Leadership for Healthy People and Planet is a collaboration between the Queen's University Belfast Centre for Public Health and Involve to accelerate integrated policy and action on health and environment in Northern Ireland.
In September 2023, we will bring together a range of stakeholders. This includes researchers, health professionals, activists, organisations delivering practical solutions, policy makers, advocates, and members of the public.
We will hold three workshops to explore in depth how the issues are being addressed (and how they are not), and to identify how we can combine forces across agendas and disciplines, to deliver successful outcomes for communities, health, ageing, planning, the environment and our planet.
Background
Queen’s University Belfast has been leading research to understand how the environment in which we live causes ill health and cognitive decline among our rapidly ageing population. Environmental factors such as air quality, green space, congestion, noise, and other pollutants can contribute to poorer health outcomes, especially as we age. Often concentrated in areas of deprivation, these factors can widen health inequalities too. We know that the causes are complex, and the solutions are even more complex.
Addressing the root causes of poor-quality environments – such as poor transport infrastructure, lack of good-quality green space, and poor housing – will be beneficial across a range of policy areas. Solving issues connected with ageing, health and cognitive decline will also resolve other important challenges we face in public health, liveable communities and environment. Working in partnership to find solutions can save money, resources and lead to better, more sustainable outcomes.
Our Involvement
To better integrate how we can find policy solutions to many of these interconnected problems, we are bringing together a range of stakeholders. This includes researchers, health professionals, activists,organisations delivering practical solutions, policy makers, advocates, and members of the public. We will hold three workshops in September (13, 20 and 27) in Belfast City Centre to explore in depth how the issues are being addressed (and how they are not), and to identify how we can combine forces across agendas and disciplines, to deliver successful outcomes for communities, health, ageing, planning, the environment and our planet.
The workshops form a participative process to fully explore all the connected parts of this work and how they are impacted by different organisations and policies. We will then explore what it will take to change outcomes, and the different ways that Government and other actors can work together in common cause - where one solution solves other connected issues. Finally, we will prepare an agreed set of policy recommendations for how to achieve success in this important and increasingly urgent issue.
Researchers at Queen's will use these recommendations to produce a White Paper that can be used to support local action.
To find out more, go to https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/space/