Using Twitter's new video app Vine, the PHA has produced a series of videos lasting just six seconds each to show you how to use the fitness equipment available in outdoor gyms across Belfast. Funded by Belfast City Council and the Public Health Agency under the Active Belfast Programme, the gyms are located at the heart of our communities to provide a fun way for people to get fit.
Get the facts on AAA screening at the Balmoral Show
Research shows that men are approximately six times more likely to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) than women and the chance of having an aneurysm increases with age – at the age of 65, about one in every 40 men will have an abdominal aortic aneurysm. With this in mind, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is hosting an AAA screening stand at this year’s Balmoral Show to increase awareness of the screening programme and to encourage uptake by people who are eligible.
Exercise – good for your mental and emotional wellbeing
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and the Public Health Agency (PHA) is urging people across Northern Ireland to get active in a bid to improve their emotional wellbeing.
One third of cancers are preventable – reduce your risk now
To mark Cancer Prevention Week (13–19 May 2013) the Public Health Agency (PHA) is highlighting some steps that can reduce an individual’s risk of getting cancer. Dr Miriam McCarthy, Consultant in Public Health Medicine at the PHA, said: “Around 9,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in Northern Ireland but one third of these could be prevented.” The PHA has outlined key steps that can reduce your risk of getting cancer:
Call for research proposals into the care of people with dementia
HSC R&D Division, in collaboration with Atlantic Philanthropies, is pleased to give notice of a forthcoming call for research proposals into the ‘Care of People with Dementia in Northern Ireland’. Research topics will be based on a priority setting exercise with key stakeholders in the field of dementia care in Northern Ireland. Research projects must start by January 2014 and will be funded for up to three years. The total funding available for this call is £2m. The call will open on Friday 14 June 2013 and will close on Friday 12 September 2013.
Hand hygiene fun with shoppers
Each year, millions of infections could be prevented through ensuring good hand hygiene, therefore the Public Health Agency (PHA) is taking this message into frequently visited public places and is reminding the public to ‘clean your hands’ on the World Health Organisation’s ‘Save Lives: Clean Your Hands’ day. Dr Lourda Geoghegan, Consultant in Health Protection at the PHA, said: “This year we decided to focus on the importance of good hand hygiene for everyone, so we have come to a shopping centre to remind the general public to ‘clean your hands’.