Research Type: Mortality

This is a study to be submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an MSc in Health Informatics. The study looks at the various ways of measuring comparative mortality across social class and deprivation over time using Northern Ireland data. Using vital registration data for NI as a primary source it compares age std mortality rates for a range of diseases, life expectancy and potential years of life lost over time in Northern Ireland. From the NILS mortality dataset, it is intended to directly compare the 2001 census assignment of social class with that on death registration for deaths post 2001 by age group and to compare the mortality rates using the census social class with GRO’s version for the NILS population who have died in the period 2002-2006.

The aim of the current study is to produce a set of mortality rates and life tables relating to each of the section 75 groups present in the 2001 census along with key socio-economic measures. This will be accomplished by aggregating several years’ worth of mortality data (2001-2006) with age-standardised mortality rates and standardised rate ratios produced along with confidence intervals to allow identification of significant differences between various population groups and the general population.

The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) is a population-based registry covering Northern Ireland. It collects comprehensive information on all new cases of cancer and cancer deaths occurring in a defined population, however the information collected focuses more on medical aspects and limited information about cancer patients other than basic demographics is collected. While the patient’s sex, age and area of residence provide valuable information there is an increasing demand to know more about the social characteristics of cancer patients.

Informal care is a fundamental component of care in the community which, given current demographic trends and increasing prevalence of debilitating chronic disease, is likely to assume even greater significance in future. Research indicates that caregivers are more likely than non-carers to report poor health, though this has usually been measured in terms of psychological or emotional health such as depression or ‘caregiver strain’. Relatively little is known about the effects of caring on physical health. This study examines the health of caregivers recorded in the 2001 Northern Ireland Census and their subsequent mortality over the following four years. Caregivers were a heterogeneous group, with those providing fewer hours of care being relatively more affluent than those providing care at greater intensities. Overall, caregivers had lower mortality risks than non-carers and effects were more pronounced for women, older people, and for those reporting poorer health at the start of the study period. While this study does not exclude the possibility of significant detrimental health effects of caring for some sub-groups of caregivers, it does add support to the growing body of literature which suggests that the positive aspects of caring have been underreported.

This project will attempt to assess the impact of housing and housing history on temperature-related mortality in Northern Ireland, taking account of SAP, central heating, insulation, tenure, location, aspect and if possible, elevation.

It is generally recognised throughout the caring services that mortality is a rather extreme, but vital component of monitoring the quality of care. Mortality statistics are now routinely scrutinized in many branches of the health and social services; examples include the enquiries following maternal deaths stillbirths and deaths of infants in the first year of life; the reporting and analysis of post-operative mortality rates, and the post-Shipman surveillance of patient mortality rates amongst GPs. This research proposes to examine variation in mortality amongst the residents of nursing and residential homes of Northern Ireland.