HBSC Report Launched

webinar launch

Have You Registered?

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Call for Abstracts

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Change Makers - IUA & RTE Six Part Documentary Series - 2022

The programme featuring HBSC Ireland aired on Monday January 3rd 2022 at 8.30pm on RTE One television. It can be viewed on RTE Player.  

Change Makers TV

The Irish Universities Association has partnered with RTÉ and New Decade TV to bring Ireland’s Change Makers, the most transformative research-led projects and the inspiring people behind them, to Irish television this coming January and February 2022.

The series will showcase the remarkable and lasting public impact of leading research projects by eight universities in Ireland in areas such as children’s health, health technology, education, youth justice, gender equality and inclusion, as well as the environment.

HBSC Ireland is featured in the first episode that will be broadcast from Monday January 3rd 2022 at 8.30pm on RTE One television and the RTE Player. 

 For more information see https://www.iua.ie/changemakers/ and https://www.iua.ie/changemakers/health-behaviour-in-school-aged-children-nui-galway/

Population Health & Health Services

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Health Promotion Conference 2021

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Social & Emotional Learning

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Health Promotion through E-Health

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Launch of ‘LGBTI+ Youth in Ireland and across Europe

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), Roderic O’Gorman, T.D., launched the ‘LGBTI+ Youth in Ireland and across Europe: A two-phased Landscape and Research Gap Analysis report on 24 May.

The research, conducted jointly by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and NUI Galway reviewed all relevant research on LGBTI+ youth in Ireland and Europe since 2000.

The report was led by researchers Dr András Költő, Dr Elena Vaughan, Dr Colette Kelly and Professor Saoirse Nic Gabhainn from the Health Promotion Research Centre in NUI Galway, with Dr Linda O’Sullivan from DCEDIY and Professor Elizabeth Saewyc from the University of British Columbia, Canada.

You can read the full report heredownload press release, view a short video on the study here


Abstract Submission Open - 10.5.21.

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Data Visuals HBSC Trends Report

HIstory of our College

For a fascinating history of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences please click this link. This living history speaks of our heritage, and of our strong partnerships with the Health Service, with industry and will resonate with our students and to our global alumni network. https://twitter.com/NUIGalwayMed/status/1372113072983269379


The latest HBSC Trends report is available to download on our HBSC Trends page.HBSC Ireland Trends report infographic

HBSC Trends Report

Full report:

23 February 2021, 1pm seminar

bit.ly/3quz24E

LGBT+ teens volunteer more

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Health Promotion Conference 2021

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Best Practice in the European Thematic Network

Profiling and training the health care workers of the future

The Erasmus funded IMPACCT project, which the HPRC is a partner on, has been included as a European Best Practice in the Joint Statement of the European Thematic Network "Profiling and training the health care workers of the future". 

As a partner on this project we have delivered Health Literacy modules to medical and nursing undergraduate students at NUI Galway. Further information available here: https://inhwe.org/sites/default/files/documents/HPP%20Joint%20Statement%20-%20Final.pdf

 

Women in Science Campaign

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Mental Health Ireland Award

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Positive Mental Health

Positive Mental Health

We are very pleased to announce the publication of the Framework for Promoting Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing in the European Youth Sector, authored by Dr Tuuli Kuosmanen, Dr Katherine Dowling and Professor Margaret Barry of the HPRC at NUI Galway. The report was developed as part of the Erasmus+ Project: “Positive Mental Health; Promotion of wellbeing and flourishing in the European youth sector”, which is funded under the Erasmus+ programme, project number: 2019-2-NL02-KA205-002567. Further details on this project are accessible from the project website at: www.positivementalhealth.eu.

Based on existing theories and best practice guidelines of mental health promotion and positive youth development, the report and practice brief outline a theoretical framework for promoting positive mental health and social and emotional development in young people.


16th World Congress on Public Health

16th World Congress on Public Health (WCPH2020)

Public health for the future of humanity: analysis, advocacy and action, organised by the World Federation of Public Health Association (WFPHA) in collaboration with the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health (SItI)

Our Health Promotion academic staff took part in this World Congress on 12-16 October 2020. Some of the workshops and presentations are available on the IUHPE website.

Translating research into practice seminar

Translating research into practice:  A pilot study on assessment and  diagnosis of multilingual children

Tuesday 10th November, 1pm 

Presented by Dr Stanislava Antonijevic-Elliott &  Dr Rena Lyons , Discipline of Speech and Language Therapy, NUI Galway on behalf of the speech and language therapy team.

Our Autumn seminars take place online and are free and open to all. To participate please register your interest here.   

Description of the talk  

With the aim of translating research into practice to improve outcomes for clients, an Academic/Clinical Alliance was established with a specific focus on building research capacity. In the initial meetings a common vision and strategy was established and assessment and diagnosis of multilingual children was prioritised based on clinical need.

In this talk we will reflect on the process of establishing an Academic/Clinical Alliance and share our experiences of supporting therapists to change their practice by using new assessment tools and address enablers and barriers to their implementation. Key ingredients for success included: shared priorities; mutual respect, trust and openness to learning and working together; clear roles and responsibilities; compromise on both sides; ongoing training and support; expect and deal with set-backs; the importance of champions; and regular meetings. We highlight the importance of paying attention to both the partnership as well as to the research itself.


 

EUHPA publication

Keep the Trojan horse out of our health systems: Promote health for ALL in times of crisis and beyond!

Presentation: from a health promotion perspective, this paper introduces five talking points on the implications about the range of actions needed during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). As discussions worldwide bring topics such as health, equity, sustainability, solidarity or human dignity to a new level of implications, a systematic perspective is missing to bring these themes together with the disease prevention and curative efforts in the public health framework. This is where health promotion has the expertise to offer a comprehensive approach.

Luis Saboga-Nunes, Diane Levin-Zamir, Uwe Bittlingmayer, Paolo Contu, Paulo Pinheiro, Valerie Ivassenko, Orkan Okan, Liane Comeau, Margaret Barry,Stephan Van den Broucke, Didier Jourdan (2020). A Health Promotion Focus on COVID-19: Keep the Trojan horse out of our health systems. Promote health for ALL in times of crisis and beyond! EUPHA-HP, IUHPE, UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education. 


 

Population Health and Health Services Seminar Series

Autumn Seminar Series 2020

Enhancing the English national audit of dementia: An intervention development study

Tuesday 13th October, 1pm 

Presented by Michael Sykes, NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow, Newcastle University (UK) 

Our Autumn seminars take place online and are free and open to all. To participate please register your interest at https://bit.ly/3koOyvv. 

Description of the talk  

Approximately one in four people in general hospitals in England have dementia. Patients with dementia do not always receive best care. To improve care, health services assess (‘audit’) current care and provide staff with ‘feedback’ about how well they are doing.  Audit and feedback is a variably effective complex intervention. Both evidence and theory identify components associated with the effectiveness of audit and feedback.  

This talk will describe multi-method qualitative co-design work to identify: the current content and delivery of the national audit of dementia; potential enhancements to the national audit; and a strategy to implement potential enhancements. The talk will highlight impacts upon behaviour change, and identify potential implications for national audits, including the Irish National Audit of Dementia.

Organised by the Health Promotion Research Centre,  Health Behaviour Change Research Group, HRB Primary Care Clinical Trials Network Ireland and PPI Ignite @ NUI Galway.


 

Take Control with Stress Control

What is Stress?

Controlling your Body,
Controlling your Thoughts,
Controlling your Actions, 
Controlling Panicky Feelings,
Getting a Good Night's Sleep,
Controlling your Future.

www.stresscontrol.ie

supported by Healthy Ireland and the HSE


European and Congress Obesity Presentation

Divya Ravikumar, a researcher at HPRC, presented her research paper: DIETARY HABITS, FOOD SECURITY AND RELATED HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN THE HOMELESS POPULATION at the European and International Congress on Obesity 2020 (ECO-ICO). To view this video click here and for the poster presentation click here.


Population Health and Health Services Autumn 2020 Seminar Series

Autumn Seminar Series 2020

The Health Promotion Research Centre, Health Behaviour Change Research Group, HRB Primary Care Clinical Trials Network Ireland and PPI Ignite @ NUI Galway are running a joint Population Health and Health Services Research Autumn 2020 Seminar Series to highlight research in this area.  The seminars will take place online at 1pm and are free and open to all. To participate please register your interest at https://bit.ly/3koOyvv.  

  • 13th October, 1pm, ‘Enhancing the English national audit of dementia: An intervention development study’  Dr Michael Sykes
  • 10th November, 1pm, ‘Translating research into practice:  A pilot study on assessment and  diagnosis of multilingual children’  Dr Stanislava Antonijevic-Elliott &  Dr Rena Lyons
  • 24th November, 1pm, ‘Five positive outcomes from  integrating PPI in our research: Experiences from a feasibility trial  in multiple sclerosis (COB-MS)’  Robert A. Joyce & Sinéad M. Hynes
  • 8th December, 1pm, ‘Optimising prescribing for older people with multimorbidity in primary care’  Dr Emma Wallace. 

 

IUHPE PEOPLE – PLANET – HEALTH

The IUHPE Rotorua statement calls for urgent action to promote planetary health and sustainable development. Based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), IUHPE conceive of sustainable development as a creative process in and between different social and cultural contexts. This process has been initiated by grassroots activists across the world.

People-Planet-Health aims to collect, communicate and connect existing initiatives and projects in a “bottom-up”-process to give voice, visibility, support, network, and sustainability opportunities to local projects, initiatives, ideas, and groups that interconnect planetary health and health promotion. Thereby IUHPE are creating a path for small grass-root initiatives led by young people to create a position paper that will be part of stakeholder contributions to the development of a new WHO Global Health Promotion Strategy. By linking young people globally to empower them to directly influence the future of planetary and human health, this project could provide a model for global participatory policy development.

Health Promotion Conference 2020

In association with our partners, Healthy Ireland, the Health Service Executive and the Association for Health Promotion Ireland, we were delighted to invite our 294 delegates, from 15 countries, to the24th Annual Health Promotion Conference on June 18th 2020. This year’s focus was on 'Promoting health and wellbeing: creating a more equitable and sustainable environment'. The webinars and presentations from this year’s annual Health Promotion conference are now available to view on the Conference 2020 Web Channel. To access the full day’s programme, biographies of keynotes and contributors and all the paper abstracts please view the Conference Booklet 2020.


Special issue in Nutrients - Food Environments and Adolescent Health

A special issue in Nutrients - Food Environments and Adolescent health has been announced with Dr Colette Kelly as guest editor. Now inviting submissions for this special issue. Please contact colette.kelly@nuigalway.ie with any queries. Further details can be found at:  https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients/stats

Nutrients now ranks 17/89 (Q1) in the category "Nutrition & Dietetics", and also the third in open access journals of this category. The newly released impact factor for Nutrients is 4.546 (Journal Citation Report, 2019 Edition). 


 

Children’s exposure to ultraviolet radiation – a risk profile for future skin cancers in Ireland

Professor Saoirse Nic Gabhainn has published a new report with the Institute of Public Health for the National Cancer Control Programme. The report examines children’s exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and sunbeds, UV skin protection behaviours and sunburn.

Read the full report here. The report received significant media attention: The Irish TimesIrish IndependentIrish HealthRTÉ NewsExtra.ieJournal.ieImage.ieIrish Sunherfamily.ieNewstalk.comToday FMFM104Headtopics.com


Spotlight on Adolescent Health and Well-being

Our HBSC colleagues today launch Spotlight on Adolescent Health and Well-being published by WHO Regional Office for Europe. This report compiles extensive data on the physical health, social relationships and mental well-being of 227,441 schoolchildren aged 11, 13 and 15, from 45 countries. Irish children rank low on substance use such as smoking and drinking alcohol and high on physical activity. Ireland also ranks high for problematic social media use. See the Press Release for Ireland and the WHO EURO press release‌. This study is led by Professor Saoirse Nic Gabhainn and the HBSC team.


Health Promotion Research Centre Annual Report 2019 now available 

Check out the HPRC Annual Report 2019‌ to read about our health promotion research activities and events.Annual report 2019 cover


The annual Health Promotion conference will be a virtual online event

Date: 18th June 2020
Conference 2020 header


Workshop: Making the Business Case for Investing in Workplace Wellness

Date/ Time: 2nd April 2020 1.30 - 4.30pm

With the myriad of business enterprises now offering workplace wellness services, this workshop is timely in that it aims to assist management and employers identify key components of the most successful and effective healthy workplace wellness interventions. This workshop is designed to support workplaces and employers that are interested in progressing the workplace wellness agenda. 

Our workshop speakers, Biddy O'Neill (Department of Health), John Griffiths (Work2Health ltd) and Margaret Cox (Director of I.C.E. Group & Pitman Training), will advocate for the business case for investing in workplace wellness programmes. Drawing on best practice from multiple case studies (including Ireland and the UK), the workshop highlights the business benefits that can be gained from well-designed wellness programmes.

For tickets and further information see:

Eventbrite


Health Promotion Postgraduate Open Day

Friday, 28 February 2020 at 6pm.

You are invited!


HBSC Ireland 2018 National ReportHBSC launch 2020

9 January 2020

The 2018 HBSC Ireland Report was launched today Thursday 9 January 2020 by Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD and Minister for Health Promotion, Catherine Byrne TD .

Download the press release ‌download (392KB)

Download the full report here:

Költő, A., Gavin, A., Molcho, M., Kelly, C., Walker, L., & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2020). The Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study 2018. Dublin: Department of Health & Galway: Health Promotion Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway.  download (5,856KB)

Check the hbsc twitter page: @hbscireland


Report of the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health (EXPH)

This Opinion on “Options to Foster Health Promoting Health Systems” was prepared by the European Commission's Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health (EXPH) and adopted at its 18th plenary on 7 November 2019 after public hearing on 23 October 2019. Professor Margaret Barry, President of IUHPE, is a member of this Panel and was the rapporteur for this document. The report is available at: https://ec.europa.eu/health/expert_panel/opinions_en


policy brief‌New Series of Policy Briefs

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new series of policy briefs, based on the research being conducted in HPRC. The first policy brief is based on the PhD work of Dr Christina Murphy on the Implementation of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in Irish post-primary schools. Implementing RSE Policy Brief


Maximising the Impact of Visual, Creative and Participatory Methods for Health Research

View our video of the creative workshop facilitated by Dawn Mannay that took place at NUI Galway hosted by HPRC and Quest, funded by the HRB.

Creative Methods workshop


Professor Margaret Barry appointed to Global President IUHPE

 MB president IUHPE‌Congratulations to Professor Margaret Barry who has been elected as global President of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education. The election took place at the 23rd World Health Promotion Conference in New Zealand in April, 2019.  Margaret holds the Established Chair in Health Promotion and Public Health at NUI Galway and she will be the first woman to be appointed to this position in over 50 years. Speaking on her appointment she commented:

“I am delighted and very honoured to take on this exciting and important role and look forward to working with all IUHPE members and partners in strengthening the global voice of health promotion and working to advance the implementation of evidence-based health promotion policy and practice based on the principles of participation, equity and social justice.  I invite health promoters across all regions to join with IUHPE and become part of our global network for exchanging knowledge, ideas and innovative practice to help to achieve this vision.”

Further details of IUHPE and the New Executive Board can be found at: www.iuhpe.org


New research highlights challenges for parents when starting their babies on solid foods

26 November, 2018.

A new Safefood report led by Dr Colette Kelly and Louise Tully from the HPRC, NUI Galway finds that parents view weaning as an exciting but challenging time as they deal with lots of information and advice on starting their babies on solid foods.

What parents think about weaning (PDF, 500KB)


HPRC and QUESTS secure HRB funding to host workshop on maximising the impact of visual, creative and participatory methods in health research       

Dr Colette Kelly, HPRC and QUESTS Co-Chair Dr Catherine Houghton recently secured funding through the Health Research Board (HRB) Conference and Event Sponsorship Scheme 2018 to host a one-day workshop on ‘Maximising the Impact of Visual, Creative and Participatory Methods for Health Research’. Dr Colette Kelly is Director of the Health Promotion Research Centre (HPRC), NUI Galway and Chair of the Youth Engagement Group of the WHO Collaborative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study.

The workshop was held early in 2019, facilitated by Dr Dawn Mannay .

Further information available from QUEST.‌


Putting mental health at the centre – focusing on adolescents in a changing world

Interview with Margaret Barry, Professor of Health Promotion and Public Health at the National University of Ireland Galway.

The theme for World Mental Health Day 2018 is “Young people and mental health in a changing world”.

In interview with the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe Professor Barry discussed what really needs to be done to improve adolescent mental health.


Revised MindOut programmes for schools and the youth sector

The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, T.D., and Minister of State for Health Promotion, Catherine Byrne T.D., launched (October 1st 2018) the revised MindOut programmes for schools and the youth sector. Press release of the MindOut launch is here.

The MindOut programme has been developed to support the social and emotional wellbeing of young people aged 15-18 years in Irish post-primary schools and youth sector settings. It aims to give teenagers time and space to identify the things that impact on their mental health and to explore how they deal with these issues in their lives.

The programme, developed by the Health Promotion Research Centre at NUI Galway and the HSE’s Health Promotion and Improvement Department, has been proven to strengthen young peoples’ social and emotional coping skills and improve their overall mental health and wellbeing. Training in the programme will be provided by the HSE and the National Youth Health Programme (NYHP). Further information on the programme training is here.

The report is available for download MindOut Executive Summary Report‌.


Trends and inequalities in adolescent alcohol behaviours across Europe

September 2018

A new report launched on September 26th by the World Health Organisation European Office includes data from HBSC Ireland on alcohol use among schoolchildren in Ireland between 2002 and 2014. Overall the report demonstrates that alcohol consumption, early initiation and drunkeness are decreasing across Europe and that there are fewer gender differences in alcohol behaviour than in the past. Of particular relevance are very substantial (around 20%) reductions in drunkeness among adolescents in Ireland between 2002 and 2014.

“To ensure the successes achieved so far are maintained, governments are urged to adopt approaches which engage the population at all ages. In addition, more efforts are needed, particularly in countries where the rate of change has been slow. Investments in adolescent health pay off with a triple dividend of benefits for adolescents – now, for their future adult lives and for the next generation.” Carina Ferreira Borges | WHO Regional Office for Europe Programme Manager for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs

The full report can be downloaded from http://www.euro.who.int/en/hbsc-alcohol-report


Research on Health Literacy in the Healthcare Environment

Jane Sixsmith and Verna McKenna of the Health Promotion Research Centre are members of an International consortium (with partners from the Netherlands (UMCG, RUG) Belgium (EURASHE), Italy (ARS), Slovakia (UPJS) and Germany (Jacobs University) who have successfully secured European funding for IMPACCT (IMproving PAtient Centered Communication Competences). The main objective of IMPACCT is to improve the relevance and quality of education of medical and nursing students in Europe through the development, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of an evidence-based Health Literacy Educational Program. To keep yourself informed join the group at LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/e_Exmuv or visit the website: https://lnkd.in/da3skCk.


AHPI Launch of Voluntary Register for Health Promotion PractitionersAHPI registration

8 February 2018

The Association for Health Promotion Ireland (AHPI) has just launched the new voluntary register for health promotion practitioners in Ireland. Details can be viewed at http://www.ahpi.ie/professional-registration/register-of-practitioners  

Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for Health Promotion and the National Drugs Strategy, Catherine Byrnes also ‘welcomes the establishment of the Health Promotion Registration System, which is a core milestone in the advancement of Health Promotion in Ireland. She congratulates the Association on achieving this recognition from the International Union of Health Promotion and Education and acknowledges the significant opportunities for networking at a global level’.

(Pictured L-R Paula Campbell, Chairperson AHPI, Professor Margaret Barry, Chair Health Promotion NUI Galway, David Bergin, Institute of Public Health, Kathryn Meade, Chair of the Accreditation Committee, Ashling Jennings, MA Health Promotion, NUIG graduate, Dr Trish Heavey Vice Chair AHPI, Biddy O’ Neill, Healthy Ireland).


Launch of the Irish Workplace Behaviour Survey

24 January 2018

The Irish Workplace Behaviour Survey, launched today, reveals that more than two in five people say they have experienced a form of ill-treatment at work, while one in 12 have experienced and/or witnessed physical violence. This is despite most organisations having policies in place to prevent it. Full report is available for download or more details are on the IOSH website.

Mental Health Ireland Award1

Mental Health Ireland Award1

Presented by Martin Rogan, CEO MHI

Award Recipients: Ann-Marie Lawlor: Traveller Community Wellbeing Peer Support Worker Alyssa Meenan: A mental health promotion programme for island communities of the west coast. Followed by the presentation of Class Certificates: to all the participants from the 2019-20 Mental Health Promotion Postgraduate Certificate Programme, NUI Galway

https://www.mentalhealthireland.ie/

HIV-related stigma in healthcare

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New SPHeRE Policy Briefs

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HPRC Twitter