Current Awareness Updates
Monkeypox cases reported in the WHO European Region.
World Health Organization (WHO); 2022.
(Links to 2 reports: Monkeypox – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and Monkeypox – Key facts. While the number of cases in the Region is still relatively small, what is concerning is that some of the cases appear to have been acquired in the Region without a link to travel to countries where monkeypox is known to be endemic. Many cases have been detected in clinics specialized in sexually transmitted infections.)
Mental Health Awareness Week 2022: Loneliness.
House of Commons Library; 2022.
(How does loneliness affect our mental health and what the Government has done to address the issue?)
Vaccine uptake in the general population.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2022.
(This guideline aims to increase the uptake of all vaccines provided on the NHS routine UK immunisation schedule by everyone who is eligible. It supports the aims of the NHS Long Term Plan, which includes actions to improve immunisation coverage by GPs (including the changes to vaccinations and immunisations detailed in the 2021/2022 and 2022/23 GP contracts) and support a narrowing of health inequalities.)
The over-representation of Black people as restricted patients in secure hospitals. Nuffield Trust chart of the week.
Nuffield Trust; 2022.
(People with severe mental health problems who are in contact with the criminal justice system can be held as restricted patients in hospitals if they have been assessed as needing treatment. Miranda Davies takes a closer look at new data that shows that 16% of restricted patients in hospital are Black or Black British, despite only making up 3% of the general population.)
Smoking bans in prisons improve health and reduce medications.
NIHR Evidence; 2022.
(This study found that the smoking ban did not affect dispensing for mental health conditions which suggests that it did not increase levels of depression. However, the researchers caution that there may have been an impact on mental health since, in the interviews, some prisoners reported raised anxiety levels. Improvements in respiratory health were especially marked. Removing second-hand smoke from prisons also improved working conditions for staff.)
