While my time at the Heath Promotion Research Centre (HPRC) is coming to a close, I know it’s not the end of my work with them (as promised, I’ll certainly be back!). The influential research that is being done at the HPRC is tangibly changing the scope of health across the entire population of Ireland, and I am so honored to have played an incredibly small role in it. At the start of this journey, I never could have imagined it would be so hard to say goodbye, but I suppose that’s what happens when you’re adopted with open arms into a ‘family’!
Much has transpired since my last blog post. On June 16th, the Health Promotion Research Centre hosted its 26th annual Health Promotion Conference. Quite fittingly, this year’s theme was Health Inequity. Delegates from all over the country joined for the first face-to-face conference in two years (including Minister of Health Frank Feighan and keynote speaker Michael Marmot from the Institute of Health Equity)! I quickly learned that a national conference requires a lot of behind-the scenes operations and planning. I was honored to act as a minion during the preceding week — meeting with caterers, organizing guest lists, and laminating signs (oddly satisfying). On the day of, I had the opportunity to join some incredibly stimulating plenary sessions and workshops with Health Service Executive (HSE) executives, PhD students, and faculty of NUI Galway. Some of my favorites included: ‘reducing inequity using social prescribing’ and ‘a cautionary tale of community involvement in action for health equity’.
Beyond the conference, most of my time has been spent writing the advocacy report for the recently established NUI Galway Student Pantry. This has involved a literature review on food insecurity in university settings (spoiler alert – it’s not looking good), qualitative analysis of the student feedback during the pantry’s 10-week pilot launch, and actionable recommendations for both university and pantry management/leadership moving forward. Some of my research and analysis from the report was even included in a presentation at the Conference! Writing this advocacy report has been an invaluable experience which has highlighted for me the need of knowledge translation in research. I have become extremely invested in the Student Pantry, as food insecurity is an extremely pressing (yet often overlooked) issue in university settings. I’m excited to share the final piece once it’s officially published!
Over the past few weeks, I have also had the opportunity to visit a handful of local public health and social services agencies/organizations that put into action what the HPRC reports on: Comhairle na Nog (Youth Advocacy Council), Westside Youth Project (Youth Service Provider), and the Galway Traveller Movement. As a future public health professional, I found it invaluable to first-handedly witness the ways in which another country’s systems operate and I am eager to translate and adapt what I have absorbed into future settings.
Cheesy as it may sound, I’ve learned just as much outside of my practicum as in the office. It’s easy when locals were always willing to answer my question: “what is one thing I can’t leave without doing?” Through these serendipitous conversations, I cycled the 7 castles of Galway county with a group of Irish cyclers, hiked 18km from the wind-surfing city of Lahinch to the Cliffs of Moher (unobstructed views all to myself!), cycled the most gorgeous Greenway from the city of Westport to the island of Achill, cheered on Galway in the Hurling championship (native Gaelic sport), climbed ‘Diamond Hill’ — a mountain in Connemara National Park, took a day-trip to Athlone with a group of new friends (each of which represented a different county of Ireland!), jumped off the Blackrock Diving Board and into the Atlantic Ocean (Galwegian right-of-passage), and so much more! Galway is truly a magical place, and I know I’ll be back! Thank you, HPRC, for giving me the opportunity to explore my role in Public Health and the world. Now I’m off to spend the rest of the summer with family and friends across Europe!
