Joanne Wilson This seminar explores the Government’s current desire to measure the nation’s well-being. Well-being is a complex and nebulous concept and different people will use different words to describe it. While this lack of clarity has not hampered our ability to measure the construct, it does pose significant implications for its use as a … Read more
Ann-Marie Doherty It is well know that health expenditure is costly. The introduction of a “whole of government approach to health” is gaining increasing momentum around the world. We know little about how policy to improve the health of the population gets made and the evidence and influence that has a bearing on this. This … Read more
Janet Carter-Anand The development of elder abuse services has traditionally been defined from the perspective of policy makers and professionals. This presentation will outline the findings from the first all-Ireland study that consulted older people as to their views on what interventions and services support people experiencing abuse. The subsequent report found that older people … Read more
Karen McElrath and Julie Harris Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is widely recognised as an intervention that is used to treat opioid (namely heroin) dependence. It is highly regulated and is available in both North/South Ireland. Using data collected in four different studies in North/South Ireland, we describe clients’ experiences with MMT. Methadone provision in both … Read more
Nicola Carr and Karen Winter The benefits of an inter-disciplinary approach are evident when working with individuals and families with a range of complex needs, and who have contact with multiple services. This is particularly apposite in the area of child protection and welfare. This seminar will present an overview of an innovative inter-professional training … Read more
Karen Winter It is well known that across the UK and elsewhere children in care have poor educational outcomes in comparison with the child population as a whole. The figures for Northern Ireland indicate that children in care here have the lowest attainment scores in Maths and English. This seminar will present the findings of … Read more
Lynn Johnston Our planet’s changing age demographic has sparked economic debates relating to intergenerational equity and exchanges. This seminar focusses on the social aspects of intergenerational relationships and will present findings from a neighbourhood case study. At the local level, issues which impact on intergenerational relationships are presented around three themes: social exclusion, age discrimination … Read more
Gavin Davidson The Mental Capacity (Health, Welfare and Finance) Bill for Northern Ireland is currently being drafted. The proposed law is a potentially progressive approach to providing a comprehensive legal framework for substitute decision making for people whose decision making is impaired. An important aspect of the law, policy and practice in this area is … Read more
Madeleine Leonard The purpose of this presentation is to present young people’s attitudes to peace-walls in Belfast and whether they feel peace-walls should be temporary or permanent structures. The presentation will underline how important it is for policy-makers to consult with young people on their attitudes to these walls as a prelude to finding ways … Read more
Mike Tomlinson Measures of poverty typically combine low income with indicators of deprivation – items and activities that people lack because they cannot afford them. Which deprivation indicators are the important ones for defining poverty is a matter of debate. The seminar will present findings from a population-wide survey of Northern Ireland asking people’s opinion … Read more