Minister Hildegarde Naughton officially launched the North East Inner City (NEIC) Sláintecare Healthy Communities Project: Impact Evaluation Report on 13th December, 2023, at the Killarney Court Community Centre, Dublin 1.
Minister Naughton welcomed the report, which demonstrates the success of the Healthy Communities Project in the North East Inner City (NEIC) as part of the Sláintecare Healthy Communities Project, a cross government initiative to deliver increased health and wellbeing services in 20 areas of greatest need across Ireland.
The NEIC Sláintecare ‘Healthy Communities Project: Impact Evaluation Report’ validates the approach that has been taken in the North East Inner City and provides a framework to build on the progress to date in tackling health inequalities in the community. Key findings include:
- The positive impact on the community within the North East Inner City,
- The positive relationships built with participants resulted in an increase in overall health and wellbeing
- A vital component of the success of the project was the recruitment of community health workers enabling and empowering residents of community to access health services at the right place and the right time.
The NEIC Sláintecare ‘Healthy Communities Project: Impact Evaluation Report’ is the successful culmination of close collaboration between many partners. These partners include the Department of Health, the HSE, Dublin City Community Co-Op, the NEIC Programme Board and the Think-tank for Action on Social Change (TASC) who were commissioned to develop the report
The NEIC Sláintecare Healthy Communities Project supports wellbeing by providing better access to a range of services which improve and promote healthier lifestyle behaviours, including:
- Social Prescribing: a non-medical approach to improving an individual’s mental health and wellbeing. The Social Prescribing Link Worker supports individuals by connecting them to a range of local voluntary and community services.
- Quit smoking services: supports people to quit smoking, by providing 1-1 support with a trained Stop Smoking Advisor or as part of a group with the We Can Quit Programme.
- Healthy Food Made Easy: 6-week peer led nutrition and cookery course focusing on preparing budget friendly, quick, simple meals while building knowledge and healthier habits.
For more information about the Sláintecare Healthy Communities project visit https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/healthwellbeing/slaintecare-healthy-communities/
Minister Hildegarde Naughton welcomed the launch, saying:
“Increasing health equity is a priority for my Department and we are making significant investment in this via the Sláintecare Healthy Communities Programme. This evaluation shows that by investing in communities and ensuring that the community voices are at the centre of this investment we can achieve significant change.”
Speaking at the launch Mellany McLoone, Chief Officer Community Healthcare Organisation, Dublin North City and County, HSE said:
“The success of any Sláintecare Healthy Communities Project is dependent on the level of trust and engagement between the community and the agencies seeking to provide services. The community of the North Inner City have fully embraced the opportunities the Healthy Communities Project offers and the success is largely attributed to them. Our Community Healthcare Organisation staff teams continue to remind me how privileged we are to learn from and work with our community partner colleagues to improve the overall health and wellbeing of this community. Where local communities are leading the integration, the value of the partnership is evident for all to see.”