Towards Earlier Discharge, Better Outcomes, Lower Costs: Stroke rehabilitation in Ireland

Towards Earlier Discharge, Better Outcomes, Lower Cost is a new and valuable study which adds to our understanding of how to better patient outcomes within the budgetary realities of our current healthcare system. This study, undertaken by the ESRI and the RCSI with the support of the Irish Heart Foundation, provides a strong economic justification for policymakers to develop Ireland's community rehabilitation and care services, and equally, shows the potential benefits for patients that can come from healthcare research. This study brought together a range of disciplines and expertise to build on the previous Irish Heart Foundation-supported study, The Cost of Stroke in Ireland, undertaken by researchers at the ESRI and RCSI. We would like to acknowledge the hard work and input of all those involved in the research for this study, especially the researchers in the ESRI, NUIG, RCSI, King's College London and the team in the IHF. We would also like to acknowledge the invaluable guidance of the steering group, many of whom are clinical professionals directly involved in delivering stroke care. We would like to thank the HSE for contributing funding to this research. It is hoped that more research of this nature, which provides an evidence base for the development of Irish healthcare, might be considered in the near future.</p

Population birth data and pandemic readiness in Europe

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic exposed multiple shortcomings in national and international capacity to respond to an infectious disease outbreak. It is essential to learn from these deficiencies to prepare for future epidemics. One major gap is the limited availability of timely and comprehensive population-based routine data about COVID-19's impact on pregnant women and babies. As part of the Horizon 2020 PHIRI (Population Health Information Research Infrastructure) project on the use of population data for COVID-19 surveillance, the Euro-Peristat research network investigated the extent to which routine information systems could be used to assess the effects of the pandemic by constructing indicators of maternal and child health and of COVID-19 infection. The Euro-Peristat network brings together researchers and statisticians from 31 countries to monitor population indicators of perinatal health in Europe and periodically compiles data on a set of 10 core and 20 recommended indicators1