Category: Uncategorized

Reading Well for Families

We’re excited to introduce Reading Well for Families, a new book collection designed to support the mental health and wellbeing of parents, carers, and families from pregnancy to age two—a period known as the critical “first 1,001 days.” Informed by health professionals and lived experience, this evidence-based collection offers information, personal stories, advice, poetry, and illustrated titles addressing parental wellbeing, perinatal mental health (including anxiety, depression, OCD, birth trauma), and coping with loss (like miscarriage or neonatal death).

These titles are available to borrow for free—browse books in our library or online. Reading Well for Families is part of the broader successful Reading Well programme, known for its positive impact on wellbeing.

Depression & Anxiety Bulletin

The latest Depression & Anxiety Bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service is ready for you to view at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/depression-anxiety/2025/07/8-july-2025-2/

In this edition:

  • Ten-year health plan misses the mark for mental health
  • NHS App could offer AI-driven mental health support
  • Harnessing digital innovation for children’s mental health
  • One in four young people in England have mental health condition, NHS survey finds
  • Plus much more

Please let us know if there are other people who you think might benefit from receiving this bulletin.

New ONS Report Reveals Elevated Self-Harm and Suicide Rates Among LGB+ Adults

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released a ground breaking analysis linking 2021 Census data with NHS records, revealing that adults identifying as LGB+ in England and Wales face significantly higher rates of self-harm and suicide compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

Key Findings:

  • The age-standardised rate of intentional self-harm for LGB+ individuals was 1,508.9 per 100,000 people between March 2021 and December 2023, compared to 598.4 per 100,000 for heterosexual individuals.
  • The suicide rate among LGB+ adults stood at 50.3 per 100,000 people, more than double the rate of 23.1 per 100,000 observed in heterosexual adults.
  • Bisexual individuals exhibited the highest self-harm rates within the LGB+ group, at 1,669.5 per 100,000 people.
  • The risk of self-harm was notably higher among LGB+ females, with a rate 2.8 times greater than that of heterosexual females.
  • Young adults aged 16 to 24 identifying as LGB+ had a self-harm rate 2.8 times higher than their heterosexual peers.

These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted mental health support and suicide prevention strategies within the LGB+ community.

Read the full report: ONS – Self-harm and suicide by sexual orientation, England and Wales

Community Health Bulletin

The latest Community Health Bulletin is ready for you to view at 

https://www.evidentlybetter.org/community-bulletin/2024/11/5-november-2024/

In this edition:

  • The state of health care and adult social care in England 2023/24
  • Tackling inequalities faced by minority groups in mental health through the Personalised Care Programme
  • The art of deprescribing: The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines (RCPsych Congress 2024)
  • What makes a good mental health needs assessment, and why does it matter?
  • The OHA Welcomes the House of Lords Report: Recipe for Health
  • Drug-related deaths have risen by record numbers in England and Wales – latest data
  • Plus much more

Thank You to Mersey CareNHS Foundation Trust Library for producing this bulletin

Learning Disability& Autism

The latest Learning Disabilities & Autism bulletin is ready for you to view at 

https://www.evidentlybetter.org/learning-disability-autism/2024/11/5-november-2024-2/


In this edition:

  • ‘It’s designed for someone who is not me’: A reflexive thematic analysis of the unmet healthcare support needs in UK autistic adults aged 65 years and over
  • Care and choice architecture: Relatives’ support for adults with intellectual disabilities in supported decision-making processes
  • ‘Not a Priority’ highlights crisis in autism assessment and support
  • Webinar Recording: The Impact of Missed Opportunities
  • First-episode psychosis more likely in neurodivergent people
  • ‘Chronic’ DoLS backlogs leaving many without human rights protections, warns CQC
  • Plus much more

Thank you to Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust library for producing this bulletin