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Health

The Health research programme at the ESRI builds on the ESRI’s high-quality databases and survey research to understand important policy issues around patterns of health and use of health care. Current research covers a range of issues in the following areas:

Health and Health Status

ESRI research on the factors associated with health adopts a life course approach – we study the determinants of health from before birth to old age using a number of sources including two longitudinal surveys.

For example, Ireland like other countries has pronounced socio-economic differentials in infant mortality. Research is ongoing on the extent of these inequalities and whether they have reduced over the last quarter of a century (ESRI WP No. 312). ESRI researchers are also seeking to understand the increasing rate of caesarean section in Ireland (ESRI WP No. 309).

Factors influencing childhood health and development are a core theme of ESRI research. Current projects include a study of the distribution of chronic illness among Irish children and the impact this has on behavioural problems and educational outcomes. This study uses data from the 'Growing Up in Ireland' study which will be following 10,000 children from 9 months and 8,500 children from 9 years over the years to come.

Health and Lifestyles

The ESRI is a core member of the Slán07 consortium (RCSI, ESRI, UCC, UCG) which carried out the Irish National Health and Lifestyle Survey (Slán). The main report from this project was published in April 2008 (SLÁN 2007: Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes & Nutrition in Ireland - Main Report). Additional reports have been produced on diet and nutrition, mental health, and smoking policy. These reports provide important data on the health and lifestyles of Irish people. The Slán data are the subject of a programme of research at the ESRI on a range of issues including the health of migrants in Ireland relative to the native population, the impact of mental health on smoking behaviour and the role of food availability on diet and nutrition. The year 2008 also saw the publication of other work on health and lifestyles including research on the influence of level of education, self-efficacy and material deprivation on smoking behaviour (Explaining Social Class Inequalities in Smoking: The Role of Education, Self Efficacy and Deprivation), as well as research on sports participation among Irish people (The Irish Sports Monitor, First Annual Report 2007, and Sporting Lives: An Analysis of a Lifetime of Irish Sport). ESRI researchers have carried out research around sexual health for a number of years and carried out the first national survey of sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviours (The Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships).

In collaboration with the Tilda Consortium, ESRI researchers are involved in the research on the factors associated with better health and quality of life in older age.

Health Care Services

ESRI research aims to quantify and evaluate efficiency in health care provision and monitor health service performance. These issues have been addressed in the context of the acute public hospital system and general practitioner care.

The public/private mix in Irish health care is very much in evidence within the acute public hospital system where both public and private patients can be treated in public hospitals by the same consultant. Using data from the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry Scheme, ESRI researchers are investigating the public/private mix in the Irish acute public hospital system and its impact on utilisation of acute public hospital services (ESRI Working Paper 218). ESRI researchers are also examining the factors that influence where patients get treatment and their public/private status in particular (ESRI Working Paper 237).   

The ESRI is a participant in an FP7 Project Diagnosis Related Groups in Europe: Towards Efficiency and Quality (EuroDRG). This project builds on the ESRI’s experience in the development and application of Casemix tools within the acute hospital sector. EuroDRG is a pan-European project which seeks to improve our understanding of how structural factors, patient characteristics and ‘medical decision variables’ contribute to variation in costs within and between European countries.  

The ‘Cost of Stroke’ project is funded by the Irish Hearth Foundation and seeks to estimate the economic burden of stroke in Ireland. Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Patients who survive an acute stroke episode are often left with some degree of disability and many become dependent on care givers. With a high mortality and disability burden, it is important to assess the cost burden associated with stroke in the economy. It is expected that this project will be completed by the end of 2009.

A major theme of recent ESRI research is the provision of general practitioner care services in Ireland. This research has examined a range of issues around the impact of medical card status, income and health need on frequency of GP visiting (The Provision and Use of Health Services, Health Inequalities and Health and Social Gain). The possible effect of the introduction and withdrawal of the over 70s medical card has also been the subject of study ("Do Consultation Charges Deter General Practitioner Use Among Older People? A Natural Experiment").

The final report of a major study of the implications of demographic change for the provision of health care in Ireland for the HRB and HSE has been published on 21 October 2009 (Projecting the Impact of Demographic Change on the Demand for and Delivery of Healthcare in Ireland). This research uses population projections to map how population growth and ageing will alter patterns of need and demand for health care in the Irish population.


Programme Coordinators: Richard Layte and Miriam Wiley.

Other members of staff who work in this area include: Sheelagh Bonham, Aoife Brick, Jacqui Curley, Brian McCarthy, Cathal McCrory, Aisling Mulligan, Deirdre Murphy, Aisling Murray, Anne Nolan, Cliona O'Donovan, Sinead O'Hara, Jacqueline O’Reilly,  Maeve Thornton, Amanda Quail.