Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Young Changemakers tackling mental health inequalities in racialised communities.
Centre for Mental Health; 2022.
https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/voice-change
[It is well documented that people from racialised communities face inequalities in mental health. Young Changemakers is a programme created by UK Youth, The Diana Award and Centre for Mental Health to equip young people with the tools to produce youth-led social action projects aimed at tackling these mental health inequalities. This is a three-year programme funded by the People’s Postcode Lottery and Comic Relief to support mental health in young people from racialised communities.]

Evaluating a community programme to promote young Black men’s mental health.
Centre for Mental Health; 2022.
https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/shifting-dial
[Young Black men are overrepresented in restrictive mental health settings, but are less likely to get early community-based mental health support. Shifting the Dial shares learning from a three-year project to promote the mental health and wellbeing of young Black men in Birmingham. The project built upon the findings from an earlier pilot, Up My Street. Shifting the Dial has worked with over 500 young Black men, offering peer support, mentoring, skills development and community events.]

The People and Nature Survey.
Natural England; 2022.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/people-and-nature-survey-for-england#full-publication-update-history
[The People and Nature Survey for England gathers evidence and trend data through an online survey relating to people’s enjoyment, access, understanding of and attitudes to the natural environment, and its contributions to wellbeing. 13 April 2022: New data for February 2022 added to monthly interim indicators data section. Also new data for year 2 quarter 2 (1st April 2020 – 30th September 2021) added to Adult Survey section.]

Daily Insight: Infection control calls heeded.
HSJ: Health Service Journal (Daily Insight) 2022;:7032315.
[NHS England has relaxed the isolation period for inpatients with covid-19 after the UK Health Security Agency changed its recommendations. Also: Although describing integrated care system ratings as a “bit of a distraction” in an interview with HSJ the CQC chief executive Ian Trenholm set out what systems could soon expect to see over the coming months. 20 April.]

The public’s experience of monitoring their blood pressure at home.
Healthwatch; 2022.
https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/report/2022-04-26/publics-experience-monitoring-their-blood-pressure-home
[People with high blood pressure are increasingly being asked to monitor their condition at home. The NHS programme ‘Blood Pressure @Home’ (BP@Home) enables people with high blood pressure to measure and share their blood pressure readings with their GP from home. This report evaluates that programme to see how it is working for patients and how GPs use their readings, and suggests steps the NHS can take to improve support and outcomes for people who monitor their blood pressure from home.]

Adult tier 2 weight management services provisional data for quarters 1 to 3, 2021 to 2022 (experimental statistics).
Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID); 2022.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/adult-tier-2-weight-management-services-provisional-data-for-quarters-1-to-3-2021-to-2022-experimental-statistics
[Provisional data from the adult tier 2 behavioural weight management services data collection from quarter 1 and 3 of the 2021 to 2022 financial year.]

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…]