Specific research projects and campaign support

A small number of research projects are ongoing at any point. These tend to be focused on areas where there are gaps in knowledge such as the sexual health survey that explores the attitudes and knowledge of people in Northern Ireland regarding sexual behaviour.

Others are linked directly to campaign work. Health intelligence has a key role in the development of any public information campaign that the PHA runs. We review the evidence around what has been done elsewhere and what approaches appear to work best.

We then research the issue locally and establish the current level of knowledge among the public. This helps to target the campaign and is used in evaluating its impact. The team is also involved in the development of the brief to commercial companies, in the testing of concepts for campaigns and again in the post-campaign evaluation.

Recent and current campaigns include those for stroke awareness and smoking.