your age, the first part of you post code and which GP practice you are registered with. This is so the results for different age groups and for different large geographical areas (i.e. Health & Social Care Trust areas) can be compared.� Results will not be examined by individual GP practice.Participation is voluntary i.e. taking part in the study is your decision. Whether you participate or not will have no effect on the medical care you receive from your GP practice or elsewhere. None of the health care professionals involved in your care will know if you participate or not: neither will they see your individual response.Whether you are an adult or a young person living with heart failure, or a partner, care giver, son, daughter, relative or friend, we would like you to share your experiences. This will help us to develop existing services in Northern Ireland to better meet your needs.You can share your experience by completing the survey online, clicking this�link:�http://sg.sensemaker-suite.com/CopewithconfidenceThe survey should be completed by 31st�March 2012.�If you have any queries about the survey, or you would like to request a paper copy to complete, please contact the Public Health Agency (028) 9032 1313 and ask for extension 2487 or email us at copewithconfidence@hscni.netPlease note that the survey team can only assist in survey related questions and will not able to answer questions about heart failure, its treatment or services provided.The Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke Association and The British Heart Foundation can provide information about support available to people with heart failure. Their contact details are:.�Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke Association:� www.nichsa.com, telephone (028) 9032 0184.�British Heart Foundation:� www.bhf.org.uk, telephone 0300 330 3311

'Active Travel' Maps: Derry/Londonderry, Enniskillen, Limavady, Omagh and Strabane

New 'Active Travel' Maps, funded by the Public Health Agency, for the cities and towns of Derry/ Londonderry, Enniskillen, Limavady, Omagh and Strabane have been launched to encourage local people and visitors to build physical activity into their day by walking, cycling, jogging, or using public transport.The Active Maps aim to promote health and wellbeing across the five district councils in the West and contain information on local cycle, walk and bus routes as well as useful contacts such as local cycle hire and sales outlets and walking groups, for example.

Northern Ireland Point Prevalence Survey of Hospital-acquired Infections and Antimicrobial Use 2012

The PHA�coordinated Northern Ireland's participation in ECDC's National Prevalence Survey on�Hospital-Acquired Infections & on Antimicrobial Use. Hospitals in Northern Ireland participated in data collection between May and June 2012.This report provides a snapshot of the levels of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) and levels of antimicrobial use (AMU) in hospitals in Northern Ireland during 2012.There have been three previous HAI PPS surveys and the last survey was carried out in 2006. It is difficult to compare each survey as the data was collected in a different way. However, after making allowances, there was an overall drop in HAI prevalence of 18% from 2006 to 2012.The PPS data collection was undertaken by hospital teams between May and June 2012 (one hospital deferred data collection until September 2012 because of a move to a new hospital); 16 hospitals surveyed 3,992 eligible patients. The median age of all patients was 66 years. A total of 383 (10 per cent) children under 16 years of age were surveyed.�Key results from this year's survey:The prevalence of HAI was 4.2%. A total of 166 patients were diagnosed with an active HAI with 3 patients having more than one infection.When comparing ward specialties, HAI prevalence was highest for patients in adult intensive care units (ICUs) at 9.1 per cent, followed by care of the elderly wards at 5.7%.The most common types of HCAI were respiratory infections (including pneumonia and infections of the lower respiratory tract) (27.9 per cent of all infections), surgical site infections (18.9 per cent) and urinary tract infections (UTI) (11.8 per cent).Since the last PPS in 2006 there has been a reduction in MRSA infections - from 0.9 per cent �of the hospital population to less than 0.1 per cent in patients; and a five-fold reduction in C. difficile infections (from 1.1 per cent to 0.2 per cent).The prevalence of antimicrobial use was 29.5%.Most antibiotic use (60 per cent) in hospitals was in patients receiving treatment for infections which commenced in the community. Eleven percent of surgical prophylaxis was prescribed for greater than one day.��

Northern Ireland Prevalence Survey of Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Use in Long Term Care Facilities

The Northern Ireland Prevalence Survey of Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Use in Long Term Care Facilities, also known as the 'HALT' survey was conducted as part of the 2013 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) European HALT survey.In May 2013, 42 Northern Ireland long-term care facilities (nursing and residential homes) participated in a European point prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use. Thirty-one privately owned nursing homes and 11 HSC Trust-controlled residential homes took part.The report and results have highlighted priority areas for future interventions to prevent and control HCAI, antimicrobial stewardship and future local and national prevalence surveys in long-term care facilities. The 2013 European report was published on 5th May 2014.

Baseline Survey of Northern Ireland Public Awareness of Cancer Signs and Symptoms

In May 2014, the Public Health Agency (the PHA) commissioned Social Market Research (www.socialmarketresearch.co.uk) to undertake a baseline survey on public awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer. The survey is based on face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of 1,000 adults plus an additional booster sample (n=410) of men and women aged 50+.

Belfast Active Travel Action Plan 2014-2020

The Belfast Strategic Partnership, which is led by the Public Health Agency, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and Belfast City Council, is launching the�Belfast Active Travel Action Plan 2014-2020 which aims to build a healthier city by encouraging people to incorporate walking and/or cycling into their daily travel.The travel plan aims to try to make Belfast a more vibrant city where people are healthy, fit, well-connected with one another, and use physical activity as part of their everyday lives.