IPH response to Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department for Regional Development Spatial Strategies

The remit of the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) is to promote cooperation for public health between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the areas of research and information, capacity building and policy advice. Our approach is to support Departments of Health and their agencies in both jurisdictions, and maximise the benefits of all-island cooperation to achieve practical benefits for people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As an all-island body, the Institute of Public Health in Ireland particularly welcomes that the Framework for Collaboration has been co-produced by the Department for Regional Development and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. In addition the Institute of Public Health welcomes a more holistic approach to spatial planning that takes into account the environment and sustainable economic development. A clean environment and a more equitable distribution of prosperity have associated health benefits, as outlined in the IPH’s Active travel – healthy lives (2011) and Health impacts of the built environment- a review (2006).

An evaluation of pharmacy prescribing in Northern Ireland-a quantitative and qualitative assessment (PDF 62KB)

Independent research jointly commissioned by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) and the HSC R&D Division.

A Mind of their Own. A Qualitative Study of Drug Education from a Young Person's Perspective: Exploring their Experiences, Views and Opinions

The main aims of the research are to explore young people's experiences and opinions of drug education and to discover whether it is, in their opinion, meeting their needs. The study was conducted with twenty young people aged fifteen to nineteen years in two towns in North County Dublin. The principal school teachers from three secondary schools in the area were also interviewed. The findings reveal there is a lack of planned drug education in the schools mainly, according to principal school teachers, due to timetable constraints. Another key finding is the need expressed by the young people for accurate and balanced drug education. The study also shows that there is a conflict between young people's negative opinion of teachers as drug educators and that of the literature and research, which identifies teachers as the most appropriate drug educators. In view of these findings the following recommendations are recommendations are suggested. Firstly, the role of teachers as drug educators needs further research. Secondly, the Substance Abuse Prevention Programme needs to be extended to include the over fifteen year's age group with a harm reduction/safety module as part of the programme. Thirdly, the Social, Personal and Health Education as a core subject needs to be fully implemented in the schools. Finally, the inclusion of young peoples' views in the form of a 'reference' or 'representative' group in each school would be a positive recommendation. This would give young consumers of drug education programmes some input into drug policy within the schools they attend.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Archiving and Accessing Qualitative Data Programme

There is a growing body of qualitative research data being made available in data archives in both Ireland and the UK. Examples of Irish qualitative data currently available for further analysis include Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) and Life Histories and Social Change in 20th Century Ireland. The Timescapes Research Programme, at the University of Leeds, hosts a wide variety of economic and social research data relevant to child and family researchers; data which is available to researchers in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Access to this data provides researchers with greater opportunities to explore the issues that affect children, their families and their  communities and which may ultimately contribute to informing children's policy. In this the second master class of the Children's Research Network for Ireland and Northern Ireland, participants will learn about the various qualitativ edatasets that are publicly-available for research purposes in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Growing up in Ireland data in the Irish Qualitative Data Archive

Brian Merriman's presentation on the Growing up in Ireland data in the Irish Qualitative Data Archive

CDI Tallaght RACCER data in the Irish Qualitative Data Archive

Tara Murphy's presentation on preparing RACCER data for the Irish Qualitative Data Archive

The Irish Qualitative Data Archive

Jane Gray's presentation on the Irish Qualitative Data Archive

Webcast Archiving and Accessing Qualitative Data

View the webcast of the presentations at the Archiving and Accessing Qualitative data master class, February 2012.

Hiding the evidence: The State and spatial inequalities in health in Ireland

The Irish State has consistently reduced its production of publicly accessible disease / mortality maps over the last fifty years. State health statistics, and the small number of disease / mortality maps that have been produced in official publications, show a declining level of detail and are routinely out of date. Following a review of the production of disease / mortality maps in Ireland by the State and allied health agencies, two reasons are suggested for this decline. The first explanation relates to spatial inequalities in healthcare provision and to the absence of a health funding formulae in Ireland. The second explanation focuses on the potential politicisation of spatial inequalities in health status. Researchers in these fields are urged to disseminate information widely on spatial inequalities in healthcare provision, healthcare access and health status, both within and outside of the academic literature. Researchers in these fields are also urged to adopt an advocacy role on these issues, or to develop strategic alliances with such advocates.����