Category: Smoking Cessation

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Improving inclusion in health and care research: reflections and next steps.
HSR UK; 2022.

(In autumn 2021 HSR UK, the Nuffield Trust, The King’s Fund, The Health Foundation and PPI representatives from The Health Foundation Inclusion Panel co-developed a series of events to address improving inclusion in health and care research. This report shares insights from the expert speakers who participated in events, as well as reflections and learnings from running the series.)

Key findings from Healthwatch England’s national dental polling in 2022.
Healthwatch; 2022.

(A representative poll of 2,026 adults based in England on attitudes to NHS dentistry shows that half of the adults in England find dental charges unfair amid escalating living costs. More than two in five respondents (40 per cent) said they found it difficult to book an NHS dental appointment, while one in five (20 per cent) couldn’t access all the treatments they needed. Healthwatch England has warned decision-makers that NHS dentistry is in desperate need of reform.)

Smoking and social housing: Supporting residents, addressing inequalities.
Housing Learning and Improvement Network (HLIN); 2022.

(This report is a collaboration between Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN). It outlines the case for reducing rates of smoking in the social housing sector as part of social landlords’ health and wellbeing activities and the action needed to achieve this.)

A picture of health? Bridging the gap between physical and mental healthcare in adult mental health inpatient settings.
National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD); 2022.

(This report suggests that a physical health care plan should be developed when patients are admitted to a mental health inpatient setting. Other key messages aimed at improving care include calls to: formalise clinical networks/pathways between mental health and physical health care; involve patients and their carers in their physical health care, and include mental health and physical health conditions on electronic patient records.)


The Impact of Dementia on Women.
Alzheimer’s Research UK; 2022.

(This report calls for action to tackle dementia’s disproportionate impact on women and to ensure women can make a full contribution to research, both as participants and as researchers.)

Library Bulletin

Making Every Contact Count

The new edition of ‘Making Every Contact Count’ bulletin is now available to view and download here.

This edition features current awareness for the following topics (with relevant articles related to the Covid 19 pandemic):

Smoking Cessation

Healthy Weight

Healthy Eating

Alcohol

Physical activity

The majority of articles have direct links to the publications, however please get in touch if you are struggling to access any of the articles within the bulletin.

Please remember to contact academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk with any topics you would like to see in future bulletins.

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Violence Prevention Information System (Violence Info).
World Health Organization (WHO); 2021.
[Developed in collaboration with the Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Public Health Wales and the World Health Organisation, Violence Info is an online interactive collection of scientific information about the prevalence, consequences, risk factors and preventability of all forms of interpersonal violence. It covers homicide, child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, elder abuse and sexual violence.]

Two new tobacco cessation medicines added to the WHO essential medicines list.
World Health Organization (WHO); 2021.
[On 1 October 2021, the WHO announced the updated the Model List where two new medicines have been added, indicating a powerful shift in the fight against the tobacco epidemic. Bupropion and varenicline are medicines which work in a different way from nicotine replacement. The new medicines reduce cravings for nicotine without supplying a nicotine substitute, thereby supporting people in quitting tobacco use and reducing nicotine dependence.]

Healthy weight coach elearning programme: for primary care networks, healthcare practices and pharmacies.
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID); 2021.
[This reference guide is for primary care networks, healthcare practices and pharmacies interested in training staff, and staff interested in undertaking training, to become a healthy weight coach.]

Blood pressure lowering and risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes: an individual participant data meta-analysis.
The Lancet; 2021.
[Blood pressure lowering is an effective strategy for the prevention of new-onset type 2 diabetes. Established pharmacological interventions, however, have qualitatively and quantitively different effects on diabetes. This evidence supports the indication for selected classes of antihypertensive drugs for the prevention of diabetes, which could further refine the selection of drug choice according to an individual’s clinical risk of diabetes.]

Caring for older patients with complex needs: How does England compare with 11 OECD countries?
The Health Foundation; 2021.
[The analysis shows that looking across the system is essential to understand the true resource use of patients with complex needs, if policymakers are to identify areas for improvement in care. The comparatively high mortality rates for people admitted for hip fracture and for people with heart failure and diabetes in England are concerning and require scrutiny by policymakers, commissioners and providers…]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Influenza season 2021–22: what healthcare managers need to know.
Clough I. British Journal of Healthcare Management 2021;27(10):1-4.
[With the influenza season approaching and COVID-19 case numbers remaining high, this article highlights key points for healthcare managers and leaders going into this potentially challenging period.]

The vicious cycle of tobacco use and mental illness – a double burden on health.
World Health Organization (WHO); 2021.
[This new factsheet examines the intricate connections between tobacco use and mental illness. 2 in 3 people with severe mental health conditions are current smokers, which has an enormous impact on health. Reducing smoking among people with mental illness is identified as the single most effective action for reducing the gap in life expectancy.]

British HIV Association guidelines for the management of HIV-2 2021.
British HIV Association (BHIVA); 2021.
[The overall purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance on best clinical practice in the treatment and management of adults with HIV-2.]

Promoting the sexual health and wellbeing of people from a Black Caribbean background: an evidence-based resource.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Provides information on developing interventions for improved sexual health and wellbeing in people from a Black Caribbean background.]

Sexually transmitted infections: promoting the sexual health and wellbeing of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Provides information on developing interventions for improved sexual health and wellbeing among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.]

Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, England (Contraception) 2020/21.
NHS Digital; 2021.
[This publication primarily covers contraceptive activity taking place at dedicated Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services in England, as recorded in the Sexual and Reproductive Health Activity Dataset (SRHAD), a mandated collection for all providers of NHS SRH services. The main focus of this report is contraception.]

Overlooked: why we should be doing more to support families and friends affected by someone else’s drinking, drug use or gambling.
Adfam; 2021.
[This report examines Adfam’s latest research with YouGov on the prevalence of people currently negatively affected by the drinking, drug use or gambling of a family member or friend in 2021, and the different challenges and impacts these families currently face. The report’s findings highlight the need for more recognition of the impacts on families and friends, and it includes recommendations on how to better support this overlooked group.]

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): annual data tables.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Information on STI diagnoses and sexual health services provided in England by demographic characteristics and geographical region.]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Alcohol is one of the biggest risk factors for breast cancer.
World Health Organization (WHO); 2021.
[Alcohol is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by IARC. It is causally linked to 7 types of cancer. Besides female breast cancer, it increases the risk of developing oral cavity (mouth), pharynx (throat), oesophagus (gullet), liver, larynx (voice box) and colorectum (large intestine and rectum) cancers. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption. The risk of breast cancer increases with each unit of alcohol consumed per day.]

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This guideline covers diagnosing and managing myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in children, young people and adults. It aims to improve awareness and understanding about ME/CFS and when to suspect it, so that people are diagnosed earlier. It includes recommendations on diagnosis, assessment and care planning, safeguarding, access to care and managing ME/CFS and its symptoms.]

Eligible for a free flu vaccine this winter? Don’t wait, book it.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[With flu and COVID-19 expected to be in wide circulation together this winter, UK Health Security Agency is urging more people than ever to get their free flu vaccine, if they are eligible. In this blog the UK Health Security Agency answers some common questions about this year’s flu season.]

The use of wearables and health apps and the willingness to share self-collected data among older adults.
Seifert A. Aging and Health Research 2021;1(3):100032.
[The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which older adults utilize mobile health tracking tools in everyday life and their willingness to share the collected health-related data with doctors, health insurance companies, or research institutions. 75.0% of the participants used at least one mobile device; 22.9% used health-related apps. Participants were more often willing to share their data with doctors than with health insurance companies or researchers.]

Changes in childhood experimentation with, and exposure to, tobacco and e-cigarettes and perceived smoking norms: a repeated cross-sectional study of 10–11 year olds’ in Wales.
BMC Public Health; 2021.
[Children’s experimentation with and exposure to tobacco, and their perceptions of smoking as a normative behaviour, have continued to decline alongside growth in exposure to e-cigarettes. Although a large majority of pupils reported they minded people smoking around them, there was some evidence of diminishing disapproval of secondhand smoke since 2007.]

Understanding Sexual Aggression in UK Male University Students: An Empirical Assessment of Prevalence and Psychological Risk Factors.
Sexual Abuse; 2021.
[University-based sexual aggression is an international public health issue; however, to date, there have been no formal assessments of the prevalence or psychological indicators associated with the proabuse behaviors of the most common perpetrators at UK universities: heterosexual male students.]

Patients as team members: Factors affecting involvement in treatment decisions from the perspective of patients with a chronic condition.
Health Expectations; 2021.
[From the patients’ perspective, this study shows that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to involving patients more actively in their healthcare journey. Strategies aiming to enhance active patient involvement among patients with a chronic condition should consider this diversity in perspectives among these patients.]

Lead exposure in children: surveillance reports (from 2021).
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[Results of laboratory-based surveillance of elevated blood lead concentrations in children in England.]

Seasonal flu vaccine uptake in children of school age: monthly data, 2021 to 2022.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[Cumulative vaccine uptake data for the childhood seasonal flu programme in England.]

Review: Physical activity interventions for the mental health and well-being of adolescents – a systematic review. [Abstract]
Hale GE. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2021;26(4):357-368.
[Rates of physical activity decline throughout adolescence, and evidence indicates that this has an adverse impact on psychological health. This paper aims to synthesise available evidence for physical activity interventions on the mental health and well-being of young people (11-19 years) from the general population.]

Telehealth interventions: remote monitoring and consultations for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). [Abstract]
Janjua S. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021;7:CD013196.
[BACKGROUND: Face-to-face visits with health professionals can be hindered by severity of COPD or frailty, and by people living at a distance from their healthcare provider and having limited access to services. Telehealth technologies aimed at providing health care remotely through monitoring and consultations could help to improve health outcomes of people with COPD.]

Strategies to improve smoking cessation rates in primary care. [Abstract]
Lindson N. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021;9:CD011556.
[OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of strategies intended to increase the success of smoking cessation interventions in primary care settings. To assess whether any effect that these interventions have on smoking cessation may be due to increased implementation by healthcare providers.]

Living with dementia: my life, my goals.
Alzheimer’s Society; 2021.
[A new self-help guide for people living with dementia. The guide helps people with dementia achieve their goals step-by step. It was created by researchers from the GREAT trial in collaboration with people living with dementia.]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Promoting the sexual health and wellbeing of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[This resource provides information to support commissioners, providers and voluntary and community sector organisations in developing interventions for improved sexual health and wellbeing among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM).]

Promoting the sexual health and wellbeing of people from a Black Caribbean background: an evidence-based resource.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[This resource provides information to support commissioners, providers and third-sector organisations in developing interventions for improved sexual health and wellbeing in people from a Black Caribbean background.]

Mental health in prison.
House of Commons Justice Committee; 2021.
[This report finds that a disjointed and incoherent approach to care has left many prisoners suffering from mental health issues undiagnosed and unable to access care. It calls on the NHS, Ministry of Justice and the Prison and Probation Service to implement a system of integrated care that improves identification of mental health issues, provides seamless care while in prison and supports transition to care in community settings on release.]

The cost of eating disorders in the UK 2019 and 2020.
Hearts Minds and Genes Coalition for Eating Disorders; 2021.
[This report highlights the cost of eating disorders in the UK, in terms of financial costs to the NHS, the financial, social and emotional impact on individuals, families and wider society, and in terms of the ongoing loss of lives to illnesses that can be treated but that are currently subject to severe underfunding and lack of services.]

Long-term prisoners: the facts: England and Wales. October 2021.
Prison Reform Trust; 2021.
[In the last twenty years, the prison population has changed hugely. Sentences for more serious crimes have become longer and far more people will now spend 10 or more years in prison. Meeting the challenges of this change will shape the prison landscape for the foreseeable future.]

Measuring Children and Young People’s Subjective Wellbeing.
What Works Centre for Wellbeing; 2021.
[While we have very good national data on the wellbeing of adults, the national statistics on children and young people’s wellbeing in the UK, is not collected regularly, or nationally. The Measures Bank is a searchable database of measures, a resource for policy-makers and practitioners to identify appropriate measures for children’s wellbeing for use in their specific context.]

Characteristics of women who stop smoking in pregnancy.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Experimental analysis of data from the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS), April 2018 to March 2019.]

NHS population screening: identifying and reducing inequalities.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Guidance and resources to support providers and commissioners in reducing screening inequalities.]

Physical activity: promotion within primary and secondary care.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Report and learning from the evidence base and local practice of physical activity promotion in the NHS. The report provides practitioners, commissioners and policy makers with the factors that influence successful integration and implementation of physical activity promotion in primary and secondary care. It focuses on understanding how to integrate physical activity promotion into preventative and treatment care and support for people living with one or more long-term conditions.]

Behaviour change: helping health professionals deliver brief interventions.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[This report focuses on how we can use behavioural science to support healthcare professionals to deliver brief interventions for alcohol, smoking and Making Every Contact Count (MECC) programmes. It includes examples of the barriers and facilitators that affect whether healthcare professionals deliver brief interventions. The report also includes examples of behaviour change techniques (BCTs) that could be used to support and encourage healthcare professionals to deliver brief interventions.]

Covid 19

Current awareness updates

Covid-19 Loneliness Fund evaluation.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; 2021.
[The Covid-19 Loneliness Fund was launched in May 2020 to support 9 national organisations working to tackle loneliness and build social connections to help them to continue and adapt their critical work during the pandemic. The National Centre for Social Research was appointed as evaluator for this fund. This report presents the results of a process evaluation of the fund, to see how it supported the delivery and adaption of services aimed at addressing loneliness during Covid-19 restrictions.]

Annual Organ Donation and Transplantation Data for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities: report for 2020/2021.
NHS Blood and Transplant; 2021.
[This report provides information related to organ donation and transplantation within the white and Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities in the UK. It finds the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the numbers of living donor kidney transplants that could be performed. In 2020/21 there was a comparable drop in both white and non-white deceased donors, but a 61 per cent decrease in the number of BAME living donors, compared with a 58 per cent drop overall.]

Association of the COVID-19 lockdown with smoking, drinking and attempts to quit in England: an analysis of 2019–20 data.
Addiction; 2021.
[Following the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, smokers and high-risk drinkers in England were more likely than before lockdown to report trying to quit smoking or reduce alcohol consumption and rates of smoking cessation and use of remote cessation support were higher. However, high-risk drinking prevalence increased post-lockdown and use of evidence-based support for alcohol reduction by high-risk drinkers decreased with no compensatory increase in use of remote support.]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Drug users urged to be extra careful following a high number of likely heroin overdoses.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Public Health England (PHE) has issued a warning of a sharp rise in the number of overdoses linked to people using drugs in several areas across England. To date, there have been at least 46 poisonings resulting in 16 deaths but investigations are still ongoing. The areas affected include South London, the South East, South West and East of England.]

Mental Health Crisis Care Profile.
PHE Fingertips; 2021.
[The Crisis Care Profile collates and analyses a wide range of publicly available data on associated prevalence of mental health crisis. Risk factors include access to care, treatment, and outcomes. Includes risk factors around age, deprivation, illness and disabilities, crime and social isolation. Other topics – urgent and emergency care, quality of treatment, access to support. Data available by local authorities.]

Dental health: migrant health guide.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Advice and guidance on the health needs of migrant patients for healthcare practitioners. 17 August 2021: New model of care to support refugees and asylum seekers to access NHS dental services.]

Cervical screening: support for people who find it hard to attend.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Guidance on support for people who find it hard to attend cervical screening due to having a mental health condition, or having experienced trauma or abuse. 16 August 2021: Clarification that this guidance is based on research conducted with users of mental health services and addition of signposting to guidance to support other underserved groups.]

Oral healthcare: model for asylum seekers and refugees.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[This model of care provides professionals with guidance to support access to NHS dentists. Asylum seekers and refugees can face barriers when accessing NHS dentists. This model of care details the processes, rights and entitlements to care and includes supporting information and links to forms and guidance. It is designed for local authorities, support services and health professionals who work with asylum seekers and refugees.]

Antenatal care.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This quality standard covers care for healthy women and their babies during pregnancy (up to 42 weeks). It covers routine antenatal care in primary, community and hospital settings. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement. In August 2021, changes were made to align this quality standard with the updated NICE guideline on antenatal care.]


Service specification: Cystinosis diagnosis and co-ordination of management (all ages).
NHS England; 2021.
[This service specification covers the provision of services for patients with Cystinosis, all ages.]

Continuous positive airway pressure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[Evidence-based recommendations on continuous positive airway pressure for treating obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome in adults. August 2021: The recommendation on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for mild obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS) has been updated and replaced by recommendation 1.5.2 on CPAP for mild OSAHS in the NICE guideline on obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome and obesity hypoventilation syndrome in over 16s.]

Obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome and obesity hypoventilation syndrome in over 16s.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This guideline covers the diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS), obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with OSAHS (COPD–OSAHS overlap syndrome) in people over 16. It aims to improve recognition, investigation and treatment of these related conditions.]

Ethnic differences in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy in United Kingdom healthcare workers: Results from the UK-REACH prospective nationwide cohort study.
Woolf K. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe 2021;8(-):100180.
[Using a nationwide prospective cohort study and qualitative study in a multi-ethnic cohort of clinical and non-clinical UK healthcare workers (HCWs) researchers analysed ethnic differences in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy. Of the 11,584 HCWs included in the cohort analysis, 23% (2704) reported vaccine hesitancy. Ethnicity was a significant predictor of hesitancy.]

Association of the COVID-19 lockdown with smoking, drinking and attempts to quit in England: an analysis of 2019–20 data.
Addiction; 2021.
[Following the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, smokers and high-risk drinkers in England were more likely than before lockdown to report trying to quit smoking or reduce alcohol consumption and rates of smoking cessation and use of remote cessation support were higher. However, high-risk drinking prevalence increased post-lockdown and use of evidence-based support for alcohol reduction by high-risk drinkers decreased with no compensatory increase in use of remote support.

Everybody active, every day: 5 years on.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Summary of the 5 year review to the national physical activity framework, ‘Everybody active, every day’ and the PHE response.]

Quality in Qual: a proposed framework to commission, judge and generate good qualitative evaluation in wellbeing impacts.
whatworkswellbeing; 2021.
[Based on interviews with ten leading organisations and individuals who have in-depth evaluation and methodological expertise this report sets out why work on qualitative evaluation is valuable and important, what resources already exist. The report identifies six prompts for potential uses of qualitative research in evaluations.]

Genomics nation: A benchmark of the size and strengths of the UK genomics sector.
UK Bioindustry Association; 2021.
[The NHS Long Term Plan promised greater focus on prevention to help people stay healthy and ease the burden on the health service. The early detection of disease, rather than merely the diagnosis and treatment of illness, will be critical to achieve this objective. The NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS), launched in 2018, provides a single, national coordinated approach to genomic testing and genomic research in the NHS.]

A joint thematic inspection of community-based drug treatment and recovery work with people on probation.
HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP); 2021.
[Probation services across England and Wales supervise nearly 156,000 people in the community. HM Inspectorate of Probation estimates that almost 75,000 of these individuals have a drugs problem, yet fewer than 3,000 people were referred by probation services to specialist drug misuse treatment in 2019/2020. HMIP partnered with the Care Quality Commission to examine how probation services supervise this cohort and found probation services are responding poorly to drugs misuse and addiction cases.]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Low life expectancy in Glasgow, and what to do about it.
The Health Foundation; 2021.
[In this podcast Chief Executive Dr Jennifer Dixon, Dr David Walsh is Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow and Sir Harry Burns is the Professor of Global Public Health explore: What is fraying health to this degree in Glasgow? What is being done to help? And what can we all learn from Glasgow’s longstanding efforts to try to mend the health fabric, as we all attempt to build back better after the pandemic?]

Flu vaccination in schools.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[This guidance has been produced to assist all school staff and headteachers with any questions about annual flu vaccination programme for 2021 to 2022. 28 July 2021: Updated the reason for extending the programme in secondary schools section.]

Associations between smoke-free vehicle legislation and childhood admissions to hospital for asthma in Scotland: an interrupted time-series analysis of whole-population data.
The Lancet Public Health; 2021.
[Although legislation banning smoking in vehicles did not affect hospital admissions for severe asthma among children overall or in the older age group, this legislation was associated with a reduction in severe asthma exacerbations requiring hospital admission among preschool children, over and above the underlying trend and previous interventions designed to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke.]