Healthy Ireland A framework for improved health and wellbeing 2013 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Healthy Ireland A framework for improved health and wellbeing 2013 - 2025 Sustainable Environment Research Planning Workshop September 25 2013 Dr Miriam Owens

Is Ireland Healthy? - key facts • Obesity – 20% of all children are overweight – Almost one in ten three year-olds in lower socio- economic groups are obese compared to one in 20 in higher socio-economic groups – Two out of three adults are overweight or obese – 25% of pregnant women are overweight or obese

More health facts • Alcohol – rate of alcohol consumption is one of the highest in Europe – responsible for approximately 90 deaths per month and is a factor in half of all suicides • Tobacco – 5,500 deaths per annum – around one million people in Ireland smoke tobacco products – 12% of children between the ages of 11 and 17 years are current smokers – rates are highest amongst women aged 18-29 from poor communities – 56% of that cohort – compared to 28% of their peers from higher social classes

Healthy Ireland Vision …..where everyone can enjoy physical and mental health and wellbeing to their full potential, where wellbeing is valued and supported at every level of society and is everyone’s responsibility

What is Healthy Ireland? • Increase the proportion of people who are healthy at all stages of life • Reduce health inequalities • Protect the public from threats to health and wellbeing • Create an environment where every individual and sector of society can play their part in achieving a Healthy Ireland

Healthy Ireland Themes • Governance and Policy • Partnerships and Cross-Sectoral Working • Empowering People and Communities • Health and Health Reform • Research and Evidence • Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation

Priorities for HI • Cross departmental Steering Group • Cross-divisional group within Department • Multi-stakeholder working groups for specific actions – Research and Data Plan – Outcomes Framework – Plan to promote physical activity – Plan for Positive Ageing Strategy

Healthy Ireland Research & Data Plan • Support the implementation of the four goals of Healthy Ireland • Provide a framework for research coordination, governance and evaluation within the health service and identification of challenges / issues which can benefit from research and collaboration • To bridge the research and policy gap

Forfás 2012: Research Priorities • Improving the health of the population across the life-course • Minimising and mitigating climate change • The contribution of bioenergy to the achievement of renewable energy targets • Building a safe and sustainable environment • Delivering new and cost-effective models of health care

Determinants of health / Research Priorities

Themes & Topics • Smart information use • Impact assessments • Physical and built environment • Communication and behaviour change • Addressing specific diseases and threats • Life course exposure • Tackle threats from unregulated hazards and/or settings • Oral health

Smart Information Use • Improved and interconnected health and environmental data management – creative interactive applications in health and environmental surveillance – maps for each local authority displaying all relevant environment and health data as a means to improve service planning so as to reduce environment and health inequalities • Septic tanks and bore wells • Flood plains • Deprivation • Water supplies • Green spaces, walking routes, cycle paths, leisure facilities • What are appropriate metrics and indictor systems to provide information for planning, policy and decision making, early warning systems, identifying vulnerability …communities, population subgroups – Integrated pollution prevention control licence (IPPC) • How to prioritise from public health perspective?

Impact assessments • Develop methodology to integrate Health and Environmental Impact Assessments across a range of programmes and projects • Economic evaluations of environmental incidents / interventions • Can we quantify values of ecosystem services for health? – Green and blue spaces

Physical and Built Environment • What are sustainable ways of improving water productivity, increased protection of rivers and ground waters, re-use of waste water • Effective ways to reduce emissions • Planning and green spaces, better urban design to reverse obesogenic environments,to facilitate access to healthy foods • Second hand smoke and indoor air quality risks in the home setting

Communication and Behaviour Change • What factors motivate sustainable behaviour in individuals and organisations? – Plastic bag levy – Recycling • Provide evidence for effective interventions across all sectors of society, including healthcare services on: – energy use – waste – procurement – transport – local food supplies – green prescriptions

Communication and Behaviour Change • New ways of communicating and changing behaviour – Behavioural insight / behavioural economics • Improved understanding of health and environmental risks, new ways of effectively communicating risks – FAQs, infographics, social media • Exploration of public perception of risks from environmental hazards: – Fracking – Non-ionsing radiation – Water quality • Private supplies • Fluoridated supplies

Addressing specific diseases and threats • Use new technologies and integrate approaches across agencies to deal with existing and emerging threats – specifically VTEC, avian influenza, fracking

Life course exposure • Develop a clearer understanding of the life course environmental exposures that may influence negative health outcomes. • Utilising and integrating existing data on human exposure (through pathways such as food, air, water, radiation, tobacco) and human biomonitoring data.

Tackle threats from unregulated hazards and/or settings • EColi VTEC risks associated with open farms, animal handling, bore wells/septic tank arrangements – ecological study concerning the frequency and spatial patterns of VTEC – GIS • Impact of climate change on mosquito borne disease risks • Risks associated with designated and non designated bathing areas from microbiological, chemical or other incidents, e.g. injuries and drownings

Oral Health • A review of waste amalgam process in dental premises and its environmental impact • A baseline assessment to produce a database which can be updated to report progress to the EC in the future on successful phase down of amalgam

Healthy Ireland Operational Principles • Better – governance and leadership – use of people and resources – partnerships – systems for healthcare – use of evidence – measurement and evaluation – programme management

Healthy Ireland Thank you for listening!