OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: An innovative occupational therapy service for people over 65 years of age was introduced to the A&E department in Beaumont Hospital in 2001. The majority of those availing of the service attended the hospital with fall-related injuries. Evaluation of the service found it prevented unnecessary admission for short-term rehabilitation and equipment provision. It was also found to reduce unnecessary admissions to hospital.
HEIGHT NOT AN ISSUE: A study which looked at 1,000 school children found no evidence to support the common assumption that people who are shorter than average, or indeed taller, suffered a greater share of social problems than those of ordinary height. American researchers surveyed students attending 6th to 12th grade classes in a New York public school who were not told that height was the subject of the study. Students were asked to assess their own social status and that of their schoolmates. "In contradiction to the belief that height plays a role in youths' social functioning, few significant effects were observed," the researchers noted.
SIGHT AT RISK: Up to 1 million Irish adults are putting their sight at risk by failing to have regular eye examinations, according to the Irish Ophthalmic Health Advisory Board. Everyone over the age of 55 should have a full eye health check (sight tests are not sufficient) by an ophthalmologist who can detect early signs of diseases such as Age-related Macular Degeneration. Over 65,000 Irish people have AMD, some forms of which can be treated when detected early. Foresight, a free information leaflet on AMD, is available from Fighting Blindness, 1 Christchurch Hall, High Street, Dublin 8. Tel: 01-8731004.
FOOD POISONING: Many food poisoning incidents should be better contained soon due to the use of a new DNA-based testing system. The system drastically speeds up the detection time of two potentially dangerous food-borne pathogens, salmonella and listeria. Thomas Quigley, science and technical director of Safefood, the Irish Food Safety Board, says this will allow speedier containment of any food-borne outbreaks.
SUFFERING IRISH: The Irish population in Luton, England suffer from more health problems than the population in general, according to a new study. Over 35 per cent of Irish people in the Bedfordshire town suffer from a limiting condition compared with 15 per cent of the general population. The research, carried out by RehabCare, also found significant numbers of older Irish men living isolated lives in poor quality accommodation.