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The proposed study is aligned with the ongoing ADR ‘OCCUMEN Study’ which examines the prevalence and correlates of mental disorders (MDs) across occupational categories. This related study will examine sex-specific temporal trends in mental disorders and causes of death across occupation types before and following the onset of the Covid-19 (C-19) pandemic and examine associations with family responsibilities.
From March 2020 individuals, wider society and health care systems have all been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (WHO, 2020). It is likely that the pandemic has more severely impacted on people with prior mental health problems: generally research suggests that, pre-pandemic, people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) (here we include schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and major depressive disorder) could expect to experience considerable social exclusion, poor physical health and die up to 20 years earlier than the general population (Walker et al, 2015, NICE, 2018). They are also vulnerable to conditions such as diabetes (T2), cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke and cancers, often due to lifestyle factors – poor diet, smoking, and lack of exercise (Lawrence et al, 2013). More generally the pandemic and subsequent lockdown may have exacerbated their physical and mental health. Many people with SMI either live alone or in shared community residential settings, and the closure of community-based rehabilitation centres during the pandemic, and absence of community activities, can exacerbate this sense of isolation and loneliness, leading potentially to mental health deterioration. Moreover, a reduction in services may limit access to routine health care including community and hospital psychiatric services.
Carers are increasingly important in providing help and support to people with a health condition or who have trouble with everyday activities. Children and young people who provide care (“young carers”) are an often overlooked but important group of carers. Young carers are a particularly difficult group to recruit and retain in large scale longitudinal population studies. There have been very few longitudinal studies of young carers thus far and most of the previous research has been cross-sectional. There has also been very little exploration of inequalities in the effects of being a young carer to look at whether associations differ by gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic circumstances.
Self-Harm (SH) and suicide ideation (SI) (i.e. thoughts about dying by suicide) are two of the most important known risk factors for death by suicide. Increasing suicide rates are a major public health concern and Northern Ireland (NI) consistently has the highest rate of suicide in the UK and Ireland. Recent nationwide policies to reduce suicide are now including a focus on reducing SH and SI as these are precursors to suicide. However, little is known about what causes SH and SI, how these two factors are related and what impact they have on mortality risk. Understanding the individual level, household-level, area-level and health related predictors for SH, SI and suicide is of vital public health importance so that intervention services can be targeted accurately.
A multi‐disciplinary team comprising Secondary Data Analysis Initiative funded academic Research Team from Ulster University, University of Bristol and senior representatives from Public Health England, the Health and Social Care Board, the Public Health Agency (PHA), Positive Futures, The Association for Real Change (ARC), the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Trusts and the service user group Compass Advocacy Network (CAN) aim to exploit, link and maximise the use of NI Census and Mortality data to begin to formulate guidelines to tailor, target and implement support for individuals with learning disability across NI.
Cancer places a huge burden on the healthcare system. It is amongst the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012. Screening of the more susceptible population is the most effective method of detecting cancer early and subsequently achieving more positive treatment outcomes. However, large variations in screening uptake rates have been identified as a central factor contributing to avoidable cancer deaths. Lower screening uptake rates have been previously associated with a number of factors but are most significantly identified in individuals with lower socio-economic status, those from ethnic minorities, and those without access to car.
As people get older they suffer from many health conditions, this may be because of increasing propensity towards disease and/or a natural deterioration in parts or systems of the body. Some of these are evident and receive widespread public and academic attention (such as heart disease or dementia), others such as deafness do not, despite the potential to be a devastating chronic condition.
