A joint presentation given by NUI Galway and INIsPHO at the Summer Scientific Meeting organised by the Faculty of Public Health Medicine (Royal College of Physicians of Ireland) on 29 and 30 May 2007.

Abstract

There is no system for the monitoring local health and well-being across the island of Ireland. Such a system would help provide a locally contextualized picture of health and highlighting the problems of health inequality. Ireland and Northern Ireland’s Population Health Observatory (INIsPHO) has been exploring the feasibility of adapting the English Health Poverty Index (eHPI) as the basis of an (all-Ireland) Health Poverty Index (iHPI). Concurrently, NUI Galway have been developing a framework for health equity monitoring in the West of Ireland. In this paper we present a study that brings together the work of these two projects.

Two indicator sets were reviewed that might contribute to the iHPI: the eHPI and the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Inequalities Monitoring system (NIH&SC IMS). The review examined 87 component measures (grouped into 29 indicators) in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

For this review we outlined the data issues and policy context for each component measure, and described the 54 component measures (grouped into 21 indicators) that are available across the island and form the basis of the iHPI that is currently being compiled.

We outlined recommendations to help strengthen the availability, analysis and use of health information on the island. These relate to co-coordinating access to locally derived datasets, a review of capacity to link existing datasets, and the timeliness of data collection and availability. Finally, we discussed he feasibility of using the emerging iHPI as part of an all-Ireland suite of local health inequality indicators.

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• NUI Galway+INIsPHO local health inequality indicators 29 May 07

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