HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme annual report 2010.

January 2010 saw the former Crisis Pregnancy Agencyâ?Ts integration into the Health Service Executive to become the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme. For most of 2010, the Programme was located in Children and Family Social Services Care Group in the Integrated Services Directorate and reported to Assistant National Director for Children and Family Social Services. The Programme commenced the process of forging links and relationships within the wider HSE and with services which support and add value to the work of the Programme. The Programme also made efforts to identify areas where it could share its expertise in the areas of crisis pregnancy and sexual health. In the latter part of 2010, the Programme was moved to Public Health with the aim of improving the alignment of the Programme to achieve better integration and create more opportunity to synchronise approaches with other related parts of the health service and to work more effectively at long term integration and planning 2012 - 2016.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Summer School Programme

The Summer School aims to enable and foster a climate of inquiry for critical thinking, quantitative analysis and explore existing relevant data sources. We aim to develop the concepts and tools associated with quantitative research related to child health and wellbeing. Building on participants’ existing knowledge of research, policy and practice, we will focus on the quantitative skills necessary to mine and critique relevant national databases, conduct basic quantitative research and apply these skills to work. The SPSS workshops will provide  participants with a basic understanding of a statistical programme for analysing empirical data and the open clinics will allow participants to discuss their own research issues with experts.

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.

Ethics masterclass programme

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) recently launched ‘Guidance for developing ethical research projects involving children’. The Guidance considers ethical principles and concepts in research with children and presents a checklist for the design and conduct of research.  In this the third master class of the Children's Research Network for Ireland and Northern Ireland, participants will have an opportunity to respond to the Guidance and to discuss ethical issues in their work. The workshop will also provide participants with the opportunity to discuss the challenges facing the community and voluntary sector in applying and monitoring ethical standards in their work in the absence of formal/institutional ethics committees

Healthy Eating Education Programme

This Programme provides healthy nutritious food for residents and ex-residents of the East Belfast Missions homeless shelter. It also provides health and diet sessions and cookery demonstrations on how to plan and prepare healthy food on a low budget. Information and advice sessions will also be provided for local residents, senior citizens and users of their family and community programmes giving advice and support on how to prepare and cook healthy meals on a low income. They are also linked in with a Going Green local community gardening project. Funding: safefood, Contact: Joyce Mason Address: 240 Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 1AF County: Antrim Phone number: +442890738304 Email: joyce.mason@ebm.org.uk Website: www.ebm.org.uk Partner organisation(s):

Responses to exercise in normobaric hypoxia: comparison of elite and recreational ski mountaineers.

PURPOSE: Hypoxia is known to reduce maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)) more in trained than in untrained subjects in several lowland sports. Ski mountaineering is practiced mainly at altitude, so elite ski mountaineers spend significantly longer training duration at altitude than their lower-level counterparts. Since acclimatization in hypobaric hypoxia is effective, the authors hypothesized that elite ski mountaineers would exhibit a VO2max decrement in hypoxia similar to that of recreational ski mountaineers. METHODS: Eleven elite (E, Swiss national team) and 12 recreational (R) ski mountaineers completed an incremental treadmill test to exhaustion in normobaric hypoxia (H, 3000 m, F(1)O(2) 14.6% ± 0.1%) and in normoxia (N, 485 m, F(1)O(2) 20.9% ± 0.0%). Pulse oxygen saturation in blood (SpO(2)), VO(2max), minute ventilation, and heart rate were recorded. RESULTS: At rest, hypoxic ventilatory response was higher (P < .05) in E than in R (1.4 ± 1.9 vs 0.3 ± 0.6 L · min⁻¹ · kg⁻¹). At maximal intensity, SpO(2) was significantly lower (P < .01) in E than in R, both in N (91.1% ± 3.3% vs 94.3% ± 2.3%) and in H (76.4% ± 5.4% vs 82.3% ± 3.5%). In both groups, SpO(2) was lower (P < .01) in H. Between N and H, VO(2max) decreased to a greater extent (P < .05) in E than in R (-18% and -12%, P < .01). In E only, the VO(2max) decrement was significantly correlated with the SpO(2) decrement (r = .74, P < .01) but also with VO(2max) measured in N (r = .64, P < .05). CONCLUSION: Despite a probable better acclimatization to altitude, VO(2max) was more reduced in E than in R ski mountaineers, confirming previous results observed in lowlander E athletes.

Journeyman Programme Kitchen and Garden

A new community kitchen and community garden are nearing the end of development. The area around the kitchen is designated for the community garden and is being developed this year. Running in conjunction with a school leavers programme, the garden will be an inclusive area for young people with disabilities. The community kitchen is expected to be used by the refugee centre and also local schools. Private fundraising and County Council grants Initiative Type Community Food Centres Community Food Growing Projects Location Tipperary Funding Private fundraising and County Council grants

Fettercairn Growing Community Roots

Fettercairn Growing Community Roots will deliver a range of programmes around exercise and healthy eating to improve, encourage and integrate the target schools into the wider local community through linkages with community based projects e.g. Fettercairn Community Garden. Part of theCFI Programme 2013-2015 Initiative Type Community Food Growing Projects Nutrition Education and Training Programmes Location Dublin 24 Partner Agencies safefood

Moderate exercise blunts oxidative stress induced by normobaric hypoxic confinement

PURPOSE: Both acute hypoxia and physical exercise are known to increase oxidative stress. This randomized prospective trial investigated whether the addition of moderate exercise can alter oxidative stress induced by continuous hypoxic exposure. METHODS: Fourteen male participants were confined to 10-d continuous normobaric hypoxia (FIO2 = 0.139 +/- 0.003, PIO2 = 88.2 +/- 0.6 mm Hg, approximately 4000-m simulated altitude) either with (HCE, n = 8, two training sessions per day at 50% of hypoxic maximal aerobic power) or without exercise (HCS, n = 6). Plasma levels of oxidative stress markers (advanced oxidation protein products [AOPP], nitrotyrosine, and malondialdehyde), antioxidant markers (ferric-reducing antioxidant power, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase), nitric oxide end-products, and erythropoietin were measured before the exposure (Pre), after the first 24 h of exposure (D1), after the exposure (Post) and after the 24-h reoxygenation (Post + 1). In addition, graded exercise test in hypoxia was performed before and after the protocol. RESULTS: Maximal aerobic power increased after the protocol in HCE only (+6.8%, P < 0.05). Compared with baseline, AOPP was higher at Post + 1 (+28%, P < 0.05) and nitrotyrosine at Post (+81%, P < 0.05) in HCS only. Superoxide dismutase (+30%, P < 0.05) and catalase (+53%, P < 0.05) increased at Post in HCE only. Higher levels of ferric-reducing antioxidant power (+41%, P < 0.05) at Post and lower levels of AOPP (-47%, P < 0.01) at Post + 1 were measured in HCE versus HCS. Glutathione peroxidase (+31%, P < 0.01) increased in both groups at Post + 1. Similar erythropoietin kinetics was noted in both groups with an increase at D1 (+143%, P < 0.01), a return to baseline at Post, and a decrease at Post + 1 (-56%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data provide evidence that 2 h of moderate daily exercise training can attenuate the oxidative stress induced by continuous hypoxic exposure.

Pacesetters Programme

Pacesetters is a partnership between local communities who experience health inequalities, the NHS and the Department of Health (DH). The Equality and Human Rights Group (EHRG) of DH is working with six strategic health authorities (SHAs) on the programme.

National Clinical Audit Support Programme: National Diabetes Audit

The National Diabetes Audit (NDA) is a national audit service sponsored by the Healthcare Commission. Available since April 2004, it enables routine data collection, analysis and feedback of diabetes related data for all adults and children with diabetes in England.

Tackling health inequalities: 2007 Status Report on the Programme for Action

The status report provides a review of developments against the data since the publication of the Programme for Action in 2003. It considers progress against the Public Service Agreement (PSA) target, the national headline indicators and against government commitments. The report highlights the challenging nature of the health inequalities PSA target for 2010.

National Child Measurement Programme: Detailed Analysis of the 2006/07 National Dataset

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) weighs and measures children in Reception (typically aged 4 - 5 years) and (aged 10 - 11 years) annually. The report highlights the usefulness of the NCMP Dataset in furthering our understanding of underweight, overweight and obesity in children, as well as highlighting some areas where improvements can be made in the programme, or where further analysis and investigation is required. The purpose of this report is not to provide specific local results, but an understanding from national-level analysis that can be used to inform local uses and analysis of NCMP data.

Supporting Healthy Lifestyles: The Natioanl Child Measurement Programme - Guidance for 2006 - 07 school year

The Department of Health is providing a central data store for child obesity data collected by PCTs to be available for live implementation by the end of June 2006. The central data store will be accessible by PCTs via Unify, the DH performance management system.