Category: Current Awareness

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Misuse of illicit drugs and medicines: applying All Our Health.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.

(Evidence and guidance to help health professionals identify, prevent or reduce drug-related harm. The information will help front-line health and care staff use their trusted relationships with patients, families and communities to promote the benefits of asking patients about drug use.)

NHS population screening: identifying and reducing inequalities.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.

(Guidance and resources to support providers and commissioners in reducing screening inequalities. Variation in participation exists both within and between national screening programmes. Barriers can result in some people being unable to maximise the benefits of screening. And people at higher risk of the conditions being screened for are generally less likely to participate.)

Alcohol dependence prevalence in England.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.

(Estimates of the number of alcohol dependent adults in each local authority in England. The data is from national and local authorities, and is organised by age and gender.)

Children living with parents in emotional distress: March 2021 update.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.

(The proportion of children living with at least one parent reporting symptoms of emotional distress, by family type and work status.)

How can touch-free technology help the NHS? Open Access Government, 31 March 2021

(Videx UK aims to help the health care and business sector return to normal with hands-free door entry.)

From computers to communities: how remote technology will transform rural neighbourhoods TechRadar, 1 April 2021

(The pandemic has meant a change in the way we live and work. However, virtually all health care sectors have successfully implemented remote collaboration tools.)

Library Bulletin

Substance use research

The latest research bulletin featuring new research on substance use, treatment and recovery (produced by Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust) is now available to view and download.

Substance-Use-Research-April-2021Download

For any support accessing of the articles, please contact academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

Covid 19

Current Awareness Updates

COVID-19: advice for smokers and vapers.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.

(Advice for people who smoke or vape during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. People who smoke generally have an increased risk of contracting respiratory infection and of more severe symptoms once infected. Coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms may therefore be more severe for smokers. This guidance advises how to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 for those who smoke or vape, and how to access support to stop smoking and remain smokefree.)

Crisis, Communities, Change: demands for an equitable recovery.
Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA); 2021.

(This report explores how communities have fared during the pandemic. The survey of 2,600 people in Great Britain found that discrimination in local services was twice as high among ethnic minorities: 52 per cent of Asian and 50 per cent of black respondents have faced discrimination when accessing local services – compared with 19 per cent of the white population. The data suggests that institutional distrust because of discrimination may play a role in vaccine hesitancy.)

Covid 19 and the BAME population Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust

Levelling up health All Party Parliamentary Group for Longevity

(This report states that Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the United Kingdom, exposing the nation’s poor health and health inequalities – 90 per cent of those who died with Covid had significant prior poor health. The report explains why a new health care system is essential to confront how unhealthy the UK population is. It proposes a 10-year health improvement plan and new health improvement fund, a shift in political attitudes that have impeded progress, clear priorities for action, and the need to challenge and change organisations that harm children and health.)

NHS Covid-19 app: early adopter evaluation report Department of Health and Social Care

(An NHS Covid-19 app was developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The NHS Covid-19 app has been trialled in the London Borough of Newham, the Isle of Wight and among NHS Volunteer Responders. This trial period is referred to as the early adopter phase. The NHS Covid-19 app programme commissioned a formal evaluation to ascertain perceptions of the NHS Covid-19 app and (intended) usage of its features during the early adopter phase.)

Longer waits, missing patients and catching up The Health Foundation

(This analysis looks at the impact of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic on elective care in England. The waiting list has now reached the highest level since comparable records began, with more patients experiencing long delays in diagnosis and treatment.)


Library Bulletin

Psychiatric Nursing – April 2021

The current Psychiatric Nursing Current Awareness Bulletin, produced by Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust, is now available to view and download.

Psychiatric-nursing-bulletin-April-2021Download

For any support accessing any of the research or journal articles, please contact academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

Public Health

Current Awareness

Use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine: JCVI statement.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Statement from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.]

COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine administration.
Gordon C. British Journal of Nursing 2021;30(6):344-349.
[This article provides an overview of current COVID-19 vaccines available within the UK, including their mode of action, storage and handling. It outlines the recommendations on priority groups for vaccination and provides insight into the training recommendations for vaccinators.]


How will the public mood shape care after the pandemic?
[The Health Foundation is hosting a webinar exploring what the public thought of care during the COVID-19 pandemic and what this means for future care – being held 15th April 11:45am]

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child health and the provision of Care in Paediatric Emergency Departments: a qualitative study of frontline emergency care staff.
Conlon C. BMC Health Services Research 2021;21(1):279.
[This qualitative study utilized insight from multidisciplinary frontline staff to understand 1) the changes in paediatric emergency healthcare utilization during COVID-19 2) the experiences of working within the restructured health system.]

A connected recovery: Findings of the APPG on Loneliness Inquiry.
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Loneliness; 2021.

[This inquiry makes the case for a ‘connected recovery’ from the pandemic. It explored four crucial policy areas, including: translating national policy into local action through local authorities; community infrastructure (including housing, transport and public spaces); how to adequately fund the voluntary and community sector upon which social prescribing depends; and designing and implementing ways to test the implications of government policies on loneliness.]

National Centre for Creative Health.
National Centre for Creative Health; 2021.

[The NCCH will advance good practice and research, inform policy and promote collaboration, helping foster the conditions for creative health to be integral to health and social care and wider systems. It was formed in response to the Creative Health report, the result of a two-year inquiry led by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing.]

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Preventing suicide in England: fifth progress report of the cross-government outcomes strategy to save lives Department of Health and Social Care; 27th March 2021

(This report details the steps taken to reduce deaths by suicide since 2019. It sets out the data and evidence on suicide and self-harm; the progress made against existing commitments designed to prevent suicides and self-harm; and further actions for the government and its agencies, particularly in the context of Covid-19.)

The cost of smoking to the social care system ASH; March 2021

(This report finds that on average smokers in England need care when they are 63, 10 years sooner than non-smokers. It estimates that £1.2 billion a year is spent on people who have care needs as a result of smoking. It calls for more comprehensive tobacco control strategies in order to ease the pressure on the social care system.)

Covid-19 mental health and wellbeing recovery action plan Department of Health and Social Care; 31 March 2021

(This action plan sets out an ambitious, cross-government, whole-person approach to promoting positive mental health and supporting people living with mental illness to recover and live well. While this plan sets out what the government will do in the coming year, it is also a call to action for the whole of society, for local communities, families and for individuals, who can take simple steps to look after their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around them – and can reach out for support, including from mental health services when necessary.)

The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days The Early Years Healthy Development Review Report

(This report sets out the findings of the Early Years’ Healthy Development Review, which was asked to review the first 1,001 critical days from pregnancy through to the age of two. The review sets out a vision for best practice across the health system to ensure babies and children can get the best possible start.)

Alcohol-related harm and drinking behaviour Nuffield Trust

(Excessive alcohol consumption can have harmful health consequences in the short term but also in the long term, through conditions such as liver disease, stroke and some cancers. This indicator explores whether alcohol-related harm and drinking behaviour has changed over time.)

World Health Day

7th April 2021

April 7 of each year marks the celebration of World Health Day. From its inception at the First Health Assembly in 1948 and since taking effect in 1950, the celebration has aimed to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World Health Organization.


Over the past 50 years this has brought to light important health issues such as mental health, maternal and child care, and climate change. The celebration is marked by activities which extend beyond the day itself and serves as an opportunity to focus worldwide attention on these important aspects of global health.

This World Health Day, the theme focuses on building a fairer, healthier world for everyone, with a call for action to eliminate health inequalities. The campaign highlights WHO’s constitutional principle that “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”

World Health Day, Health Day, World, Health, Day, Heart

For more information or to get involved click here.