19 Jan 2006

ISSUE DATE: Thursday 19th January 2006

An all-island body committed to tackling inequalities in health, the Institute of Public Health in Ireland announced today (Thursday, 19 January 2006) the establishment of an online version of two key public health information resources on the island.

The online versions bring together tables of health information published annually by the Chief Medical Officer and the four Health Board Directors of Public Health in Northern Ireland, and tables from a compact disc produced annually by the Department of Health and Children in the Republic of Ireland.

The tables - accessible at http://www.publichealth.ie or http://www.inispho.org are included in the Population Health Intelligence System (PHIS Online) website being developed by the Institute - and contain a wide range of public health information such as rates of mortality, fertility, congenital abnormalities, and population growth in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Associate Director of the Institute, Dr Kevin Balanda explained, “We want to make information about people’s health throughout this island accessible to as wide and varied an audience as possible. For the first time, people will be able to easily access this valuable information on the internet.”

The information, adapted for online publication by the all-Ireland population health observatory that is housed within the Institute, was officially launched in the Armagh Observatory today (Thursday, 19 January 2006).

Dr Balanda continued, “This information will be of interest to everyone with an interest in health including members of the public, public health professionals, health service managers, policy makers, Government and researchers.  By using additional online tools such as charts and maps, people will also be able to more easily understand the information and explore questions that are relevant to their local area.  For example, comparisons of the numbers of low birthweight births in individual Health Board areas in Northern Ireland can be easily made. Trends over time can be assessed, and people can check if the trend in their health board is any different than the trends in other health board areas.”
 
Deaths from suicide and self-inflicted injury are also recorded in both jurisdictions enabling the analysis of trends in both jurisdictions of this serious and increasing problem, particularly among young men.  

Dr Balanda continued, “The availability of these two information resources together for the first time on the internet will help ensure they are more actively used to develop evidence-based policy and practice aimed at improving health and reducing health inequalities at local, regional and national levels.  For example, the Institute’s 2001 report on inequalities in mortality has strengthened the focus on inequalities in health on the island.”

Dr Balanda said that the Institute hoped that the PHIS (Online) website would become a ‘first port of call’ for intelligence about health, the factors that affect it and the interventions that improve it.

Dr Balanda commended the Department of Health and Children in the Republic of Ireland and the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland for their commitment to this project.

Notes to Editor:
PHIS (Online) is part of Ireland and Northern Ireland’s Population Health Observatory (INIsPHO).  INIsPHO is a unique project housed in the Institute to help meet growing health information requirements in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  INIsPHO has identified six main areas of work including research projects to address health priorities.  A current key project which has been undertaken by INIsPHO is the development of an agreed model to estimate the number of people on the island, North and South, who have diabetes (diagnosed and undiagnosed).  It aims to support those working to improve health and reduce health inequalities by producing and disseminating health intelligence, and strengthening the research and information infrastructure on the island of Ireland.

The Institute of Public Health was set up to identify and develop practical advantages from building co-operation for public health between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It works in four areas: policy advice, information, research and capacity building and its objective is to tackle inequalities in health and improve the health of the public.