The public information campaigns function within the PHA is responsible for the overall development, management, implementation and monitoring of multi-media campaigns, which cover a wide range of health issues and programmes.

The campaigns are used to raise awareness of important health issues and stimulate groups or individuals to seek information and services.

Through any increase in knowledge, people can over time change attitudes and longer term, particularly when other intervention programmes are used, change their behaviour. 

PHA staff provide particular expertise on service evaluation and review, assessment of the health and wellbeing needs of the population, and evidence-based practice. They also have a key role in supporting the development, implementation and evaluation of regional service frameworks.

Population screening programmes have a key role to play in early detection of disease and a range of programmes are currently available in Northern Ireland. The PHA has responsibility for commissioning, coordinating and quality assuring these programmes.

The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) is run under agreement between the Public Health Agency and Queen's University of Belfast .

Neonatal Intensive Care Outcomes Research and Evaluation (NICORE) has been routinely collecting data on neonatal units in Northern Ireland since 1994. We use this data to monitor a number of key quality markers and to ensure consistently high standards of care so that all babies admitted to a neonatal unit in Northern Ireland will benefit. The NICORE database is an important source of information which allows:

NIMACH (Northern Ireland Maternal and Child Health) collects and analyses data in support of Clinical Outcome Review Programmes.

The Clinical Outcome Review Programmes (previously known as confidential enquiries), are designed to help assess the quality of healthcare, and stimulate improvement in safety and effectiveness by systematically enabling clinicians, managers and policy makers to learn from adverse events and other relevant data. The programmes have a key role in supporting local, continuous improvements to service quality.

Newborn screening in Northern Ireland

During the first few weeks after your baby is born, they will be offered a blood spot screening test and hearing screening test. These tests form the Northern Ireland newborn screening programmes.

• Newborn hearing screening programme (NHSP)
• Newborn blood spot screening programme known as 'Heel prick'
• Physical examination
   

Click below for more information on the screening programmes:

Diabetes is a common condition that affects approximately 4.7% of the population.

The aim of the cervical cancer screening programme is to reduce the number of women who develop cervical cancer and the number of women who die from it.

It tries to do this by testing as many women as possible, examining the test results and referring the women for further treatment if any early warning signs are present.