Area of residence and admissions to care homes for older people: data linkage study of factors associated with entry to care

Dr Mark McCann and Dr Dermot O’Reilly (QUB) Research on admissions to care homes for older people has paid more attention to individual and social characteristics than to geographical factors. This presentation considers rural-urban differences in household composition and admission rates and presents key findings arising from this research. Data on 51,619 people aged 65 … Read more

The Health and Mental Health of Informal Caregivers in Rural and Urban Northern Ireland

Dr Stefanie Doebler (QUB) This presentation discusses new research findings from a project that analyses effects of providing unpaid care to a family member or neighbour on the self-reported health and mental health of the care-giver. The results are based on robust statistical analyses of Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS)-data. The NILS is a Census-linked … Read more

Advancing Gender Equality in Northern Ireland: Addressing Domestic Violence and Human Rights Protections for Women

Prof Monica McWilliams and Prof Fionnuala Ní Aoláin (Ulster) This presentation broadly addresses issues of gender equality in the context of the Northern Ireland transition. It underscores the necessity of advancing a broad equality agenda in post-conflict Northern Ireland, which mandates directly addressing gender-based violence. The speakers’ collective research consistently connects the economic and social … Read more

Gender Equality at the Executive Level of the Northern Ireland Public Sector

Prof Joan Ballantine, Prof Kathryn Haynes, Dr Melina Manochin and Mr Tony Wall (Ulster) The issue of gender equality at senior levels in the private and public sectors is receiving ever increasing worldwide attention. Reflecting this, substantial data exists for the private sector with research broadly indicating that progress towards achieving gender equality at senior … Read more

Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland: Putting Gender on the Agenda

Dr Catherine O’Rourke (Ulster) This presentation outlines research findings that aim to constructively contribute to the vexed and halting debate in Northern Ireland about dealing with the past. It seeks to usefully reframe the debate by explaining how gender should be understood as a structural factor of conflict and resolution. The presentation draws on the … Read more

Towards an Understanding of the Role of Bereavement in the Pathway to Suicide

Dr Sharon Mallon (OU) and Dr Karen Galway (QUB) Bereavement is considered to be a common precursor of death by suicide. Studies suggest those bereaved by suicide may be particularly vulnerable to suicide themselves. Recently, there has been a steady rise in the number of deaths by suicide in Northern Ireland. As a result, an … Read more

Using administrative data to understand mental health in Northern Ireland: results from two exemplar projects

Dr Aideen Maguire, Dr Mark McCann, Dr John Moriarty and Dr Dermot O’Reilly (QUB) Mental ill health is a major contributor to the burden of disease among the population. Associations have been found between gender, deprivation and bereavement and mental ill health; but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Emerging studies are using a … Read more

Policy making at the local level: Everyday policy making in our local councils

Dr Karl O’Connor (Ulster) If greater powers are to be devolved to our new super councils, what type of institutions will inherit these powers and how will these powers be used? Existing public administration research would lead to the expectation of greater bureaucrat involvement in the traditionally more mundane aspects of policy formulation, while in … Read more

Community Planning and Land Use Planning in Ireland’s Border Area

Mr Gavan Rafferty and Prof Greg Lloyd (Ulster) The convergence of local government reform in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is occurring at a unique moment in the island’s history, allowing further consideration on how an inter-jurisdictional co-operative framework can foster collaborative decision making on cross boundary community planning issues. In Northern … Read more

Community Planning in Local Government – how do we do it?

Prof Colin Knox (Ulster) One of the key reforms in local government reorganisation is the statutory power of community planning, which has been described as the equivalent of Delivering Social Change (OFMDFM) at council level. There is however a dearth of information on how to take the principles of community planning from concept to practical … Read more