The Rainbow Project - the largest LGB&T support and advocacy organisation in Northern Ireland - recently launched a report titled ‘OUTstanding in Your Field - the experiences of LGB&T people in rural areas of Northern Ireland’.  The research was supported by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.  Four hundred and ten LGB&T people responded to the survey.  To download the report, visit: www.rainbow-project.org/assets/publications/OUTstanding%20in%20your%20field.pdf

You are invited to a networking and information sharing session for the youth and community work sector which will be held in Waterford Institute of Technology’s School of Health Sciences, on Thursday 19th May 2016, from 3.30pm - 5.30pm  (refreshments 3.30pm | workshop 4.00pm+).  At this event, you will find out about: WIT’s internationally accredited BA (Hons) Health Promotion; the new MA Facilitation Skills for Health and Wellbeing; the support and trained student volunteers available; WIT’s expertise in practice-based research / evaluation; networking opportunities.  To register, send your contact details to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Health professionals, youth and community workers, and frontline staff are invited to apply for a place on a ‘Gender and Health Workshop’ which will take place on Tuesday 10th May 2016, from 9.15am - 4.30pm, in the Regional Education Centre, Ardee, Co. Louth.  The aims of the workshop are to: explain the difference between sex and gender; explore how gender intersects with other determinants of health and can determine health status; identify how our own perceptions of gender roles can influence our attitudes and behaviours; describe roles and norms concerning masculinities and femininities; look at ways of working from a gender sensitive perspective to reduce inequity and improve health outcomes.  This training will be facilitated by Finian Murray (Development Officer for Men’s Health) and Rosemary O’Callaghan (Development Officer for Women’s Health) from the HSE Dublin North East.  For more details, contact Geralyn Nolan at Tel: 041 6850675 | Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There have been increasing calls for more gender-specific service provision to support young men’s mental health and wellbeing.  In Ireland, young men are the demographic group that are most likely to die by suicide, but among the least likely to seek help.  A recent article in the American Journal of Men’s Health by Billy Grace (Institute of Technology Carlow), Noel Richardson (Institute of Technology Carlow) and Paula Carroll (Waterford Institute of Technology) looks at service providers’ perspectives on the factors that support or inhibit young men from engaging in services targeted at supporting their mental and emotional wellbeing.  You can read the article online at: http://jmh.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/02/24/1557988316634088.full.pdf?ijkey=OS4ueddKvwJz9fy&keytype=finite

Loneliness can have a significant impact on the physical and mental health of older people, and is of increasing concern for public health says a new report from the Institute of Public Health in Ireland.  The research suggests that approximately 10% of older people are affected by chronic or persistent loneliness.  It also finds that loneliness amongst older people may be linked to depression, increased nursing home admission, decreased quality of life, and cognitive decline.  To download a copy of the report, visit: www.publichealth.ie/document/iph-report/loneliness-and-ageing-ireland-north-and-south

On Thursday 4th February 2016, Prof Steve Robertson (Leeds Beckett University) delivered a lecture in Waterford Institute of Technology on the topic of: ‘Men’s Health: Implications for Health Promotion and Public Health’.  Steve is the Professor of Men, Gender and Health / Co-Director of The Centre for Men's Health at Leeds Beckett University, Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Men's Health, and is a qualified nurse and health visitor.  A video of his talk can be viewed at: https://media.heanet.ie/page/4b906e5420e29b78722995ed62783f17

This all-island conference will explore innovative and practical ways of providing knowledge support for the implementation of two public health frameworks: 'Healthy Ireland: A Framework for Improved Health & Wellbeing 2013-2025' in the Republic of Ireland, and 'Making Life Better - A Whole System Strategic Framework for Public Health 2013-2023' in Northern Ireland.  The event is being co-hosted by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland and the Department of Health (Republic of Ireland).  It will take place on Wednesday 25th May 2016, in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin, from 10.00am - 4.00pm.  You are invited to find out more / register for this free event by visiting: www.knowledge4health.net

Fathers and their children are invited to a ‘Dads’ Big Day Out’ on Saturday 9th April 2016 in Gosford Forest Park, Markethill, Co. Armagh.  This event is part of the work of Dads Direct, has been funded by The Big Lottery, and is being coordinated by Sure Start projects in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust area.  There’ll be lots of activities on offer, and it’s all free for dads and their kids.  For more information, contact Conor McArdle, Sure Start South Armagh, at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.