Estimating the Prevalence of Problem Opiate and Problem Cocaine Use in Northern Ireland (PDF 213 KB)

Apr-06

Public Health Functions Project Team Minutes (PDF 21 KB)

Minutes of the Meeting of the Public Health Functions Project Team 21 February 2006

Turnover in Nursing and Midwifery

The Report of the Commission on Nursing (1998) identified a need to strengthen the workforce planning functions. The Nursing Policy Division of the Department of Health and Children acted on the recommendation by establishing a Study of the Nursing and Midwifery Resource (December 1998). The main objective of the study was to forecast future nursing and midwifery needs which included estimating the turnover rate among registered nurses and midwives employed in the health services. Click here to download PDF

Core Functions of the Health Service Report

The Government Decision1 on the Structural, Organisational, Financial Management and Systems Reform of the Health Sector of June, 2003 acknowledged that in order to increase the effectiveness of the health service generally, and its capacity to deliver the reform agenda, it was important that the service was fully concentrated on addressing its core health objectives. The Minister for Health and Children and Minister for Finance felt that there could be scope to transfer certain functions out of the health service and locate them more appropriately within other functional areas of Government. As part of the overall decision, it was agreed that a working group would be established, to include the Departments of Health and Children, Finance and An Taoiseach, to examine the scope for transfer of certain activities to other, more appropriate, Departments and agencies and that on completion of this review, the Minister for Health and Children would bring proposals to Government. Read the Report (PDF, 70kb)  

PHE-CRCE-010: Estimating Local Mortality Burdens associated with Particulate Air Pollution

The increase in mortality risk associated with long-term exposure to particulate air pollution is one of the most important, and best-characterised, effects of air pollution on health. This report presents estimates of the size of this effect on mortality in local authority areas in the UK, building upon the attributable fractions reported as an indicator in the public health outcomes framework for England. It discusses the concepts and assumptions underlying these calculations and gives information on how such estimates can be made. The estimates are expected to be useful to health and wellbeing boards when assessing local public health priorities, as well as to others working in the field of air quality and public health. The estimates of mortality burden are based on modelled annual average concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in each local authority area originating from human activities. Local data on the adult population and adult mortality rates is also used. Central estimates of the fraction of mortality attributable to long-term exposure to current levels of anthropogenic (human-made) particulate air pollution range from around 2.5% in some local authorities in rural areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland and between 3 and 5% in Wales, to over 8% in some London boroughs. Because of uncertainty in the increase in mortality risk associated with ambient PM2.5, the actual burdens associated with these modelled concentrations could range from approximately one-sixth to about double these figures. Thus, current levels of particulate air pollution have a considerable impact on public health. Measures to reduce levels of particulate air pollution, or to reduce exposure of the population to such pollution, are regarded as an important public health initiative.

Review of methods for estimating life expectancy by social class using the ONS Longitudinal Study

Life expectancy by socio-economic status is an important measure of health inequality. This article presents proposed changes in the methods used to estimate life expectancy by social class using the ONS Longitudinal Study.