Do you want to become a highly skilled facilitator and advance within your chosen profession or seek new employment opportunities? ...  The Master of Arts in Advanced Facilitation Skills for Promoting Health and Wellbeing is an innovative practice orientated programme - the only one of its kind in the Republic of Ireland.  It is designed to: enhance personal growth and development; increase knowledge and skills; help participants reflect upon attitudes; improve the competencies required for effective facilitation of health and wellbeing programmes.  The skills acquired on this programme are essential when engaging with men.  This is a full-time course, and its delivery reflects the flexibility required for adult learners.  The programme is delivered one evening per week, and over three Saturdays and three residential weekends throughout the year.  For further information, contact the Course Leaders by email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Public Health Agency and partners will be hosting the fourth Public Health Annual Research and Practice Conference on Wednesday 8th June 2016 in Riddel Hall, Stranmillis Road, Belfast.  The theme for the conference is: 'An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure', and will consider the value of public health interventions in economic, social and environmental terms.  Full details, and the booking form for the conference, are now available at: www.publichealth.hscni.net/directorate-public-health/public-health-annual-research-and-practice-conference-8-june-2016   Please note, the closing date is Friday 6th May 2016.

Ireland’s inaugural 'Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit' is taking place in the Aviva Stadium on Friday 14th October 2016.  This event is open to all sectors - from health practitioners, to the corporate sector, to the general public.  The Summit will cover many topics over the course of the day through a series of talks and workshops.  The speakers come from various areas of expertise including medical, psychological, sports, nutrition and personal experience.  They include Prof Jim Lucey (Medical Director for St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services), Dr Kara McGann (IBEC), and (probably the most well-known advocate for mental health currently) Bressie and the ‘Ironmind Challenge’ team.  The day will also feature a panel of speakers who will discuss their own personal experiences and how they cope with mental health issues on a daily basis.  Early Bird tickets are now on sale.  For more information, visit: www.mentalhealthandwellbeingsummit.com or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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