Background: Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) is a semi-synthetic cannabinoid which was marketed and sold openly in Ireland as a legal alternative to cannabis products until it was controlled in July 2025. There have been reports of psychotic illness precipitated by HHC use. Consequently, there are fears that HHC may become a public health issue. This study’s aim […]
This is a supplement to Drugnet 92. Drugnet Ireland is the Health Research Board’s quarterly drug and alcohol research and policy newsletter. It provides summaries and analysis of recent publications and policy developments and well as overviews of particular issues relating to the drug and alcohol situation Ireland. Experts from the EUDA national focal point […]
Drugnet Ireland is the Health Research Board’s quarterly drug and alcohol research and policy newsletter. It provides summaries and analysis of recent publications and policy developments and well as overviews of particular issues relating to the drug and alcohol situation Ireland. Experts from the EUDA national focal point and from the HRB Evidence Centre contribute […]
The HRB conducted a systematic review to synthesise evidence on the effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of pharmacist prescribing. This systematic review provides policy-makers in the Department of Health with evidence related to the safety, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of pharmacist prescribing compared with other prescribing healthcare professionals across primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare settings. This evidence […]
The HRB conducted a systematic review to provide evidence on the effectiveness of public health interventions in reducing sunbed use and rates of skin cancer. This review was undertaken to inform policy-makers at the Department of Health in Ireland who are considering the development or revision of regulations relating to sunbed use. Skin cancer is […]
This publication can be read in conjunction with the following interactive gap maps Evidence and gap map 1: Interventions by health conditions: This map displays interventions as its rows and health conditions as its columns. It illustrates the available evidence on interventions that have been evaluated for all the selected health conditions. Evidence and gap […]
Background and aims: Alcohol and other drug use is common in early adulthood; however, research on contemporary polysubstance use patterns—defined as use of multiple psychoactive substances—and their associated factors is limited. This study aimed to identify groups with differing polysubstance use patterns and to examine associations with individual, family and socio-environmental factors. Design: This is […]
The HRB Annual Report 2024, Part 1, can be read in conjunction with Part Two which is published later in 2025. This report contains the Chairperson and Chief Executive’s report; a snapshot of important HRB activities during 2024; key deliverables (in line with the HRB Strategy 2021-2025, Health Research – Making an Impact), case studies […]
This is the annual, updated bulletin from the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) on cases of treated problem alcohol use in Ireland. This bulletin includes a detailed summary of 8,745 cases treated for alcohol as a main problem in 2024. Trends cover an eight-year period 2017 to 2024.
The 2024 report provides data presented nationally as well as by: – county – hospital type – individual psychiatric units/hospitals Data tables and individual bulletins for all HSE health regions can be found below:
The Healthy Ireland Survey is an interviewer-administered survey of the health and health behaviours of people living in Ireland. It was first conducted in 2015 and is undertaken annually. It is commissioned by the Department of Health and carried out by Ipsos B&A. Each wave has included a sample of approximately 7,500 individuals, representative of […]
Background: Increased cocaine supply has coincided with increased global cocaine use. In 2019 Ireland had one of the highest last-year rates of cocaine use in Europe. However, there is a lack of data on the health-related impacts of cocaine use in European countries over time. Methods: This retrospective, multi-source database study utilised data from national […]
Abstract: Aim: To estimate the safety, financial and environmental effects of reprocessing high risk SUMDs. Methods: Systematic review (PROSPERO ID: CRD42022365642) of primary trial and observational studies of human participants receiving reprocessed high risk SUMDs compared with first use of identical SUMDs. Reprocessing was defined as cleaning, disinfection, and sterilisation or related procedures, and function […]
Bulletin from the National Ability Supports System (NASS) on data provided by disability service providers for people engaging with services through the HSE disability budget in 2024.
Drugnet Ireland is the Health Research Board’s quarterly drug and alcohol research and policy newsletter. It provides summaries and analysis of recent publications and policy developments and well as overviews of particular issues relating to the drug and alcohol situation Ireland. Experts from the EUDA national focal point and from the HRB Evidence Centre contribute […]
This is the annual, updated bulletin from the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) on cases of treated problem drug use (excluding alcohol) in Ireland. This bulletin includes a detailed summary of 13,295 cases treated for drug use as a main problem in 2024. Trends cover an eight-year period 2017 to 2024.
In this bulletin, data on deaths among people who were homeless and who died in 2021 are presented along with a summary of deaths that occurred from 2019 to 2021. The NDRDI collects data on all deaths among people who were homeless at the time of death, to improve understanding of premature mortality among people […]
This systematic review collates the evidence on the positive and negative effects of artificial community water fluoridation (CWF) on dental caries and fluorosis between 1948 and 2023. In addition, the review attempts to establish if there are dose response relationships between CWF levels (from 0.5ppm to 1.2ppm) and dental caries, or between CWF levels and […]
The HRB conducted a review to determine which health-promoting interventions should be considered for implementation in Irish adult prisons in order to improve prisoners’ physical and mental well-being. This was an overview of reviews that assessed previously conducted systematic reviews of primary research studies. The review examined eight categories of interventions: Sports- and exercise-based interventions […]
This report presents the findings from a study that aimed to estimate the prevalence of problematic opioid use in Ireland from 2020 to 2022 utilising a four-source capture-recapture methodology. The analysis incorporated three data sources from opioid substitution treatment (OST) records obtained from the Central Treatment List (CTL), which includes clinics, general practitioners (GPs), and […]
BACKGROUND: Early and risky adolescent alcohol use have each been associated with adult alcohol consumption. However, it remains unclear whether these behaviours independently predict later-life substance use when considered jointly, and research examining links with substances other than alcohol is limited. This study addresses these gaps by examining longitudinal associations between age at first alcohol […]
Drugnet Ireland is the Health Research Board’s quarterly drug and alcohol research and policy newsletter. It provides summaries and analysis of recent publications and policy developments as well as overviews of particular issues relating to the drug and alcohol situation in Ireland. Experts from the EUDA national focal point and from the HRB Evidence Centre […]
Purpose Despite growing concerns about trends in cocaine use, there is a shortage of longitudinal research that prospectively examines risk and protective factors associated with cocaine initiation and use in general youth populations. This study addresses this gap. Methods Growing Up in Ireland is a nationally representative cohort. Individual, family, and socio-environmental exposures associated with incident past-year […]
BACKGROUND Research has demonstrated positive associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and alcohol use behaviours in young adults. However, many of these are based on cross-sectional data. The pathway between ACEs and alcohol misuse among emerging adults is not fully understood and there is a lack of data on how parental and peer relationships may […]
This report can be read in conjunction with Part One of the report which contains the Chairperson and Chief Executive’s report; a snapshot of important HRB activities during 2023; key deliverables (in line with the HRB Strategy 2021-2025, Health Research – Making an Impact) and appendices. This publication contains corporate governance and financial statements approved […]
