North South Survey of Children's Oral Health in Ireland 2002

The health strategy in Ireland has placed great emphasis on the collection of quality information on health and its determinants, for health policy planning and evaluation. This North South survey of children's oral health provides extensive data for representative samples totaling 19,963 children and adolescents on a variety of oral diseases, conditions and related parameters. The data are nationally and internationally comparable and provide a basis for planning and evaluating oral health policy in Ireland. Click here to download the document (PDF, 700kb)

State of the Nation's Children: Ireland 2010

This is Ireland's third biennial State of the Nation's Children report. These reports,which provide the most up-to-date data on all indicators in the National Set of Child Well-Being Indicators, aim to:- chart the well-being of children in Ireland;- track changes over time;- benchmark progress in Ireland relative to other countries;- highlight policy issues arising. Download document here

Report to the Minister for Health and Children on Risk Equalisation in the Irish Private Health Insurance Market

Provision for risk equalisation was first made in the Health Insurance Act, 1994, section 12 of which empowered the Minister to prescribe a scheme for risk equalisation. A Risk Equalsiation Scheme was introduced in 2003. In December 2005, the Minister decided, on the Authorityâ?Ts recommendation, which referred to risks now materialising, to commence risk equalisation payments under the Scheme as from 1 January 2006, but in the event the relevant legislation was overturned by the Courts in 2008. Download document here

Report of the Review Group on the National Children's Hospital

The Review Group, led by Chairman Dr Frank Dolphin was appointed in March 2012 to advise the Minister for Health on the options for a new childrenâ?Ts hospital, following the refusal by An Bord Pleanála to give planning permission for the proposed National Childrenâ?Ts Hospital at a site on Eccles Street. Read the Report (PDF, 4MB) Read the Appendices Document (PDF, 11MB)

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.

Immunisation for pre-school children three to five years old (English and 10 translations)

This booklet contains the facts about the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis) and polio, and the MMR booster given to children before they start school

Teeth matter! Caring for your children's teeth: advice for parents and carers of children with special needs

This booklet explains how to care for the teeth of children with special needs.

Healthy child, healthy future: speech and language therapy for children

This resource is designed to reinforce a collaborative approach between speech and language therapists, referrers and parents in the identification and management of children with developmental speech and language and communication needs (including children with feeding and/or swallowing difficulties). It includes a comprehensive key skills section, which provides details on the communication-related skills a child should have acquired at each stage in his/her early years development. It also includes specific criteria and guidelines for referral, should there be concern about whether the child has a significant problem. The resource provides additional guidance on: • communication and child play; • speech sound development; • dummies; • stammering; • dysphonia; • bilingualism; • feeding and swallowing difficulties. Lists of supplementary leaflets, handouts and websites, as well as a bibliography, are also included.

Reverse the 'real brain drain' for our children, urges Director of Public Health

The second annual report of the Director of Public Health (DPH) for Northern Ireland was published today. This significant report highlights the many public health challenges that affect people in Northern Ireland. Dr Carolyn Harper, Director of Public Health, leads the public health team that tackles this complex agenda, working with many statutory, community and voluntary partner organisations across health, local government, education, housing and other sectors.

Healthy child, healthy future - Speech and language therapy: Factsheet for parents 6. Tips for talking: children aged 4 to 5 years

This factsheet highlights simple ideas to encourage speech in children around 4 to 5 years old.

New interactive resource feeds children's curiosity

The Public Health Agency and safefood today (Wednesday 22 June) officially launched Eat, Taste and Grow, a new interactive curriculum based education resource to help increase awareness among primary school children of the origins of their food, local produce and the role this plays in healthy eating. As research in 2006 showed, 18% of children aged 2-15 years in Northern Ireland were reported to be obese; and provisional data in 2008-2009 showed that 22.5% of children entering Year 1 were already overweight (17%) or obese (5%).* The launch of Eat, Taste and Grow is an innovative collaboration between the PHA and safefood that will provide children with lifelong lessons about the food they eat, healthy eating options and the benefits of an active lifestyle.The free teacher-led CD-ROM resource will be sent to every primary school across Northern Ireland by September 2011 and will help increase awareness among primary school children of the origins of their food and local produce, and the role this plays in healthy eating.Speaking at the event, Health Minister Edwin Poots said: "Being obese as a child can store up problems for the future, leading to a reduction in life expectancy and potentially causing other health problems such as increased risk of coronary heart disease, cancer and Type 2 Diabetes."Currently around one in four girls and one in six boys in Primary One (Year 1) are overweight or obese."Many of our children are not as physically active as they should be, nor do they have a healthy, balanced diet."This new resource will help teachers in our primary schools educate children on how to choose what foods are healthier for them which hopefully they will carry with them into adulthood."Dr Eddie Rooney, Chief Executive, PHA said: "The Public Health Agency recognises the need to give every child a healthy start in life. Schools play a vital role in contributing to the development of knowledge and skills necessary to make healthier food choices and laying the foundation for good eating habits which can then be carried through into adulthood. Eat, Taste and Grow is an excellent resource that will help equip teachers to carry out this role and in turn enable children to make healthier choices."Mr Martin Higgins, CEO safefood said: "We know and understand the challenges faced by parents to encourage children to eat healthy foods. As obesity among children continues to rise, this interactive resource will educate children in a fun and engaging way while providing them with the information to make informed, responsible choices throughout their lives."The Eat, Taste and Grow resource is an interactive CD-ROM for use on a whiteboard or computer and is divided into: Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Topics include 'Where does our food come from?', 'Who produces our food?', 'How food grows' and 'How food is produced and preserved'. Each topic has accompanying teacher's notes and includes ideas for classroom discussions, role play, games and quiz suggestions.

PHA urges parents to get 'at risk' children vaccinated against seasonal flu

The Public Health Agency is urging Northern Ireland parents to make sure children in 'at risk' groups get their flu vaccine early.The message has been issued to parents and carers of children as the PHA's seasonal flu vaccination programme gets underway for 2011/12.It is very important that children with any condition that puts them more at risk of the complications of flu get the vaccine.These 'at risk' conditions include:chronic lung conditions such as asthma;chest infections that have required hospital admission;chronic heart conditions;chronic liver disease;chronic kidney disease;diabetes;lowered immunity due to disease or treatment such as steroids or cancer therapy;chronic neurological conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis or a condition that affects the nervous system, such as cerebral palsy;hereditary and degenerative diseases of the central nervous system or muscles.Children who attend special schools for severe learning or physical disabilities are considered to be particularly at risk, as well as those with other complex health needs.The PHA has written to principals of local special schools, as well as parents of children at these schools, to raise awareness of the importance of getting vaccinated early.Dr Richard Smithson, PHA Flu Vaccination Lead, said: "For many people, flu is a short, unpleasant illness, but it does not usually cause any serious problems. However, for others, it can have very serious complications including, in rare cases, being fatal."We have been particularly reminded over the last two winters that children with chronic neurological problems and other complex health needs are very vulnerable to these complications. We have seen children become very seriously ill and, tragically, there have even been a few deaths in children who attend special schools."For this reason, we recommend that all children who attend special schools for severe learning disability, and special schools for physical disability, are offered the flu vaccine early in the autumn, before the flu viruses start circulating."The vaccine is now available from GP surgeries and the PHA recommends that parents check arrangements with their own GP's surgery so that their child can get the jab.The earlier you get vaccinated the better, as it takes the body about 10-14 days after the jab to develop antibodies. These will then protect you against the same or similar viruses if the body is exposed to them. The vaccine contains three strains of the flu virus, which are considered the most likely to be circulating this winter, including the H1N1 (swine flu) virus."Your child needs to get the flu jab every year - the protection it gives only lasts for one winter, so even if they got it last year, they still need to get it this year," added Dr Smithson."Also, if your child has been diagnosed with flu or swine flu in the past couple of years, they will still need the jab this year as there are different types of flu that the jab will protect against. Getting the flu jab is the best way to protect your child against flu and we would strongly recommend that you arrange for them to have it."Although the vaccine gives good protection, no vaccine gives total protection, so if your child develops flu-like symptoms (such as fever, cough, aches and pains, and sore throat) you should contact your GP for advice. If your child has any of these symptoms, they should be kept at home until they feel better."For more information on seasonal flu, go to www.fluawareni.info and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Obesity and disability - children and young people

This paper examines the evidence linking obesity and disability in children and young people. It looks at a range of impairments or health conditions associated with disability and explores the main obesity-related chronic health conditions that can develop during childhood and adolescence. It also highlights: inequalities experienced by children and young people in relation to obesity and disability implications for policy, practice and research survey data on obesity and limiting long-term illness or disability

Reducing unintentional injuries in and around the home among children under 5 Years

Public Health England today launches 2 new resources for local authorities on preventing accidents to children and young people in the home and on the road. The reports show whilst the number of children and young people killed or seriously injured continues to fall in England there are still significant numbers of deaths and emergency admissions from preventable causes. On average each year between 2008 to 2012, 525 children and young people under 25 died and there were more than 53,700 admissions to hospital. The reports highlight actions local partners can take to reduce accidents including improving safety for children travelling to and from school and using existing services like health visitors and children’s centres. The Reducing unintentional injuries in and around the home among children under 5 Years and the Reducing unintentional injuries on the roads among children and young people under 25 reports include an analysis of data between 2008 to 2012. Key findings from the reports include: home injuries (under 5 years of age): an average of 62 children died each year between 2008 and 2012 these injuries result in an estimated 40,000 emergency hospital admissions among children of this age each year 5 injury types should be prioritised for the under-fives: choking; suffocation and strangulation; falls; poisoning; burns and scalds; and drowning hospital admission rate for unintentional injuries among the under-fives is 45% higher for children from the most deprived areas compared with children from the least deprived Road traffic injuries (under 25 years of age) there were 2,316 deaths recorded by the police among road users under the age of 25 years, an average of 463 under 25s each year there were 68,657 admissions to hospital as a result of road traffic injuries, an average of 13,731 each year in total there were 322,613 casualties of all severities recorded by the police, an average of 64,523 each year the rate of fatal and serious injuries for 10to 14 year olds was significantly greater for children from the 20% most deprived areas (37 per 100,000) compared with those from the most affluent areas (10 per 100,000)

Reducing unintentional injuries on the roads among children and young people under 25

Public Health England today launches 2 new resources for local authorities on preventing accidents to children and young people in the home and on the road. The reports show whilst the number of children and young people killed or seriously injured continues to fall in England there are still significant numbers of deaths and emergency admissions from preventable causes. On average each year between 2008 to 2012, 525 children and young people under 25 died and there were more than 53,700 admissions to hospital. The reports highlight actions local partners can take to reduce accidents including improving safety for children travelling to and from school and using existing services like health visitors and children’s centres. The Reducing unintentional injuries in and around the home among children under 5 Years and the Reducing unintentional injuries on the roads among children and young people under 25 reports include an analysis of data between 2008 to 2012. Key findings from the reports include: home injuries (under 5 years of age): an average of 62 children died each year between 2008 and 2012 these injuries result in an estimated 40,000 emergency hospital admissions among children of this age each year 5 injury types should be prioritised for the under-fives: choking; suffocation and strangulation; falls; poisoning; burns and scalds; and drowning hospital admission rate for unintentional injuries among the under-fives is 45% higher for children from the most deprived areas compared with children from the least deprived Road traffic injuries (under 25 years of age) there were 2,316 deaths recorded by the police among road users under the age of 25 years, an average of 463 under 25s each year there were 68,657 admissions to hospital as a result of road traffic injuries, an average of 13,731 each year in total there were 322,613 casualties of all severities recorded by the police, an average of 64,523 each year the rate of fatal and serious injuries for 10to 14 year olds was significantly greater for children from the 20% most deprived areas (37 per 100,000) compared with those from the most affluent areas (10 per 100,000)