A blog from the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service

Health and Society Blog Archive

Here you will find an archive of Health and Society Blog articles published before 1 May 2022, divided into their relevant categories.

Children and Families

Breastfeeding welcome here?

January 16, 2017

Breastfeeding in public is often a topic for debate. Although a very personal decision for parents, breastfeeding in public spaces is viewed as a social issue with divided opinions….

What are ‘Family, Drug and Alcohol Courts’ and are they effective?

November 11, 2016

The draft Programme for Government contains a commitment to running a pilot family drug and alcohol court in Northern Ireland. Such courts have been used in England for some…

Community Relations

Culture and Sport

Valuing the impact of cultural activities on our wellbeing (part 2 of 2)

September 15, 2021

This two-part blog post is a follow-up to a series of three articles about Outcomes Based Accountability (OBA) and the Programme for Government (PfG) draft Outcomes Framework. Yesterday, part…

Valuing the impact of cultural activities on our wellbeing (part 1 of 2)

September 14, 2021

This two-part blog post is a follow-up to a series of three articles about Outcomes Based Accountability (OBA) and the Programme for Government (PfG) draft Outcomes Framework published recently….

How is our sport and physical activity strategy shaping up?

June 29, 2021

This blog post explores some of the themes in the Department for Communities draft strategy for sport and physical activity and compares plans for Northern Ireland (NI) with similar…

Equality

What is the Gender Pay Gap in Northern Ireland in 2019?

March 8, 2019

By Michael Scholes & Aidan Stennett To highlight International Women’s Day, this blog article updates a previous one examining the Gender Pay Gap in Northern Ireland, by presenting the…

Who runs Northern Ireland? Taking stock of gender and power in Northern Ireland

March 8, 2019

Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics Relating to Gender and…

What is the gender pay gap in Northern Ireland?

March 8, 2018

By Michael Scholes & Aidan Stennett Please note: we have posted a new version of this blog article using the most recent data, see here. To highlight International Women’s…

Health and Social Care

Abortion and safe access zones

November 30, 2021

In September 2021, Clare Bailey MLA introduced the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill to the Assembly. The Bill passed Second Stage on 12 October 2021 and would require…

Mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic

June 24, 2021

As lockdown measures begin to ease, what evidence is there about the impact that COVID-19 has had on our mental health? The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the physical…

Alcohol-specific deaths in Northern Ireland

May 7, 2021

Overview The latest figures published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (February 2021) show that the number of alcohol-specific deaths in 2019 was the highest ever…

Housing

The many faces of homelessness in Northern Ireland

March 13, 2017

Homelessness is a highly emotive issue and attention on the plight of those who are homeless in Northern Ireland has gained particular momentum over recent months with housing, homelessness…

A snapshot of some of the key housing issues for the new mandate: Housing supply and demand

June 20, 2016

Good quality, affordable housing plays a significant role in maintaining physical, mental and social wellbeing. Additionally, the housing market is an important driver of economic growth and regeneration. Therefore, it…