Explaining the fall in Coronary Heart Disease mortality in the Republic of Ireland between 2000 and 2015 - IMPACT modelling study.

Background: To investigate the contribution of individual and population factors to Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) mortality rates in Ireland between 2000 and 2015.

Methods: The Irish IMPACT CHD model was utilized with CHD Deaths Prevented or Postponed (DPPs) as outcome.

Results: CHD mortality rates in Ireland in those aged 25-84 years fell by 56% (63% in women vs.

Child Health Care in Ireland.

The Irish health care system is based on a complex and costly mix of private, statutory, and voluntary provisions. The majority of health care expenditure comes from the state, with a significant proportion of acute hospital care funded from private insurance, but there are relatively high out-of-pocket costs for most service users. There is free access to acute hospital care, but not for primary care, for all children.

Overweight and obesity on the island of Ireland: an estimation of costs.

Objectives: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide continues to compromise population health and creates a wider societal cost in terms of productivity loss and premature mortality. Despite extensive international literature on the cost of overweight and obesity, findings are inconsistent between Europe and the USA, and particularly within Europe. Studies vary on issues of focus, specific costs and methods.

National and subnational hypertension prevalence estimates for the Republic of Ireland: better outcome and risk factor data are needed to produce better prevalence estimates.

Background: Hypertension is a global public health challenge. National prevalence estimates can conceal important differences in prevalence in subnational areas. This paper aims to develop a consistent set of national and subnational estimates of the prevalence of hypertension in a country with limited data for subnational areas.

Application of the UK foresight obesity model in Ireland: the health and economic consequences of projected obesity trends in Ireland.

Background: Given the scale of the current obesity epidemic and associated health consequences there has been increasing concern about the economic burden placed on society in terms of direct healthcare costs and indirect societal costs. In the Republic of Ireland these costs were estimated at €1.13 billion for 2009.

Prevalence of diabetes in the Republic of Ireland: results from the National Health Survey (SLAN) 2007.

Background: Current estimates of diabetes prevalence in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) are based on UK epidemiological studies. This study uses Irish data to describe the prevalence of doctor-diagnosed diabetes amongst all adults aged 18+ years and undiagnosed diabetes amongst those aged 45+ years.

Methods: The survey of lifestyle attitudes and nutrition (SLAN) 2007 is based on a nationally representative sample of Irish adults aged 18+ years (n = 10,364).

Community perceptions of suspicious pigmented skin lesions: are they accurate when compared to general practitioners?

Community responses (n=925, response rate=71%) of a series of eight photographs of pigmented skin lesions were compared against those of general practitioners (n=114, response rate=77%), considered to be the most relevant gold standard. The eight photographs included three melanomas, two potentially malignant lesions and three benign pigmented lesions. Over the pool of lesions examined, the average probability that community members thought a lesion was likely to be skin cancer (0.

Clinical diagnosis and management of suspicious pigmented skin lesions--a survey of GPs.

Background: The ability of general practitioners to make important clinical decisions about the diagnosis and management of skin lesions is poorly understood.

Methods: A questionnaire on the diagnosis and management of eight photographed skin lesions was sent to 150 GPs in southeast Queensland.

Results: The questionnaire was completed by 114 GPs (response rate 77%).

Smoking behaviour among Indigenous secondary school students in North Queensland.

This study investigated smoking behaviour among Indigenous youth. A sample of schools (n = 12) in north Queensland with large proportions of Indigenous students was selected. Details about the prevalence of smoking behaviour in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students (n = 883) were gathered.

Dissemination of an efficacious antenatal smoking cessation program in public hospitals in Australia: a randomized controlled trial.

This study investigated the impact of a behaviorally based intervention designed to increase the number of hospitals that routinely provide effective smoking cessation programs for pregnant women. In Queensland, Australia, 70 publicly funded hospitals were matched on numbers of births and maternal socioeconomic status and randomly allocated to an awareness-only intervention group or a behaviorally based intervention group. Success was defined as the routine offer of an evidence-based smoking cessation program to at least 80% of the pregnant clients who smoke.

The needs of cancer patients and their families from rural and remote areas of Queensland.

This study examines the impact of travelling for treatment on cancer patients and their families. Twenty-eight consecutive cancer patients, who were receiving radiation therapy treatment and 19 family carers, completed a structured needs assessment questionnaire and an in-depth interview. Both patients and carers reported moderate to high levels of unmet psychological need.

Knowledge of the national emergency telephone number and prevalence and characteristics of those trained in CPR in Queensland: baseline information for targeted training interventions.

Members of the community contribute to survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by contacting emergency medical services and performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) prior to the arrival of an ambulance. In Australia there is a paucity of information of the extent that community members know the emergency telephone number and are trained in CPR. A survey of Queensland adults (n=4490) was conducted to ascertain current knowledge and training levels and to target CPR training.