The mental health of all children in contact with social services: a population-wide record-linkage study in Northern Ireland.

Aims: Children in contact with social services are at high risk for mental ill health, but it is not known what proportion of the child population has contact with social services or how risk varies within this group compared to unexposed peers. We aim to quantify the extent and nature of contact with social services within the child population in Northern Ireland (NI) and the association with mental ill health. We also examine which social care experiences identify those most at risk.

GroundsWell: Community-engaged and data-informed systems transformation of Urban Green and Blue Space for population health - a new initiative.

Natural environments, such as parks, woodlands and lakes, have positive impacts on health and wellbeing. Urban Green and Blue Spaces (UGBS), and the activities that take place in them, can significantly influence the health outcomes of all communities, and reduce health inequalities. Improving access and quality of UGBS needs understanding of the range of systems (e.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychotropic medication uptake: time-series analysis of a population-wide cohort.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns were predicted to have a major impact on mental health, however current studies have produced contradictory findings with limited longitudinal data.

Aims: Nine years of linked, individual-level administrative data were used to examine changes in psychotropic medication uptake before and during the pandemic.

Method: Medication data from a population-wide prescribing database were linked to demographic and socioeconomic indicators from healthcare registration records ( = 1 801 860).

Data linkage and pain medication in people with cerebral palsy: a cross-sectional study.

Aim: To explore data linkage and pain medication as a proxy for pain, to assess differences in pain medication between the cerebral palsy (CP) and the general populations, and to identify factors associated with pain medication in CP.

Method: This cross-sectional study linked the Northern Ireland CP Register and two administrative health care databases for people resident in Northern Ireland born between 1981 and 2008. Pain medication as a proxy was validated by replicating analyses from the Study of Participation of Children with Cerebral Palsy Living in Europe (SPARCLE) studies.

Experience of child welfare services and long-term adult mental health outcomes: a scoping review.

Purpose: This is the first comprehensive review of empirical research that investigated the association between receipt of child welfare services and adult mental health outcomes. The review summarised the results of studies about mental health outcomes of adults with a history of child welfare involvement.

Methods: A scoping review methodology was used to search five electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, IBSS, Social Policy and Practice).

Social variations in uptake of disability benefits: A census-based record linkage study.

Background: Significant variation in disability-related social security benefits receipt might highlight sub-populations and groups with unmet needs and also have implications for areal indicators of disadvantage that are largely derived from uptake of benefits. In this paper we examine Disability Living Allowance (DLA), a non means-tested contribution towards disability-related living costs for disabled people aged less than sixty-five.

Method: ology: Three census-based measures of self-reported health (number of chronic physical disabilities; activity limitation (a little; a lot); and chronic poor mental health) were linked to contemporaneous DLA records.

Pilot study exploring the incidence of lower urinary tract symptoms during pregnancy in a district general hospital in Northern Ireland: a prospective survey.

Introduction And Hypothesis: The objective of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) during pregnancy with a prospective survey in the UK.

Materials And Methods: Pregnant women over the age of 18 years booked for shared antenatal care at a district general hospital were asked to complete a validated 14-stem questionnaire enquiring about lower urinary tract symptoms. (ICIQ-FLUTS).

Disparities in Breast Cancer Screening Uptake for Women With Mental Illness in the United Kingdom.

Introduction: Although there is evidence of disparities in breast cancer screening for women with mental illness in the U.S., there is a dearth of studies examining this association in the United Kingdom, where health care is provided free at the point of access.

Does poor mental health explain socio-demographic gradients in breast cancer screening uptake? A population-based study.

Background: Research from the USA indicates disparities in breast cancer screening uptake for women with poor mental health. However, no attempt has been made to examine the contribution of poor mental health to socio-demographic variations in breast screening uptake. The current study aims to examine the impact of self-reported chronic poor mental health on attendance at breast screening in the UK, and to what extent this explains socio-demographic inequalities in screening uptake.

Disability as a predictor of breast cancer screening uptake: A population-based study of 57,328 women.

Objective: Despite a growing body of evidence suggesting inequalities in breast cancer screening uptake in the United States for women with disabilities, few attempts have been made to examine whether this association applies to the United Kingdom. We conducted the first population-wide study investigating the impact of disability on uptake of breast cancer screening in Northern Ireland.

Methods: Breast screening records extracted from the National Breast Screening System were linked to the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study.

Aircraft noise and self-assessed mental health around a regional urban airport: a population based record linkage study.

Background: Limited evidence suggests that residential exposure to aircraft noise negatively influences population mental health around large airports, but it is not known whether the same is true for smaller airports. We investigated whether residential exposure to aircraft noise near a regional urban airport was associated with risk of chronic self-assessed mental ill health.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 198,532 people aged 18 years and over living in Belfast, United Kingdom, enumerated at the 2011 Census.

Consanguineous Marriage and the Psychopathology of Progeny: A Population-wide Data Linkage Study.

Importance: Approximately 1 in 10 children worldwide are born to consanguineous parents. The literature on consanguinity and mental health of progeny is scarce despite the fact that many of the factors associated with consanguineous unions are also associated with mental health.

Objective: To investigate if children of consanguineous parents are at increased risk of common mood disorders or psychoses.

Variation of Caregiver Health and Mortality Risks by Age: A Census-Based Record Linkage Study.

Due to the focus of studies about caregiving responsibilities on older caregivers, there has been a deficit of research on young caregivers. We aimed to investigate the association between caregiving and health/mortality risk in young caregivers when compared with their noncaregiving peers and older caregivers. A census-based record linkage was implemented, linking all residents enumerated in the 2011 Northern Ireland Census with subsequently registered deaths data, until the end of 2015.

Ethnic density and risk of mental ill health - The case of religious sectarianism in Northern Ireland: A population data linkage study.

An ethnic group that lives in a neighbourhood in which it is in the minority, termed 'lower ethnic density,' tends to report a higher incidence of mental ill-health. This population-based study investigated for the first time the existence of an own-group density effect among Catholic and Protestant communities in Northern Ireland. The entire Northern Ireland born Catholic and Protestant working age (n = 1, 004,060) enumerated population in the 2011 Census of Northern Ireland were included in the study via administrative data-linkage methodology.

Education as a predictor of antidepressant and anxiolytic medication use after bereavement: a population-based record linkage study.

Purpose: Educational attainment has been shown to be positively associated with mental health and a potential buffer to stressful events. One stressful life event likely to affect everyone in their lifetime is bereavement. This paper assesses the effect of educational attainment on mental health post-bereavement.

Informal care-giving and mental ill-health - differential relationships by workload, gender, age and area-remoteness in a UK region.

Informal care-giving can be a demanding role which has been shown to impact on physical, psychological and social well-being. Methodological weaknesses including small sample sizes and subjective measures of mental health have led to inconclusive evidence about the relationship between informal care-giving and mental ill-health. This paper reports on a study carried out in a UK region which investigated the relationship between informal care-giving and mental ill-health.

The influence of mobility on mental health status in young people: The role of area-level deprivation.

Residential mobility during childhood has been previously associated with poor mental health; however, this association could be mediated by several aspects of moving. This paper investigated the impact of mobility across different levels of area deprivation on the individual's mental health status in Northern Ireland. Mobility towards deprived areas was associated with an elevated risk of reporting poor mental health in both house owners and renters.