Archives: Research

A series of linked studies to examine the relationship between unemployment and health, using data from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS).

A series of linked studies to examine the relationship between unemployment and health, using data from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS).

Northern Ireland is one of the most deprived areas in the UK and until fairly recently, consistently had the highest rates of unemployment, and long-term unemployment, and lowest proportions of the population of working age defined as economically active, of any of the regions within the UK. Remarkably however, there has been very little research into the relationship between unemployment and ill-health here, due principally to the absence of adequate data sources. Most would agree that research in this area is fraught with methodological difficulties and that many questions surrounding the relationship between unemployment and ill-health still remain unanswered. This proposed study is a series of linked studies using the NILS to examine the relationship between unemployment and ill-health in Northern Ireland.

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November 14, 2019
A study of the effects of emigration from Northern Ireland on the spatial distribution of health within Northern Ireland and on the health of other parts of the UK.

A study of the effects of emigration from Northern Ireland on the spatial distribution of health within Northern Ireland and on the health of other parts of the UK.

It is now established that migration can alter the spatial distribution of health within a country, leading to significant alternations in socio-economic gradients through time. However, most studies have examined the effects of internal migration (which forms the majority of the population redistributions); few have examined the effects of immigrants on the spatial distribution of health and less still have studied emigrants. This is expected as it is well recognised that emigration is one of the most difficult facets of demographic change to monitor, and most of the commonly used longitudinal datasets do not reliably record emigration of cohort members.

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November 14, 2019
The Variation and Determinants of the Admission of Older People to Residential and Nursing Homes in Northern Ireland.

The Variation and Determinants of the Admission of Older People to Residential and Nursing Homes in Northern Ireland.

The numbers of people aged 65 and over in Northern Ireland is projected to rise markedly over the next 15 years. This will place additional burdens on the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. Good evidence-based research will be required for the development of new community care services which this increase in older people will demand, however at the moment evidence on appropriate health and community care for older people is limited. It is known that admissions to nursing and residential homes are about 20% higher in Northern Ireland than in England and that there is significant variation within Northern Ireland. In order to further investigate the issues, the research aims are:

To examine the determinants of admission to nursing & residential homes in Northern Ireland
To explore the nature and level of variation between and within HSS Trusts.

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November 14, 2019
A study of denomination differences in health and short-term mortality in NI.

A study of denomination differences in health and short-term mortality in NI.

Most research into the relationship between religion and health in Northern Ireland has divided the population dichotomously as Catholic and Protestant, ignoring the inherent diversity of the Protestant community (for example Church of Ireland, Presbyterian Church in Ireland etc). The present study utilises this diversity to examine variation in all cause and cause-specific mortality by this extended religious affiliation.

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November 14, 2019
A study of the socio-demographic and area correlates of suicides in NI.

A study of the socio-demographic and area correlates of suicides in NI.

Suicide rates vary markedly between geographic areas but it is unclear whether or not this is due to differences in the populations of the areas (composition effects) or to factors which operate at an area level (contextual effects). This study uses to NI-LS to examine a number of area level characteristics to determine if they are independently related to suicide risk after adjustment for individual and family characteristics.

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November 14, 2019
To explore the relationship between the self-reported health questions (LLTI & General Health in the previous year) and short-term mortality.

To explore the relationship between the self-reported health questions (LLTI & General Health in the previous year) and short-term mortality.

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.

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November 14, 2019
A study of the non-match rates to assess the magnitude and implications of any systematic biases in the non-linkage rates.

A study of the non-match rates to assess the magnitude and implications of any systematic biases in the non-linkage rates.

In societies which do not have universal registration systems for monitoring demographic change it is not normally possible to accurately study the process of linking population and mortality data. The NI-LS is unique within the United Kingdom in that it affords such a possibility. The study links the 2001 Census returns to all deaths registered in Northern Ireland in the five years after the Census, with the characteristics of matched and non-matched death records compared using multivariate logistic regression. The attributes of the subjects included in the analysis are as recorded on the death certificate.

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November 14, 2019
Mortality amongst residents of nursing and residential homes in Northern Ireland.

Mortality amongst residents of nursing and residential homes in Northern Ireland.

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.

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November 14, 2019
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