Institutional fragmentation and coordination initiatives in western European welfare states

As a result of recent welfare state transformations, and most notably the reorientation of welfare states towards activation, the internal fragmentation of social security systems has emerged as a key policy problem in many western European countries. The types of response that have been adopted, however, vary substantially across countries, ranging from the encouragement of inter-agency collaboration to the outright merger of agencies. The purpose of this exploratory article is twofold. First, by proposing the concept of coordination initiatives, it tries to develop a better conceptualization of the cross-national diversity in responses to the fragmentation problem. Second, starting from existing theories of welfare state development and policy change, it presents first hypotheses accounting for the variation observed in coordination initiatives.

IPH response to European Review of the Social Determinants of Health and the Health Divide

IPH welcomes this European Review conducted by the Marmot Review Team which aims to inform action on social determinants of health and health equity within the forthcoming health policy for the European region, Health 2020. IPH calls for clear mandates supporting whole-of-government approaches to address social determinants and outlines some of the specific challenges and opportunities within the current Ireland and Northern Ireland policy landscape.

IPH response to a Draft Policy Framework for supporting people in Northern Ireland living with long term (or chronic) conditions

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety recently consulted on a draft Policy Framework for supporting people in Northern Ireland living with long term (or chronic) conditions

Patient Education/Self Management Programmes for People with Long Term Conditions

Regional Summary Report 2012/13

Service Framework for Older People (PDF 1MB)

Easy Access Version

Service Framework for Older People

Easy Access Version

Addressing Young People's Drinking in Northern Ireland: Action to Support the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs

This action plan focuses on three main areas: • reducing young people’s demand for alcohol by providing information, education and training to young people and their parents; •restricting the supply of alcohol via measures to reduce accessibility to alcohol (including how alcohol is priced, marketed, and promoted); and • providing treatment and support for those who require additional help. While the emphasis of this action plan is on young people, it recognises that their drinking patterns are very much influenced by modelling the drinking patterns of adults in our society, and it therefore contains actions that will impact on the entire population. Alcohol misuse - however you measure the cost, whether to the individual, the family, the community, the health service, or society as a whole - is one of the biggest public health issues facing Northern Ireland.

Nanomaterials in the European Union [the quest for a regulatory regime]

Mentre que les nanotecnologies s'espera que porti beneficis importants en molts sectors i contribuir a la competitivitat, hi ha un creixent cos de dades científiques que indiquin que hi ha motius raonables per témer que els nanomaterials en particular pot donar lloc a els possibles riscos i efectes nocius per a la salut i el medi ambient. El meu objectiu és examinar com la Unió Europea està donant forma a un règim regulatori per nanomaterials: l'opció regulatòria escollida, la legislació vigent aplicable i la seva eficàcia (amb especial atenció sobre REACH buits normatius), la posició adoptada per la els diferents actors en aquest procés i l'evolució prevista legal en el curt termini.

Strategies to promote translational research within the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Head and Neck Cancer Group: a report from the Translational Research Subcommittee.

Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. These tumors are commonly diagnosed at advanced stages and mortality rates remain high. Even cured patients suffer the consequences of aggressive treatment that includes surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. In the past, in clinical trials, HNSCC was considered as a single disease entity. Advances in molecular biology with the development of genomic and proteomic approaches have demonstrated distinct prognostic HNSCC patient subsets beyond those defined by traditional clinical-pathological factors such as tumor subsite and stage [Cho W (ed). An Omics Perspective on Cancer Research. New York/Berlin: Springer 2010]. Validation of these biomarkers in large prospective clinical trials is required before their clinical implementation. To promote this research, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Head and Neck Cancer Program will develop the following strategies-(i) biobanking: prospective tissue collection from uniformly treated patients in the setting of clinical trials; (ii) a group of physicians, physician-scientists, and EORTC Headquarters staff devoted to patient-oriented head and neck cancer research; (iii) a collaboration between the basic scientists of the Translational Research Division interested in head and neck cancer research and the physicians of the Head and Neck Cancer Group; and (iv) funding through the EORTC Grant Program and the Network Core Institutions Consortium. In the present report, we summarize our strategic plans to promote head and neck cancer research within the EORTC framework.