Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

COVID-19: long-term health effects.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.

(Information and guidance on persistent health problems reported following acute COVID-19 disease. There is accumulating evidence to suggest that cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) who have experienced both mild and severe symptoms can experience long-term health effects. This document provides information on the health problems reported in COVID-19 cases following acute disease, and guidance for healthcare professionals on how to advise recovering COVID-19 patients.)

COVID-19 in schools: study shows drop in infections Public Health England (PHE); 2021

(Round 4 of the Schools Infection Survey (SIS) shows a significant drop in the number of secondary school pupils and staff testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).)

Women’s Health Strategy: Call for Evidence.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.

(DHSC are seeking your views to help inform the development of the government’s Women’s Health Strategy. The easiest way to participate in the call for evidence as an individual is by completing the public survey. They also welcome written submissions from individuals or organisations who have expertise in women’s health, such as researchers and third-sector organisations. Written submissions can include the contribution of data, research and other reports of relevance to women’s health.)

Teachers’ concerns about pupils’ mental health in a cross-sectional survey of a population sample of British schoolchildren.[Abstract]
Mathews F. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2021;26(2):99-105.

(Understanding how well a teacher concern predicts mental disorder in a child or young person is important for mental health teams who need to respond to referrals. CONCLUSION: While teacher concern does identify those with poorer mental health, it is only moderately predictive of a disorder. When concerned about a child or young person, discussions with parents or others who know them may help teachers identify those who most need support.)

The relationship between alcohol-related hospital admission and specialist alcohol treatment provision across local authorities in England since passage of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
British Journal of Psychiatry 2021;:https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2020.120.


(The results suggest that the local authority areas in England most in need of adequately funded specialist alcohol treatment are not receiving targeted increased funding, and that the national rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions may be fuelled by local authority funding cuts to specialist alcohol treatment.)

Please contact: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk for any support accessing articles.

Assessing England’s response to Covid-19

A framework

Source: The King’s Fund Health Management and Policy Alert

Learning the lessons from Covid-19 would allow England to better prepare for future pandemics, and understand the weaknesses and strengths of the health, care and public health systems. This framework sets out a structure to help untangle the complicated interactions between different elements of the response in England.

National Centre for Social Research

Mental health: should we be worried?

Source: The King’s Fund Health Management and Policy Alert

This report provides an overview of the public’s mental health and how it is affecting people’s lives, although it does not aspire to be a comprehensive record because of the scale of research now being undertaken. It also provides new, previously unpublished, analysis by NatCen from the Understanding Society longitudinal study showing the impacts of the Covid–19 pandemic on the public’s financial and mental health.

For more information click here.

Library Bulletin

Making Every Contact Count

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

MECC-Bulletin-May-2021Download

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.

Resource of the month

KnowledgeShare

KnowledgeShare allows you to create a bespoke service, specifically designed around you and your professional needs/interests. By signing up, you will receive updates directly to your inbox (on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis) to keep you up to date with current awareness and research in your identified field of work.

To sign up simply download and complete the following form and send it back to academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

KnowledgeShare-sign-up-formDownload

Please feel free to download our resource of the month poster and share with your team or within your department:

Knowledgeshare-posterDownload

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

One dose of COVID-19 vaccine can cut household transmission by up to half Public Health England (PHE)

(A new study by Public Health England (PHE) has shown that one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine reduces household transmission by up to half.)

Track and trace: identifying corruption risks in UK public procurement for the Covid-19 pandemic

(This study of procurement during the pandemic involved a painstaking review of nearly 1,000 contracts worth a total of £18 billion. It concludes that the way the UK government handled bids for supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and other Covid-19 response contracts appears partisan and systemically biased in favour of those with political access.)

Can SMS text messages help prevent relapse in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder?
The Mental Elf; 2021.

(A group of UCL Mental Health MSc students summarise a recent pilot study, which explores the acceptability and feasibility of the Texting for Relapse Prevention (T4RP) programme for people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.)

Can we teach schools how to improve care for young people who self-harm?
The Mental Elf; 2021.

(Douglas Badenoch appraises and summarises a recent systematic review of experimental studies, which looks at whether school staff training can improve responses to pupils who self-harm.)

JCVI issues new advice on COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women Public Health England (PHE)

(The JCVI has advised that pregnant women should be offered the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the rest of the population, based on their age and clinical risk group.)

Neonatal infection: antibiotics for prevention and treatment.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.

[This guideline covers preventing bacterial infection in healthy babies of up to and including 28 days corrected gestational age, treating pregnant women whose unborn baby is at risk of infection, and caring for babies of up to and including 28 days corrected gestational age with a suspected or confirmed bacterial infection. It aims to reduce delays in recognising and treating infection and prevent unnecessary use of antibiotics. The guideline does not cover viral infections.]