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22 February 2017

People living with depression is increasing

The number of people living with depression is increasing, 18% between 2005 and 2015. In the lead-up to World Health Day on 7 April, which this year will focus on this increasingly important issue, WHO is releasing today a new global report on health estimates on depression. This report provides latest available estimates of the prevalence of depression and other common mental disorders at the global and regional level, together with data concerning the consequences of these disorders in terms of lost health. Reliable, up-to-date estimates of the proportion of a general population affected by different diseases or health conditions is a key ingredient of effective health policy, planning and evaluation.

To read a WHO factsheet on depression, click here

To view the report, click here

For more on World Health Day, click here

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17 February 2017

Energy efficiency tips from the Public Health Agency on Fuel Poverty Awareness Day

More than two in five households in Northern Ireland are in fuel poverty. A household is in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of income on energy costs to adequately heat the home, and Northern Ireland has the highest percentage of fuel poverty households than any other region in the UK. Tracey Colgan, Senior Health and Wellbeing Improvement Officer at the PHA, said: “There are serious health risks to those living in fuel poverty, as not being able to heat your home properly means cold and damp can contribute to respiratory illnesses, hypothermia and issues affecting vulnerable people who already have underlying health conditions. Keeping a room warm to at least 18 degrees, taking regular warm drinks and food, and putting on extra layers such as a blanket, or hat even when indoors, can reduce the risk of hypothermia”.

For more information and tips on keeping warm at home, click here

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12 January 2017

Some simple ways to keep warm, stay healthy and make the best use of your heating during the cold weather

heat your main living room to around 18-21ºC (64-70ºF) and the rest of the house to at least 16ºC (61ºF)
heat all the rooms you use in the day
if you can’t heat all your rooms, make sure you keep your living room warm throughout the day and heat your bedroom before going to bed
set the timer on your heating to come on before you get up and switch off when you go to bed
in very cold weather set the heating to come on earlier - rather than turn the thermostat up, so you won’t be cold while you wait for your home to heat up

For further information on how to help yourself stay well this winter visit nidirect

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12 December 2016

Minister announces expansion of the Warmth & Wellbeing scheme

Minister Denis Naughten T.D. last week announced the expansion of the Warmth & Wellbeing scheme. The pilot scheme, launched earlier in 2016, provides extensive energy efficiency upgrades, free of charge to the homes of people who are in energy poverty and living with respiratory conditions. In 2016, the scheme was open to people over the age of 55, in 2017 that will be broadened to include families with young children who have a chronic respiratory condition. The reach of the scheme is also being broadened. Previously available only to residents of Dublin 12 & 24, the scheme will now also be made available to residents of Dublin 8, 10 and 22. Up to €10 million will be available in 2017 which will provide for the upgrade of up to 700 homes.

For more information, click here

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29 November 2016

As temperatures drop across the UK, Public Health England issues cold weather warning

Dr Angie Bone of the Extreme Events team at PHE said: “Cold does kill, even in places where the temperatures aren’t at their lowest. Now is the time think of those you know who are older, very young, or have pre-existing health conditions that are particularly vulnerable”. The top tips to prepare for colder weather are to:

get the free flu jab now, if you qualify
look out for friends and family who may be vulnerable to the cold and ensure they have access to warm food, drinks and managing to heat their homes adequately
try to maintain indoor temperatures to at least 18°C, particularly if you are not mobile, have long term illness or are 65 or over
stay tuned for weather forecasts, ensure you are stocked with food and medications in advance, have deliveries or ask a friend to help
take weather into account when planning your activity over the following days
avoid exposing yourself to cold or icy outdoor conditions if you are at a higher risk of cold related illness or falls
discuss with friends and neighbours about clearing snow and ice from in front of your house and public walkways nearby, if unable to do so yourself

For more information, click here

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21 October 2016

Slides and audio from this year’s IPH Open Conference now available

The 5^th Public Health Open Conference took place on Tuesday 11^th October in Titanic, Belfast. This year’s theme of “Breaking down boundaries – innovation, participation and creativity in public health” ensured there were a wide variety of presentations on the day. The Open Conference aims to provide an open platform to:

Showcase cross sectoral work in public health,
Provide opportunities for cross-disciplinary networking,
Enhance knowledge, skills and leadership in public health.

To view the slides and audio from the event, click here

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20 October 2016

Have you seen our new training videos for The Health Well and IPH Community Profiles Tool?

We have created new training videos on The Health Well website and IPH Community Profiles Tool. The Health Well video demonstrates how you can use the website to help you access the information you need, use that information more effectively by using our ‘exploratory tools’ and also outlines other useful features of The Health Well such as creating online webgroups. We have also made a video on our newly revised IPH Community Profiles Tool. This tool allows you to view data on health indicators across the island of Ireland and create local health profiles for your area of interest or compare areas of interest.

To access the videos, click here

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19 October 2016

Public Health England launches 2016 Cold Weather Plan

The cold weather plan gives advice to help prevent the major avoidable effects on health during periods of cold weather in England.

The documents provided are:

cold weather plan
cold weather plan (easy read version)
making the case: why long-term strategic planning for cold weather is essential to health and wellbeing

To access the documents, click here

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18 October 2016

An invitation to the 2016 Open Access seminar hosted by the IPH & OKI

We would like to invite you to our Open Access seminar organised as part of the Annual International Open Access Week. Open Access Week will take place from 24 -30 October 2016. As part of this global event the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) and Open Knowledge Ireland (OKI) are hosting their Open Access: Tackling health inequalities seminar in Pearse Street Library, Tuesday, 25 October 2016. Open Access (OA) is the immediate, freely available, online access to research outputs. These outputs include peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers and datasets of various types. The restrictions to use, commonly imposed by publisher copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control do not apply.

For more information or to register for this event, click here

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4 October 2016

An invitation to the 2016 Open Access seminar hosted by the IPH & OKI

We would like to invite you to our Open Access seminar organised as part of the Annual International Open Access Week. Open Access Week will take place from 24 -30 October 2016. As part of this global event the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) and Open Knowledge Ireland (OKI) are hosting their Open Access: Tackling health inequalities seminar in Pearse Street Library, Tuesday, 25 October 2016. Open Access (OA) is the immediate, freely available, online access to research outputs. These outputs include peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers and datasets of various types. The restrictions to use, commonly imposed by publisher copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control do not apply.

For more information or to register for this event, click here

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