A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Adult Females with Late Diagnosis of ASD and ADHD in the UK

Wills V, Chakraborty R. 2026 Jan 14;14(2):209. doi: 10.3390/healthcare14020209. PMID: 41595345; PMCID: PMC12840745

Adult females with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are frequently underdiagnosed due to gender bias, overlapping symptoms, and limited awareness among healthcare professionals. The scarcity of research on this subject—particularly in the UK context—underscores the need for further investigation. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of adult females receiving a late diagnosis of ASD and/or ADHD and to identify key barriers within the UK diagnostic pathway.

Read the full article here: A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Adult Females with Late Diagnosis of ASD and ADHD in the UK – PubMed Freely accessible

Virtual Reality and Dementia Care In England

Emerging Evidence and Future Directions

Sheppy B. British Journal of Healthcare Management 2025;31(10):1-4.
(Dementia represents one of the most significant public health challenges in England, affecting around 982000 individuals, with this figure predicted to reach 1.4 million by 2040 (Alzheimer’s Research UK, 2025). This article explores the emerging evidence base supporting virtual reality applications for people with dementia in England. It draws on research, theoretical models and policy developments, offering insights into how virtual reality could be integrated into dementia care pathways.)

Article link: Virtual reality and dementia care in England: emerging evidence and future directions | British Journal of Healthcare Management
Please request from the library: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

Community Health

January Bulletin

The latest Community Health Bulletin is ready for you to view at  https://www.evidentlybetter.org/community-bulletin/2026/01/27-january-2026/

In this edition:

  • Eating disorder services for children and young people: National guidance
  • Lost in my own city: Life after prison
  • Health Inequalities Briefing Pack: What is it and how should we use it?
  • Life-saving Jess’s Rule to be advertised in every GP surgery
  • Digital harms are a modern determinant of health – and a population health issue
  • Amend regulations to support the supply and deployment of vaccines
  • Plus much more

Suicide Prevention and Self Harm Bulletin

January 2026

The latest Suicide Prevention and Self Harm bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service can now be viewed at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/bulletins/suicide-prevention/

This webpage features key links and emerging reports about suicide prevention.

In this issue:  

  • LGB+ people in England and Wales ‘much’ more likely to die by suicide than straight people
  • Suicidal ideation among people with different gambling behaviour profiles: analysis of a longitudinal survey of people who gamble regularly in the UK
  • Visual content and thematic analyses of images shared on social media before and after episodes of self-harm in a UK clinical youth sample
  • What lies beneath hair-pulling and skin-picking behaviours? The role of early maladaptive schemas
  • Plus much more

Depression and Anxiety Bulletin

January 2026

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/2026/01/20-january-2026/

In this edition:

  • Resilience and its external determinants: cross-sectional survey and network analysis of parenting, trauma and stress in college students
  • Childhood adversities and post-traumatic stress: predictive pathways through acute stress disorder
  • Mental health impacts of sexual violence in older adults: a qualitative study
  • Is depression a cause or consequence? Using genetics to untangle causal relationships
  • Plus much more

Dementia Bulletin

January 2026

The latest dementia bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service has now been published at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/dementia/2026/01/19-january-2026/

In this issue:

  • Alzheimer’s finger-prick blood test could transform diagnosis, experts say
  • Suicidal Behavior in Alzheimer’s Disease: Preliminary Study
  • Increased Dementia Risk in Higher-Functioning Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Insights from 21,648 Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • A new psychosocial goal-setting and manualised support intervention for independence in dementia (NIDUS-Family): longer-term outcomes of a randomised controlled trial
  • Plus much more

Community Health

December Bulletin

You can view the latest Community Health Bulletin, completed by our colleagues at Mersey Care, here: https://www.evidentlybetter.org/community-bulletin/2025/12/16-december-2025/

In this edition:

  • Medicines in community mental health services
  • Co-occurring mental health and substance use: delivery framework
  • Youth Matters: A new national strategy and a critical moment for young people’s mental health
  • ‘Life being stressful is not an illness’ – why this BBC headline misses the point
  • Review launched into mental health, ADHD and autism services
  • New research collaboration to tackle ethnic inequalities in perinatal severe mental illness
  • Plus much more

Dementia

December Bulletin

The latest dementia bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service is available to view: https://www.evidentlybetter.org/dementia/2025/12/10-december-2025/

In this issue:

  • Physical Activity Over the Adult Life Course and Risk of Dementia in the Framingham Heart Study
  • Crossing the brain’s protective barrier – the next generation of dementia treatments
  • UK charity records original music by people living with dementia
  • Brain-healthy gifts to bring home this Christmas
  • Plus much more

Suicide Prevention and Self Harm

December Bulletin

The latest Suicide Prevention and Self Harm bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service can now be viewed at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/bulletins/suicide-prevention/

This webpage features key links and emerging reports about suicide prevention.

In this issue:      

  • Domestic violence and suicide in women: insights from a national UK study
  • Predictors of suicidal ideation in UK doctors: retrospective case–control study from NHS Practitioner Health
  • Characterisation of a university student sample with a lifetime history of non-suicidal self-injury: mixed-methods analysis of stress factors, coping mechanisms and reasons for self-injury
  • New BSI standard for suicide and the workplace
  • Why online safety is core to suicide prevention
  • Plus much more

How did we help you?

An overview of some evidence searches completed last month

Take a look at some of the literature searches we completed last month. The outcomes help to support clinical decision making, inform patient care or plan for service developments.

If you would like to request a literature search, please complete the form below and send it back to academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk