Public Health

Current awareness updates

Influenza season 2021–22: what healthcare managers need to know.
Clough I. British Journal of Healthcare Management 2021;27(10):1-4.
[With the influenza season approaching and COVID-19 case numbers remaining high, this article highlights key points for healthcare managers and leaders going into this potentially challenging period.]

The vicious cycle of tobacco use and mental illness – a double burden on health.
World Health Organization (WHO); 2021.
[This new factsheet examines the intricate connections between tobacco use and mental illness. 2 in 3 people with severe mental health conditions are current smokers, which has an enormous impact on health. Reducing smoking among people with mental illness is identified as the single most effective action for reducing the gap in life expectancy.]

British HIV Association guidelines for the management of HIV-2 2021.
British HIV Association (BHIVA); 2021.
[The overall purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance on best clinical practice in the treatment and management of adults with HIV-2.]

Promoting the sexual health and wellbeing of people from a Black Caribbean background: an evidence-based resource.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Provides information on developing interventions for improved sexual health and wellbeing in people from a Black Caribbean background.]

Sexually transmitted infections: promoting the sexual health and wellbeing of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Provides information on developing interventions for improved sexual health and wellbeing among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.]

Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, England (Contraception) 2020/21.
NHS Digital; 2021.
[This publication primarily covers contraceptive activity taking place at dedicated Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services in England, as recorded in the Sexual and Reproductive Health Activity Dataset (SRHAD), a mandated collection for all providers of NHS SRH services. The main focus of this report is contraception.]

Overlooked: why we should be doing more to support families and friends affected by someone else’s drinking, drug use or gambling.
Adfam; 2021.
[This report examines Adfam’s latest research with YouGov on the prevalence of people currently negatively affected by the drinking, drug use or gambling of a family member or friend in 2021, and the different challenges and impacts these families currently face. The report’s findings highlight the need for more recognition of the impacts on families and friends, and it includes recommendations on how to better support this overlooked group.]

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): annual data tables.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Information on STI diagnoses and sexual health services provided in England by demographic characteristics and geographical region.]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Are we Improving Access to Psychological Treatment for everyone?
The Mental Elf; 2021.
[Bibire Baykeens reviews a general population cohort study which suggests that recent migrants are less likely to use the Improving Access to Psychological Treatment programme.]

Flu in prisons and secure settings.
UK Health Security Agency; 2021.
[This guidance, updated for 2021/22, details how to respond to cases of seasonal flu in prisons and other secure settings (e.g. immigration removal centres; secure training centres), including vaccination, treatment and managing outbreaks.]

Flu in the children and young people’s secure estate.
UK Health Security Agency; 2021.
[This guidance, updated for 2021/22, details how to respond to cases of seasonal flu in the children and young people’s secure estate (e.g. young offender institutions, secure training centres, secure children’s homes), including vaccination, treatment and managing outbreaks.]

Flu vaccination in schools.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Flu vaccination guidance and resources for schools.]

Cold weather plan: action cards for cold weather alert service.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[These action cards summarise advice on how different organisations need to respond to cold weather alert levels 0 through 4.]

Access to palliative care: the primacy of public health partnerships and community participation.
Mills J. The Lancet Public Health 2021;:doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00213-9.
[This viewpoint highlights that palliative care is a public-health concern and the need to promote equity in access to palliative care through public-health partnerships that prioritise community development and participation in end of life care.]

Forthcoming UK asthma guidelines: an opportunity to improve asthma outcomes.
Bush A. The Lancet 2021;:doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02244-3.
[Comment proposes the guideline committees set SMART objectives, e.g. reporting of patients who access less than 80% of their inhaled corticosteroid requirements, suggesting adoption of their proposed strategies could help the guidelines group rise to the challenge of improving asthma outcomes.]

A public health approach to estimating the need for long COVID services.
Journal of Public Health; 2021.
[This paper illustrates how a public health approach was used to influence and inform the development of post-COVID services across two Integrated Care Systems (ICSs). The findings have been valuable in informing early service developments, engaging with managers and clinicians, and supporting applications for funding at a local level.]

Self-Care Readiness Index.
Global Self Care Federation; 2021.
[The Self-Care Readiness Index (SCRI) is a research and policy initiative by the Global Self Care Federation and supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It explores enablers of self care across the health systems of 10 countries, including the UK.]

Online services in general practice: patterns of use and barriers to uptake.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[This project is in line with the national ambition to support the adoption of a range of technology initiatives in general practice. The aims were to understand the needs of the population relating to the effectiveness of online services to support general practice, and identifying groups and exploring barriers and enablers to the use of GP online services. The report is mainly intended for commissioners and providers of GP services.]

Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Programme: An evaluation.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[An independent evaluation of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Programme.]

Best foot forward: exploring the barriers and enablers to active travel among 50–70 year olds.
Centre for Ageing Better; 2021.
[This report finds that too many people in their 50s and 60s will remain physically inactive unless we redesign our neighbourhoods to encourage walking and cycling. The report, which looked at the barriers people in this age group face to walking and cycling, says that action is needed from national and local government, service providers and health systems to get people moving.]

Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: October 2021.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Experimental statistics on a range of topics including infection control measures, coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations and testing for COVID-19 in adult social care settings.]

Transport initiatives to increase uptake of breast screening programmes.
Carried out by Frankie Marcelline from Brighton and Sussex on 12/10/2021
[The evidence search report covers studies on the links between breast cancer screening uptake and ease of transport to appointments. In Tower Hamlets an initiative for encouraging uptake of breast cancer screening appointments includes transport-related support.]


Public Health

Current awareness updates

Flu in the children and young people’s secure estate.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[How to respond to cases of seasonal flu in the children and young people’s secure estate, including vaccination, treatment and managing outbreaks.]

Flu in prisons and secure settings: information for staff.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[How to respond to cases of seasonal flu in prisons, including vaccination, treatment and managing outbreaks.]


Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Befriending programmes for people with psychosis can be challenging but beneficial to both parties.
NIHR Evidence; 2020.

(People with psychosis are at a high risk of social isolation, and can take part in befriending programmes. It is understood that these schemes can be mutually beneficial, but there is little research into how befrienders and patients, particularly those with mental health problems, experience such schemes. This is the first study to explore specific challenges, experiences and benefits of befriending in both volunteers and people with psychosis within the same programme.)

Flu vaccine uptake among people aged 65+ on track to be highest on record.
Public Health England (PHE); 2020.

(Three-quarters (75%) of those aged 65 and over in England received the free vaccine so far this year – up from 72.4% at the end of the last flu season.)

The Covid-19 long-term care situation in England.
International Long Term Care Policy Network; 2020.

(This report provides an overview of the impact of Covid-19 so far on people who use and provide long-term care in England, and of the policy and practice measures adopted to mitigate its impact. It finds that the initial policy responses did not adequately consider the social care sector and that the pandemic has laid bare longstanding problems in the long-term care system in England.)

Long term care centres: making space for ageing.
Autonomy; 2020.

(By 2030, there will be a 60 per cent increase in the number of individuals with caring responsibilities in the UK. This shift in the kind of work that we will be doing will require not just new funding arrangements but also robust infrastructure and working conditions. This paper proposes a network of long-term care centres that can form a key part of the new ‘caring economy’ that delivers for those who need care and those providing it.)

Learning from Lockdown: 12 Steps to Eliminate Digital Exclusion.
Carnegie UK Trust; 2020.

(The scale of digital exclusion has been highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic. Impacts on work, income, education and social life have been felt by many people across the UK. This report lays out a series of 12 recommendations calling for ambitious action from policy makers, practitioners, academics and industry to tackle this issue.)

Priority groups for coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination: advice from the JCVI, 2 December 2020 Department of Health and Social Care, December 2020

(This advice is provided to facilitate the development of policy on COVID-19 vaccination in the UK.)

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