Demos, November 2018
Demos carried out research over the summer of 2018 to assess the potential impact of reading on several great challenges of our time: loneliness, mental health problems, dementia and social (im)mobility. If left unchecked, this research shows, these challenges will grow into insurmountable problems. Could something as simple as reading truly make a difference when the scale of the issue is quite so momentous? The short answer is yes.
Click here to view the full report.
Category: Well-Being
Library bulletins – November 2018
This week’s Library bulletins are on Health and Wellbeing, Dementia, Suicide Prevention and Learning Disabilities.
Prevention is better than cure: our vision to help you live well for longer
Department of Health and Social Care, November 2018
The document sets out the government’s vision for:
stopping health problems from arising in the first place
supporting people to manage their health problems when they do arise
The goal is to improve healthy life expectancy by at least 5 extra years, by 2035, and to close the gap between the richest and poorest.
A collection of case studies has been published, showing examples of good practice in preventing health problems from happening.
Click here to view the report.
Click here to access the case studies.
Should the NHS become more of a lifestyle coach to tackle unhealthy living?
Healthwatch, October 2018
Healthwatch poll of over 2000 UK adults about their confidence in the ability of services to meet their needs today and in 20-30 years’ time. Positively, 61% of respondents are confident that NHS and social care services are currently able to meet their immediate needs. However, when we asked people if they are confident NHS and social care services will able to meet the needs they are likely to have in the future, only 30% agreed. Respondenst had confidence in the NHS and social care services in meeting the needs of their friends and family. 62% were confident that services could currently meet these needs, falling to 27% when we asked people agree if they were confident in the ability of services to meet the needs of their friends and family in 20-30 years time. The top five factors people think will have the biggest impact on the future health of the nation were:
- People’s diets
- The level of exercise in people’s daily lives
- Air pollution, global warming and climate change
- Social isolation and loneliness
- The financial outlook for the country
Click here to view the full report.
Library Bulletins – October 2018
This week’s Library bulletins are on Health and Wellbeing and Suicide Prevention.
A connected society: A strategy for tackling loneliness: Laying the foundations for change
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, October 2018
This strategy sets out the approach to tackling loneliness in England. It marks a shift in the way we see and act on loneliness, both within government and in society more broadly. The strategy looks at what can be done to design in support for social relationships in this changing context. It highlights the importance of social relationships to people’s health and wellbeing. By social wellbeing, it means our personal relationships and social support networks and the way these can bring happiness, comfort and resilience, adding to our overall wellbeing.
Click here to view the full report.
An overview of reviews: the effectiveness of interventions to address loneliness at all stages of the life-course
What Works Wellbeing, October 2018
The review sought to address the question: What is the effectiveness of interventions to alleviate loneliness in people of all ages across the lifecourse? The results from controlled study designs in community settings and care homes showed no effect of interventions on loneliness, although this does not mean that loneliness is not alleviated at all by a range of interventions. In the published literature loneliness is seldom reported as a primary outcome; it is most often reported alongside other outcomes including related concepts such as social isolation, social support, social networks, and health outcomes including anxiety and depression.
Click here to view the full report.
Towards commissioning for workplace compassion: a support guide
NHS England, October 2018
This interactive guide aims to assist with commissioning for compassion, providing support via case study examples from healthcare organisations who have good practice to share.
Click here to view the full report.
Library bulletins – October 2018
This week’s Library bulletins are on Health and Wellbeing and Depression.
The Good Childhood Report 2018
The Children’s Society, September 2018
The Good Childhood Report 2018 is the seventh in a series of annual ‘state of the nation’ reports on children’s well-being in the UK, born out of a desire to fill the gap in what is known about how children feel about their lives. It finds that one in six (16 per cent) of more than 11,000 children aged 14 surveyed reported self-harming. It looks at the reasons behind the unhappiness which increases the risk of children self-harming. The report urges the Government to make sure that every child can talk to a counsellor in their school.
Click here to view the full report.