Health Board: Upcoming conferences, talks, campaigns and events

1) The School of Nursing and Midwifery at NUI Galway will host a Men's Health Symposium on International Men's Day (Tuesday, November 19th, from 8.30am-4pm). The free event is aimed at health professionals and allied professionals who have an interest in men's health and wellbeing. In partnership with the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Education, Galway and the HSE's Health Promotion Unit, the symposium will specifically examine the influence masculinity has on men's health; building resilience; and promoting positive mental health and wellbeing for men. It will also highlight how men can access services that will support their health and wellbeing along with motivating them to adopt healthier lifestyle behaviours. The symposium will take in the main Lecture Theatre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Arás Moyola Building, NUI Galway. To register, visit eventbrite.com

2) The Organic Institute, a registered Irish charity, will host a one-day convention entitled, Environment, Organic Food and Health, on Tuesday, November 19th (9.30am-5.30pm) in the Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise. The event will have national and international speakers. Booking (€33.30 per ticket) at bit.ly/environmentandhealth.

3) Friends of Suicide Loss Ireland (FOSL) are holding a "Mourning Has Broken" commemorative walk on Saturday, November 23rd at 1.30pm from the Spire in Dublin's O'Connell Street to Clontarf Castle. The day is International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day (or Survivor Day as it is known) and – along with the walk – special events, entertainment, candlelight dinner and music are planned. Tickets for the FOSL event package is €60, and these can be purchased on the FOSL website, (01) 492 7576 or on Eventbrite.

4) Sarah Browne's Public feeling – part of South Dublin County Council's In Context 4, In Our Time Per Cent for Art commission – explores the health impacts of austerity on the individual and collective body, the politics of 'resilience', and considers the gym or leisure centre as a space where the bodies of citizens are trained, transformed and cared for.Public feeling was realised as a series of participatory performances in Tallaght and Clondalkin Leisure centre this month, staged in the format of fitness classes. It will be staged again next Sunday (November 24th) in Clondalkin Leisure Centre – 2.15pm, Fallout (Circuit); 4.30pm Resilience (Aqua). Tickets are €7, see publicfeeling.org or incontext4.ie

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5) The HSE has launched a new video on taking antibiotics to mark annual European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) on Monday, November 18th.  The video is one of five new videos aimed at increasing awareness and knowledge around antibiotics, superbugs, hand hygiene and preventing infection if you are a hospital inpatient.  According to the HSE, taking antibiotics you don't need can make you sick.  Like all medicines they can have side effects. This means that it is safer not to use them except when we need them.

6) Beaumont Hospital presents Breast Reconstruction: your options on Wednesday, November 27th in the Smurfit building in the Dublin hospital. The aim is to provide an informal forum for breast cancer survivors to learn about the benefits and different options available to them with regards to breast reconstruction. Talks will be given by plastic and breast surgeons, as well as Anne Staunton the breast care CNS and some previous patients who have undergone the procedures. The event is free. Register at eventbrite.ie

7) ARC Cancer Support Centres is holding an information evening - Research, Rehabilitation and Survivorship - for people affected by lung cancer on Wednesday, November 27th in 557-559 South Circular Road, Dublin 8. Topics covered will include latest advances, and clinical trials, breathlessness and physical activity, recovery and survivorship. Free to attend, call Linda Houlihan to book your place, (01) 215 0250.

8) The All Ireland Paediatric Diabetes Health Professional Conference 2019 takes place at Carlton Hotel, Dublin Airport from November 28th-29th. For more details, contact info@diabetes.ie, (01) 842 8118.

9) Ireland's biggest Santa Cycle takes place on Sunday, December 1st in Dublin. Now in its fifth year, 500 people will begin the cycle at Clondalkin Village at 5pm, going through town, past CHI at Crumlin (formerly Our Lady's Children's Hospital) and finishing in Clondalkin. The cost is €30, which includes a Santa suit and Christmas lights, with money raised going to CMRF Crumlin, who raise funds for Crumlin Hospital and the National Children's Research Centre. The Laurels Cycle Crew, who organise the event, is 11 years old and has raised €1,030,000 for CMRF Crumlin. People can sign up at Eventbrite.

10) From this month, third-level institutions can order free condom dispensers from the HSE, which will enable the provision of free condoms and sexual health information to students on campuses nationwide. Information leaflets will be made available with the condom dispensers, which will direct students to HSE-led and HSE-funded websites for further information about sexual health and wellbeing – sexualwellbeing.ie and man2man.ie.

11) The eighth annual Newstalk Christmas Lunch in aid of the Marie Keating Foundation will take place on Thursday, December 5th in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin. Offering a champagne reception and a four-course lunch, the proceeds raised from this annual Christmas tradition help fund cancer awareness and support services. For tickets, see mariekeating.ie/events

12) St Patrick's Mental Health Services' annual Founder's Day conference on Friday, December 6th - at St Patrick's University Hospital, Dublin 8 will focus on the theme of anxiety. The plenary lecture comes from Prof David Clark of Oxford University, who will be discussing effective psychological treatments for anxiety and the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Programme. Prof Mark Freeston of Newcastle University will present on the role of intolerance of uncertainty in understanding, formulating and treating anxiety in anxiety disorders and beyond, while Prof Helen Kennerley of the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre will explore anxiety and dissociation. For more information and to book a place, visit stpatricks.ie/media-centre/events

13) Researchers from the School of Psychology at NUI Galway are currently recruiting participants from ages 16-35 in the Galway area to participate in a new psychology therapy study being trialed for individuals who are in the first five years of a diagnosis of psychosis. Early psychosis, which refers to a range of mental health difficulties often associated with experiences of hallucinations or delusions, can result in significant difficulties with social and occupational functioning. The CReST-R study (Cognitive Remediation and Social Recovery in Early Psychosis Study) focuses on helping to improve everyday functioning in young people living with psychosis. The study will involve weekly one-to-one therapy sessions over the course of 10 weeks, with an assessment before and after completion of therapy. This trial is part of a Health Research Board funded programme entitled YOULEAD (Youth Mental Health Research Leadership) as part of a collaboration between mental health researchers at NUI Galway, UCD and RCSI, and health service providers, including the HSE and Jigsaw. To participate in the study and for more information contact Emma Frawley, crestr@nuigalway.ie, 086 8527199. For more information about YOULEAD, see nuigalway.ie/youlead

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