National Youth Health Programme

This year, Men's Health Week (MHW) will run from Monday 11th until Sunday 17th June 2012.

Each year, there is a focus upon a specific theme.  During 2012, the focus in Ireland will be upon encouraging men and boys to develop a 'First Instinct' which is to seek help and support in times of difficulty or trouble.

There is certainly a need for this, as men, on the island of Ireland, experience a disproportionate burden of ill-health and die too young:

• Local men die, on average, almost five years younger than women do.
• Males have higher death rates than women for all of the leading causes of death.
• Poor lifestyles are responsible for a high proportion of chronic diseases.
• Late presentation to health services leads to a large number of problems becoming untreatable ..

Indeed, while many of these conditions are preventable, their prevalence among men may, in fact, rise in the future.

For more go to the Men's Health Forum website

In May 2010 the National Youth Council of Ireland and the Irish Heart Foundation unveiled a new resource entitled ‘Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL)’ to tackle the escalating problems of poor nutrition and declining levels of physical activity amongst Irish teenagers.

Download the PDF here

The National Youth Health Programme together with the Health Promotion research centre based in NUI Galway have collated a bibliography of research studies related to youth health promotion in the youth work sector in Ireland.

It is our hope that this database will map the extent of existing research and identifying gaps in policy and practice. The bibliography will also assist in planning future projects and reduce duplication of research.

The final database is now available to download from our website www.youthhealth.ie/biblio
 

NUI Galway have produced a report on the Bibliography Project which you can download here (PDF).

Visit the Quit website

The new b4udecide.ie education resources were launched on Monday the 19th September by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Ms Frances Fitzgerald, T.D. 

The b4udecide campaign aims to encourage teenagers to make healthy, responsible decisions about relationships and sex.  It is aimed at teenagers aged between 14-16.  The new b4udecide.ie Relationships and Sexuality Education Resource Materials have been developed for Youth Workers and Teachers. This resource pack can be used by youth workers and teachers  in delivering a relationships and sexuality education programme. The pack contains lessons, posters, stickers and highlighters. A booklet has also been developed for parents with tips on talking to teenagers about relationships and sex. 

The resources are available through training delivered by NYCI.  For more information please contact a member of the Health Programme.