It provides a government research function delivering a research programme anchored on the NI Programme for Government (PfG). The ARU team continuously engage with departmental policy leads to identify novel data linkage opportunities to take forward timely and policy-relevant research.
Published research
| Date | Project | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2024 | Assessing equality pay gaps in Northern Ireland - gender | Inequality and social inclusion |
| Feb 2024 | Assessing equality pay gaps in Northern Ireland - disability | Inequality and social inclusion |
| Jan 2023 | Disability and employment | Inequality and social inclusion |
| Nov 2022 | Covid-19 mortality (Mar 2020 - Nov 2021) and equality | Health and wellbeing |
| Jul 2022 | Irish language - exploration of characteristics of those with Irish language skills and change in Irish language knowledge over time | Inequality and social inclusion |
| Jul 2022 | Ulster scots language - exploration of characteristics of those with Ulster scots language knowledge | Inequality and social inclusion |
| Dec 2021 | Covid-19 mortality (Mar - Sep 2020) and equality | Health and wellbeing |
| Sep 2021 | Mental health status of population in employment | Health and wellbeing |
| Mar 2021 | Alcohol specific deaths | Health and wellbeing |
| Mar 2020 | Drug related deaths | Health and wellbeing |
Upcoming research
| Date | Project | Theme | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Winter 2024/2025 |
Mortality risk for ex-prisoners |
Crime and justice |
This proof-of-concept research is being done in collaboration with NISRA Department of Justice (DoJ) colleagues. It builds on a bespoke, novel data linkage between DoJ ex-prisoner data and General Registrar Office deaths data to explore deaths of ex-prisoners released between April 2011 and March 2020 with a particular focus on the period immediately following release. |
|
Autumn 2024/Winter 2025 |
Examination of deaths associated with drugs, alcohol and/or suicide |
Health and wellbeing |
This research uses the Northern Ireland Mortality Study (NIMS) to examine suicide, drug-related and alcohol specific deaths in Northern Ireland from 2011 to 2022. The research explores the associations between individual, household and area-level characteristics and the type of death. |
|
From Spring 2025 |
Employment and health outcomes for people with early onset compared to adult-acquired disabilities |
Inequality and social inclusion |
This research uses the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS) to examine disability at three specific points in time (2001, 2011 and 2021). The study focuses on differences in employment and health outcomes with early onset (< 20 years) disabilities and those with adult-acquired (>= 20 years) disabilities. Additionally, the research examines health and employment outcomes for family members of people who experience disability either early in life (< 20 years) or later in adulthood (>= 20 years). |
| Spring 2025 | Socioeconomic, health and housing outcomes for people from a minority ethnic background | Inequality and social inclusion |
With the minority ethnic population in Northern Ireland continuing to increase according to Census 2021, it is important to improve understanding of the social and economic circumstances of these groups. This research uses the Census 2021 Comprehensive Microdata to investigate outcomes for people from a minority ethnic background in key areas, including health, housing and the labour market. |