Cook it! An evaluation of a community nutrition education programme in Northern Ireland

Cook it! was originally introduced to Northern Ireland in 1995 by the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA) in a collaborative project with the Eastern Health and Social Services Board, the Northern Health and Social Services Board and the North and West Belfast Health and Social Services Trust. Having run for five years, this initial phase of the programme was evaluated in 2000. Cook it! was found to be a valuable approach to community based nutrition education. However, a number of recommendations were made as to how it could be improved. In conjunction with a number of community dietitians the HPA therefore revised and updated the programme, which included a redesigned resource manual with improved session outlines and recipe sheets. The Public Health Agency was established in 2009 under a major reform ofhealth structuresin Northern Ireland. The four key functions of the PHA are: health and social wellbeing improvement; health protection; public health support to commissioning and policy development; HSC research and development.

Improving Health and Reducing Inequalities: A Practical Guide to Health Impact Assessment

(WHIASU) A basic guide to conducting a HIA. 1. Health impact assessment is a tool that can help organisations to assess the possible consequences of their decisions on people۪s health and well-being, thereby helping to develop more integrated policies and programmes. 2. This document has been developed as a practical guide to health impact assessment. It is designed to meet the needs of a variety of organisations by explaining the concept, the process and its flexibility, and by providing templates that can be adjusted to suit. 3. The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to developing the use of health impact assessment in Wales as a part of its strategy to improve health and wellbeing and to reduce health inequalities. This practical guide has been prepared by the Welsh Health Impact Assessment Support Unit, which was established by the Welsh Assembly Government to encourage and support organisations and groups in Wales to use the approach. 4. The development and use of health impact assessment will contribute to the ongoing development and implementation of local health, social care and wellbeing strategies, which is a joint statutory responsibility for Local Health Boards and local authorities. It can also contribute to Community Strategies which, given their overarching nature and breadth and depth, can address social, economic and environmental determinants of health, and to the implementation of Communities First, the Welsh Assembly Government۪s crosscutting regeneration programme. 5. The development of Health Challenge Wales as the national focus for improving health in Wales reinforces efforts to prevent ill health. Tools such as health impact assessment can help organisations and groups in all sectors to identify ways in which they can help people to improve their health.