The aims of the PRIME study (Prevalence, Impact and Cost of Chronic Pain) were 3-fold: (1) to determine the point prevalence of chronic pain in Ireland; (2) to compare the psychological and physical health profiles of those with and without chronic pain; and (3) to explore a predictive model of pain-related disability. A postal survey of 3136 people was conducted with a representative community-based sample of adults. Measures were obtained for sociodemographic variables, physical and psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, presence of pain, pain severity, pain-related disability, and illness perceptions. Responses were received from 1204 people. The prevalence of chronic pain was 35.5% (95% CI=32.8-38.2) (n=428). No gender difference in prevalence was found. Prevalence of pain increased with age and was associated with manual employment. The most commonly reported site of pain was the lower back (47.6%); however, multiple pain sites was the norm, with more than 80% of participants reporting more than 1 pain site. Approximately 12% of participants were unable to work or were on reduced work hours because of pain. Of those with chronic pain, 15% met the criteria for clinically relevant depression compared with 2.8% of those without pain. A multiple regression analysis, predicting 67% of variance, showed that pain intensity was the strongest predictor of pain-related disability. Depression and illness perceptions were also predictive of pain-related disability, after controlling for the effects of pain intensity. Chronic pain is a prevalent health problem in Ireland and is associated with significant psychological and functional disability. Psychological factors appear to influence the level of pain-related disability.

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Background: Patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are at increased risk of further acute cardiac events. Secondary prevention aims to decrease morbidity and mortality post-ACS. Depression is related to increased risk in this population, and to poorer secondary prevention activities. However, lengthy depression assessment techniques preclude depression assessment in routine care. The present study investigated the relationship of briefly-assessed depression with secondary prevention outcomes one year post-ACS.

Background: Obesity is the cause of other chronic diseases, psychological problems, obesity shortens the lifespan and puts strain on health systems. The risk associated with childhood obesity in particular, which will accelerate the development of adult morbidity and mortality, has been identified as an emerging public health problem.

Background: Shorter time to treatment is associated with lower mortality in acute coronary syndromes (ACS). A previous (1994) survey showed substantial delays for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Ireland. The present study compared current practice with 1994 and surveyed acute coronary syndromes as a more complete contemporary evaluation of critical cardiac care than assessing AMI alone.

There have been substantial achievements towards the Cardiovascular Health Strategy target of providing cardiac rehabilitation services for all relevant hospitals in Ireland over the past five years. Service provision of cardiac rehabilitation can benefit from collective efforts made across centres to encourage the prioritisation of cardiac rehabilitation in national health policy initiatives.

This review considers individual experience of educational interventions for evidence‐based practice (EBP) and presents a two‐stage approach for synthesizing quantitative and qualitative research. To find relevant reports, a search was performed in 8 biomedical databases and 3 health education journals. In addition, relevant experts and E‐mail: discussion lists were contacted, and reference lists of reports were checked. Two reviewers quality appraised all reports according to predefined checklists. In total, seven reports (6 studies) were included. Two main frameworks were then used to synthesize the data from the included studies based on (a) predetermined research questions and (b) educational theory. The results were then compared with existing research (systematic reviews).  The included studies were limited in number and gave limited insight. Nonetheless, some clear issues emerged. Many participants emphasized that course aims, objectives and, where relevant, precourse tasks, should be more clearly communicated, especially when courses were innovative, complex or presented in a new setting. Experiences suggested that educational uptake and the implementation of skills in practice were directly linked to the participants’ perceptions of the relevance of courses to their professional roles. A range of educational models are used to teach EBP, but no studies were found that directly compared the experiences of participants at different types of EBP courses, or described their potential strengths or weaknesses. Future studies should document educational process, outcomes and the experiences of providers and participants, and explicitly use educational theory to plan, implement and evaluate educational interventions.