Welcome

Welcome to the third issue of NILS News which keeps you up-to-date about the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS), and the related Northern Ireland Mortality Study (NIMS), including latest news, events and publications. The NILS and the NIMS are large-scale, representative, data-linkage studies and can be used as innovative research resources to explore the socio-demographic and health characteristics of the Northern Ireland population.

The NILS Research Support Unit (NILS-RSU) provides information, advice and support for potential academic and government research users of the NILS and NIMS databases. For further information please go to our website at www.nils-rsu.census.ac.uk which also contains resources for researchers including a list of variables available through the Data Dictionary, support materials at Useful Documents and a list of NILS-related Projects and Presentations/Publications.

Staffing Update

Over the past number of months, the NILS-RSU have gained three new members of staff. Dr Gemma Catney joined the NILS-RSU from the Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR) at the University of Manchester. Gemma is employed as a Research Support Officer half-time, and half-time as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Health at Queen's University Belfast. Fiona Johnston is a NISRA statistician who has been seconded to work with the NILS-RSU to assist government researchers and to undertake exemplar public policy research on the NILS and the NIMS. Gillian Luke has joined the NILS-RSU as an Administrative Officer and is employed by Queen's University Belfast.

We would also like to thank Ryan Savage, who was a NISRA placement student within the NILS-Core team (responsible for data processing, the secure data setting, IT infrastructure and strategic management), for his considerable contribution to the NILS-RSU and wish him every success for the future.

Projects Update

There are currently 42 projects based on the NILS and NIMS databases and, since the last edition of NILS News, five new projects have been approved by the NILS Research Approvals Group. A list of these projects, and their lead researchers, is given below:

Project 038 - The effect of population movement on the spatial distribution of socio-economic and health status, Dr Sheelah Connolly.

Project 039 - Estimating migration flows during the inter-censal period by health characteristics measured in the Census, Dr James Brown.

Project 040 - Mortality after death of a spouse: Is risk the same for all groups? Dr Sheelah Connolly.

Project 041 - Religion, fertility and space: an exploratory analysis of recent spatial and community background patterns of fertility that will impact on the future school population of Northern Ireland, Fiona Johnston.

Project 042 - An exploratory analysis of the use of antibiotics by demographic and area characteristics – an exemplar study using the Northern Ireland Electronic Prescribing and Eligibility System (EPES), Fiona Johnston.

Focus on Project 020: Describing and Modelling Internal Migration in NI 2001-2007:

Researchers Dr Ian Shuttleworth and Dr Paul Barr (both Queen's University Belfast), with Dr Myles Gould (University of Leeds), are modelling short distance residential moves using the NILS database along with regular downloads from the Health Card Registration system. This allows for monitoring of internal migration using modelling techniques such as logistic regression (Stata) and multi-level (MLwiN). Conclusions from this research (N.B. these are ongoing and provisional) are as follows:

1. in post-conflict Northern Ireland the extent of internal migration is strongly influenced by religious background;
2. barriers to movement are also structured by socio-economic circumstances – most noticeable in socially rented households (less mobile), but also by age, education and limiting long-term illness;
3. as yet, migration has no major impact on redistributing population in relation to community background (to decrease segregation more people need to move, move more often, and move further).

For further information on any of the NILS and the NIMS projects, please go www.nils-rsu.census.ac.uk/Projects or email us at [log in to unmask].

Publications Update

Johnston, F, Rosato, M and Catney, (2010) The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study: An Introduction NILS Working Paper 01. NILS Research Support Unit, September 2010.

The NILS-RSU Leaflet is available to download from the NILS-RSU website. It has also been reproduced under the Support for Researchers section in: Public Health Agency (2010) R&D Today: The Biannual Newsletter of the Health and Social Care Research and Development Division, Issue 13: Summer 2010.

Public Health Agency (2010) The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study: A research resource for policy-makers. Public Health Agency: E-bulletin, Number 14: March 2010.

O’Reilly, D and Rosato, M (2010) Dissonances in self-reported health and mortality across denominational groups in Northern Ireland. Social Science and Medicine, 71(5):1011-1017. [Project 011].

Young, H, Grundy, E, O’Reilly, D and Boyle, P (2010) Self-rated health and mortality in the UK: results from the first comparative analysis of the England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland Longitudinal Studies. Population Trends Spring 2010. Office for National Statistics. [Project 028].

Connolly, S, O’Reilly, D and Rosato, M (2010) House value as an indicator of cumulative wealth is strongly related to morbidity and mortality risk in older people: a census-based cross-sectional and longitudinal study. International Journal of Epidemiology 2010 39(2): 383-391. [Project 034].

Donnelly, D and Gavin, A (2009) A Review of Cancer Mortality. Registrar General Northern Ireland Annual Report 2008, NISRA. [Project 016].

Northern Ireland Cancer Screening Programmes (2009) Influence of demographic, socio-economic and area level factors on uptake of routine breast screening. Screening Matters: The Newsletter of the Northern Ireland Cancer Screening Programmes, Issue 16: Autumn 2009. [Project 021].

To access any of the above available publications or abstracts, please go to www.nils-rsu.census.ac.uk/Publications.

Publicity Update

Recent presentations that have showcased NILS-related research include:

September 2010:

·         'Uptake of breast screening: where you live also matters' [Project 021]. Society for Social Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting, Queen's University Belfast. Heather Kinnear.

·         'Gender differences in admission to care homes for older people: Maybe men really don’t care' [Project 007]. Society for Social Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting, Queen's University Belfast. Dr Mark McCann.

·         'Variations in the use of publicly funded oral care in Northern Ireland: Results from an analysis of adolescents in The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study' [Project 033]. Society for Social Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting, Queen's University Belfast. Claire Telford.

·         'Unemployment and poor health: Testing the robustness of self-reported health measures' [Project 015]. British Society for Population Studies Annual Conference, University of Exeter. Dr Gemma Catney.

·         'The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study: Current and potential projects' [General]. British Society for Population Studies Annual Conference, University of Exeter. Fiona Johnston.

·         'Modelling short-distance residential moves using the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Survey' [Project 020]. British Society for Population Studies Annual Conference, University of Exeter. Dr Ian Shuttleworth.

July 2010:

·         'Estimating migration flows during the inter-censal period in Northern Ireland by health characteristics measured in the Census' [Project 039]. Fifteenth GSS Methodology Conference, London. Professor John McDonald.

April 2010:

·         'Residential concentration and general health in Northern Ireland' [Project 011]. Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Washington DC. Dr Gemma Catney.

·         'Short-distance Migration, Residential Segregation, and Spatial Scale: Perspectives from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study' [Project 020]. Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Washington DC. Dr Ian Shuttleworth.

·         'Following Migrants Through Time: The Potential and Limits of Longitudinal Data' [Project 020]. Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Washington DC. Dr Paul Barr.

·         'Is caring associated with an increased risk of mortality?' [Project 004]. ESRC Workshop on Health and Mortality with Microdata, Queen's University, Belfast. Dr Gemma Catney

·         'Ten things you should know about death from the NILS perspective' [General]. ESRC Workshop on Health and Mortality with Microdata, Queen's University, Belfast. Dr Dermot O'Reilly

·         'Education and the contemporary ‘baby boom’: evidence from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study' [Project 022]. IEA Conference, Belfast. Dr Pat McGregor and Patricia McKee

December 2009:

·         'Modelling Migratory Moves in Northern Ireland using the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study' [Project 020]. Seminar, School of Geography, Leeds. Dr Ian Shuttleworth.

November 2009:

·         'Tilting the Balance? Population Redistribution through Internal Migration in Northern Ireland, 2001-07' [Project 020]. Seminar, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast and Department of Geography, NUI Galway. Dr Ian Shuttleworth.

·         'Education and the contemporary ‘baby boom’: evidence from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study' [Project 022]. Workshop on Child Development (November 2009), NUI Galway. Dr Pat McGregor and Patricia McKee.

·         'Older people’s living arrangements and risk of admission to care homes in Northern Ireland: A census-based cohort study' [Project 007]. European Public Health Association Conference, Lodz, Poland. Dr Mark McCann.

·         'Community segregation in Northern Ireland: an examination of health outcomes using a census based cohort aged 25 to 74 in 2001' [Project 011]. European Public Health Association Conference, Lodz, Poland. Michael Rosato.

·         'Does being an informal carer deter women from attending for breast cancer screening? A census-based follow-up study' [Project 021]. European Public Health Association Conference, Lodz, Poland. Heather Kinnear.

NILS Research Forum Seminar Series:

A series of presentations, and a workshop, have also taken place as part of the NILS Research Forum Seminar Series, which was established to increase understanding of the potential of the NILS and NIMS resources and to facilitate increased understanding of their composition and functions. These have included:

·         'A Longitudinal Perspective on Education within Northern Ireland: A Strategic Goal for the NILS?' (June 2010), NISRA, Belfast. Workshop chaired by Dr Pat McGregor which incorporated a telephone presentation on 'Education: The Longitudinal Perspective provided by the Scottish Longitudinal Study', Professor Paul Boyle.

·         'Some of the Benefits of Longitudinal Analysis' (June 2010), NISRA, Belfast. Professor Paul Boyle.

·         'Longitudinal Perspectives on Migration within the UK' (March 2010), Queen's University, Belfast. Dr Ian Shuttleworth, Dr Tony Champion and Dr David Manley.

·         'The Interplay among Censuses, Surveys and Administrative Data' (March 2010), NISRA, Belfast. Professor John McDonald.

·         'Forecasting Fertility using the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study: Preliminary Results' (February 2010), NISRA, Belfast. Dr Pat McGregor.

·         'Census Imputation and List Inflation' (December 2009), NISRA, Belfast. Dr Pat McGregor, Dr Robert Beatty, Sandy Fitzpatrick, Maire Brolly and Ronan Adams

To access any of the above available presentations, please go to www.nils-rsu.census.ac.uk/PublicationsandPresentations or email us at [log in to unmask].

Future Events

Training: NILS-RSU plan to deliver training on the use of the Stata, a statistical package that offers a broad range of statistical analysis tools, for current or potential users of the NILS or NIMS databases. This is planned to take place in both Autumn 2010 and Spring 2011.

NISRA Lunchtime Seminar: The Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study - An Outline of the Research Potential for Government Users. NILS-RSU, 9 November 2010, NISRA HQ, McAuley House, Belfast.

NISRA Conference 2010: 'Use of antibiotics - groundbreaking analysis from the new Electronic  Prescribing and Eligibility System'. [Project 042]. Kim Moylan and Fiona Johnston, 22 November 2010, Lisburn.

GSS Subgroup on Data Sharing for Statistical and Analytical Purposes: 'Linking health service data to the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS) using a one-way encryption method: linking electronic prescribing data to the NILS'. Fiona Johnston. Seminar on data matching projects taking place across the Government Statistical Service, 29 November 2010, London.

To further information on any of the above events, please contact the NILS-RSU at [log in to unmask].