The Centre for Public Health media briefings are listed below. For more information please contact Caroline Hilliard on 0151 231 4535.
A new report released today shows that, despite the World Cup being over 5000 miles away, days on which England play are likely to see substantial increases in assault cases presenting at Emergency Departments (EDs) across the North West Region. The Trauma and Injury Intelligence Group1 examined the effects of the World Cup in 2006 on assault presentations at 17 EDs in the Region in order to better understand the potential impact of the 2010 World Cup period on assaults and health service pressures.
Authors: Gemma Parry,
Published: 02/06/2010
Today, the Centre for Public Health is publishing a new report: CUT: A Guide to the Adulterants, Bulking agents and other Contaminants found in illicit drugs. Almost all illicit drugs contain other substances, in addition to the drug itself. CUT looks at different pharmaceutical products, chemicals and even infectious agents that are deliberately and sometimes accidentally added to different drugs. It examines their potential effects on health and the importance of improving knowledge about, and reducing the dangers represented by, such adulterants3.
Published: 22/04/2010
Despite obesity and alcohol being two of the biggest threats to public health, people are often unaware of the health links between food and alcohol, with little or no public information on how alcohol consumption affects food cravings (the kebab effect), whether eating reduces drunkenness, and how both eating and drinking in excess increase risks of developing major diseases. A new report, Alcohol and Food: Making the Public Health Connections, released today by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, explores these issues and argues for better information and more policy connections between food and alcohol.
Published: 06/01/2010
Many European countries are witnessing a growing number of older drug users. Across Cheshire and Merseyside, drug users aged over 40 years old made up less than 10% of the drug treatment population in 1998; in 2008/09 they account for over one third. Similar findings are beginning to emerge elsewhere in Europe and in the USA. The Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University in collaboration with the North West National Treatment Agency (NTA) and Integrated Commissioning for Addictions & Offender Health (Liverpool), will be hosting a conference on Friday 20th November 2009, to present new statistics and information surrounding growing trends in older drug users.
Published: 19/11/2009
Statistics published today by the new NHS Dental Epidemiology Programme (NHS DEP) for England provide a snapshot of the oral health of five-year-old children. The report NHS Dental Epidemiology Programme for England; Oral Health Survey of five year old children, 2007/2008 reveals that 69% of five-year-old children are free of obvious dental decay (i.e. have no decayed, missing [due to decay] or filled teeth). The survey included the examination of nearly 140,000 five-year-old children from state schools across 147 of the 152 Primary Care Trust (PCT) areas of England during the 2007/08 academic year.
Published: 20/10/2009
Today the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, and the Health Protection Agency (North West) release new figures on HIV/AIDS in the North West of England. The main findings are: • Overall, the total number of HIV positive people accessing treatment and care in the North West in 2008 reached the highest level ever at 5,767; an 11% increase on 2007 (5,212; table 1). • There was a substantial increase in the number of new HIV cases reported in the region, a reversal of the downward trend observed in 2006 and 2007. There was a 13% increase in the number of cases new to the monitoring system in 2008 (925, up from 817 in 2007; table 2). • The numbers of new cases infected through sex between men, injecting drug use and heterosexual sex have all increased since 2007. • In 2008, the predominant modes of exposure to HIV for new cases were heterosexual sex (446 individuals; 48%) and sex between men (382 individuals; 41%). • Forty-two percent of new cases were reported to be infected abroad, the majority of whom (74%) were black African.
Published: 25/08/2009
Over the next few months, one of the biggest surveys looking at the health, habits and lifestyles of Isle of Man residents will be taking place. Thousands of adults, of all ages and from all walks of life will receive a telephone call from a team of researchers at the North West Public Health Observatory, Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, who are carrying out the survey on behalf of the Public Health Directorate at the Department of Health and Social Security.
Published: 06/07/2009
A new report from the Centre for Public Health highlights how risk perception can affect health and may be more important in determining priorities for intervention than calculated risk; although regulatory bodies have a legal responsibility to focus on the latter. The report, Health risk perception and environmental problems: findings from ten case studies in the North West of England, has been written by staff from the environment and sustainability team at the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, with assistance from the Health Protection Agency’s Environmental and Chemicals Team North West.
Published: 18/06/2009
A new report for the Chief Medical Officer released today by the (National) Association of Public Health Observatories reveals the full extent of illicit drug use in England. Indications of Public Health in the English Regions, explores the impact of drug use across the nine English regions using 46 different indicators related to individual, community and population implications of drug use. This report will act as a reference document, providing the latest and most comprehensive information available on drug use to a wide range of agencies involved in promoting and protecting public health. Such detailed information, as provided by the report, will act as a warning sign and help to identify areas and populations who are likely to be at risk in the future.
Authors: Sian Connolly
Published: 10/06/2009
Two new reports published today by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University explore drug use and the public health response to drug use in the North West. The report Indications of Public Health in the English Regions, explores the impact of drug use across the nine English regions using 46 different indicators related to individual, community and population implications of drug use. The report AACCE (non opiate) substance use in the North West of England details the changing profile of drug users engaged in treatment in the region and its implications for future service provision in the area. These reports act as reference documents, providing the latest and most comprehensive information available on drug use to a wide range of agencies involved in promoting and protecting public health, and up to date profile of non opiate users in treatment in the region.
Following the Government Equality Bill published this week, a report is released today that identifies gaps between the health and lifestyles of those living in poorer and more affluent circumstances across the North West of England. Produced by the North West Public Health Observatory, Health and Lifestyles in the North West reports on a survey of 5,448 residents in the region and sets a baseline from which reductions in health inequalities can be measured.
Published: 30/04/2009
A new 18-month Joseph Rowntree Foundation funded research project sees researchers from the Centre for Public Health investigate the influences of media and celebrity culture on young people’s drinking and interpretation of drunkenness.
Authors: Gayle Whelan,
Published: 10/03/2009
Increasing numbers are risking their health just because they want to have a tan, say researchers in an editorial published on bmj.com today. The authors, led by Michael Evans-Brown from the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, argue that while the actual number of people having ‘tan jabs’ (the drugs Melanotan I and Melanotan II) is unknown it is easily available via the internet and in some tanning salons and hairdressers. A thriving online community of users exist, the largest of which has over 5000 members.
Published: 18/02/2009
Young people choose to smoke for their own personal desire and curiosity rather than because of the traditional concept of being forced into conforming with friends’ behaviour, a new study highlights. Many adolescents stated they smoked as a stress reliever or simply because they liked it and wanted to, and not because of “peer pressure”. The research, conducted by researchers at the Centre for Public Health and funded by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, challenges current perceptions and offers a valuable insight into why young people smoke.
Published: 20/01/2009
The latest Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) are released today for the third year running by the North West Public Health Observatory at the Centre for Public Health. These profiles contain 23 measures of the burden that alcohol has on local communities. They include the Government’s national indicator – hospital admissions for alcohol related harm (NI 39) – as well as other measures such as alcohol related deaths, crime and incapacity benefit claimants.
Authors: Gayle Whelan
Published: 18/12/2008
The biggest ever survey on alcohol in the North West has revealed that low price and discounts are fuelling our unhealthy drinking culture. Of the 30,000 respondents, 80% said that they thought low price and discounts increased people’s drinking. This revealing statistic is taken from The Big Drink Debate carried out earlier in the year in a bid to understand why the region has one of the biggest alcohol problems in the country. The questionnaire was compiled by the North West Public Health Observatory, who also analysed the responses.
Published: 27/11/2008
Recent figures suggest that drug and alcohol use by young people in the UK is amongst the highest in Europe. The health and social consequences of such behaviour place great burdens on the individual as well as society as a whole. Increasingly, drug and alcohol use has also been associated, rightly or wrongly, with youth gangs, and recent changes in the laws on cannabis mean that many young people will face increased criminal penalties if caught with the drug. The Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, in association with Liverpool CitySafe, Young Addaction Liverpool, and HIT are convening an international conference on November 21st in Liverpool to discuss these important issues. Protecting young people, families and communities - evidence based responses to the new drugs strategy, will be held at the Holiday Inn, Liverpool city centre, on Friday 21st November 2008.
Published: 13/11/2008
A new witness support service, supported by Riverside Housing, called Making Waves, has dramatically increased the number of people reporting crime, says a new report by the Centre for Public Health. Merseyside Police are using the training developed by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform to help witnesses around the UK. For the full report, Evaluation of the Breckfield Making WAVES pilot project, by Zara Anderson, Dan Hungerford, Karen Hughes and Mark Bellis, log onto http://www.cph.org.uk/publications.aspx.
Published: 11/11/2008
The first pilot of a new national alcohol campaign is launched in the North West this week targeting higher-risk drinkers, with the aim of reducing harm from excessive alcohol consumption.
Published: 16/09/2008
The Research Directorate at the Centre for Public Health is delighted to be hosting the 10th annual Thomas Fresh lecture in conjunction with the Duncan Society on Wednesday 15th October 2008 entitled: Housing and health is unhealthy housing a failure of the state or the market? by Dr Stephen Battersby, President Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
Published: 09/09/2008
Numbers of HIV positive people in North West continue to rise but rate of increase is slowing. Today the Centre for Public Health, at Liverpool John Moores University, and the Health Protection Agency (North West) release new figures on HIV/AIDS in the North West of England. The main findings show that overall, the total number of HIV positive people accessing treatment and care the North West in 2007 reached the highest level ever at 5,212; a 9% increase on 2006 (4,761).
Published: 14/08/2008
Around 25,000 people have so far taken part in the biggest ever survey on alcohol in the North West, and residents have until the 15 August to be involved. In a bid to understand why the region has one of the biggest alcohol problems in the country, the Big Drink Debate was launched in May by Our Life in partnership with Government Office North West and the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University. The questionnaires aim to identify how we use alcohol, and to uncover people’s views on drinking, and how alcohol affects their health, safety and wellbeing. If you would like to contribute to the survey, please go to www.bigdrinkdebate.com. Researchers are also out and about in Liverpool city centre with questionnaires for people to complete.
Published: 06/08/2008
New national hospital admissions data are published today which provide a more accurate picture of alcohol-related hospital admissions using new methodology. Previously, admissions statistics only counted the three most common types of alcohol-related diseases: alcoholic liver disease, alcohol poisoning, and mental and behavioural disorders. The new methodology measures a total of 44 conditions which research shows are caused by or strongly associated with alcohol consumption. The new figures, compiled by the North West Public Health Observatory based at the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, show there were 811,000 admissions in 2006 (accounting for 6 per cent of all admissions) compared with 473,500 in 2002. Regional breakdown of the figures are available at: http://www.nwph.net/alcohol/lape/
Published: 22/07/2008
The numbers of emergency hospital admissions, caused by violence, have risen 30% in four years across England, according to a study by the Centre for Public Health, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. And there’s a sixfold difference in rates between those living in the most affluent and most deprived areas of the country, the figures show. The full report 'Contribution of violence to health inequalities in England: Demographics and trends in emergency hospital admissions for assault' is accessible at: http://press.psprings.co.uk/jech/july/ch71589.pdf.
Published: 15/07/2008
Experts on nightlife health and security from more than 20 different countries will gather in Ibiza June 23-25 2008 to discuss the best ways to tackle alcohol and drug misuse, promote safer sexual practices and tackle violence and anti-social behaviour in nightlife settings.
Published: 16/06/2008
The biggest ever survey on alcohol will be launched in the North West today in a bid to understand why the region has one of the biggest alcohol problems in the country. www.bigdrinkdebate.com
Published: 12/05/2008
A new study shows that teenagers and young adults across Europe drink and take drugs as part of deliberate sexual strategies. Findings published today in BMC Public Health, reveal that a third of 16-35 year old males and a quarter of females surveyed are drinking alcohol to increase their chances of sex, while cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis are intentionally used to enhance sexual arousal or prolong sex. The study was conducted by public health researchers from across Europe, including Liverpool.
Published: 09/05/2008
A picture of the health of 1.7 million children and young people in the North West has been published helping agencies target resources at those who are most at risk. The report is produced by the North West Public Health Observatory, Liverpool John Moores University, on behalf of the North West Children, Young People and Maternal Health Board.
Published: 03/04/2008
A joint study between the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Trading Standards North West and the Home Office (North West) is launched today which examines the amounts of alcohol consumed by 9,833 15-16 year olds in the North West and the health and social problems (e.g. violence) that are linked to this consumption.
Published: 28/03/2008
TIME is running out to have your say about a managed zone for prostitutes in Liverpool. Liverpool City Council wants to hear what you think, about a specialised area for sex trade workers in the city.
Authors: Michela Morleo
Published: 19/05/2004
More than one sexual partner in Ibiza
Published: 02/02/2004
Get Frank Advice
Published: 29/12/2003
Ten years of drug use epidemiology in Merseyside and Cheshire
Published: 08/12/2003
'Be a Rubber Lover' - promoting and protecting sexual health amongst young people
Published: 04/12/2003
Anabolic Steroid Use in Wirral
Published: 01/12/2003
Nightlife resorts linked to increased use of cocaine and ecstacy by UK clubbers
Published: 28/11/2003