To view our complete series of COVID-19 blogs, click here.
Welcome to the first of what will be a series of blogs intended to help develop understanding around the management, impact and epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland.
The blog will also feature articles and advice on looking after your physical and mental health for the public and key audiences in this difficult time.
Professionals from the PHA and beyond will contribute their expertise, and we will also welcome ideas from our readers!
I started my new role as Director of Public Health/Executive Medical Director in the PHA just as the pandemic was hitting the province, so it has been somewhat a baptism of fire, dealing with the single biggest public health challenge of our times.
But I have been impressed by the response of the professionals in health and social care in Northern Ireland to rise to the challenges and the tremendous support we have experienced from our communities and the general public.
I hope through this series of blogs that we can help the reader to become better informed and knowledgeable about COVID-19 and also that we can provide some guidance on making the best of things.
I also hope we can:
- encourage support for the response by Health and Social Care and our partners;
- reduce fear and misinformation;
- help people stick to public health advice; and
- help people take positive steps about sustaining and improving our wellbeing.
The topics areas will be varied, covering the breadth of work of the Public Health Agency including nursing, allied health professionals, service development, health protection, health improvement and screening. Readers can expect to find articles and commentary on:
- Surveillance data;
- Questions and answers about the disease – for example how it spreads, variation in reaction among the population and seasonality observed between the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Europe;
- Testing regimes/policies;
- Health influencing behaviours – addressing your physical and emotional wellbeing;
- Service development related issues – for example what does it mean for people with long-term conditions such as organ donors;
- The science behind the policy; and
- How can the digital world help now and in the future? For example, app technologies to help with contact tracing and, where required, individually tailored messaging and advice.
As we continue to learn from challenges and experiences of managing the pandemic the nature and content of the blogs will evolve. This gives us a unique opportunity to share the insight of public health professionals and help explore how the pandemic has impacted on mortality, socio-economic factors and inequalities and more importantly what can be done to change how we address future pandemic and any public health crisis in the future.
To view our complete series of COVID-19 blogs, click here.