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 take forward timely and policy-relevant research using themed datasets or linked research data.
Published research
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. |