Tag: National INstitute for Health and Care Excellence

Covid 19

Current awareness updates

COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing COVID-19.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2022.
[This guideline covers the management of COVID-19 for children, young people and adults in all care settings. In February 2022, NICE added recommendations on molnupiravir and remdesivir for people with COVID-19 who do not need supplemental oxygen.]

A systematic scoping review of research on COVID-19 impacts on eating disorders: A critical appraisal of the evidence and recommendations for the field.[Abstract]
Linardon J. International Journal of Eating Disorders 2022;55(1):3-38.
[Symptom escalation and mental health worsening during-and due to-the pandemic were commonly reported, and those most susceptible included confirmed eating disorder cases, at-risk populations, and individuals highly anxious or fearful of COVID-19. Evidence emerged for increased demand for specialist eating disorder services during the pandemic. The forced transition to online treatment was challenging for many, yet telehealth alternatives seemed feasible and effective.]

Growing problems: What has been the impact of Covid-19 on health care for children and young people in England?
Quality Watch; 2022.
[This analysis from QualityWatch (a Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation programme) shows that the pandemic has led to an unprecedented increase in demand for mental health services for children and young people. Despite children and young people being 10 times less likely to be hospitalised with Covid, the period has had a heavy toll on them. The briefing explains the findings and discusses the potential implications for the younger generation.]

Beyond recovery: the case for transforming UK clinical cancer research.
Cancer Research UK (CRUK); 2022.
[This position paper finds that Covid-19 has worsened pre-existing barriers to clinical cancer research, and recovering to a pre-pandemic ‘normal’ for research won’t be enough to deliver world-class cancer outcomes. Instead, the UK government must choose to go beyond recovery by expanding clinical research capacity, transforming how research is delivered, and supporting innovative cancer research.]

Living with Covid-19.
House of Commons Library; 2022.
[This page provides an overview of the Government’s strategy on Living with Covid-19 and a summary of the relevant policy changes.]

Social care reform: an independent review by Baroness Cavendish.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2022.
[A report looking at how the government can lock in the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic to build a more robust, sustainable and joined-up system of social care.]

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in England.
National Audit Office (NAO); 2022.
[According to this report, the Covid-19 vaccination programme met stretching and unprecedented targets, helping to save lives and reduce serious illness and hospitalisation. However, it concludes that there are risks to be managed as the programme continues to evolve in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and to new clinical advice and evidence about vaccines. The report concludes that the programme has provided value for money to date.]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination uptake in school pupils, England: up to 9 January 2022.
Office for National Statistics (ONS); 2022.
[Figures on vaccine uptake in school pupils aged 12 to 17 attending state funded schools, broken down by demographic and geographic characteristics, using a linked schools and vaccinations dataset, up to 9 January 2022 (experimental statistics).]

The response of the scientific community to a global crisis: a systematic review of COVID-19 research in 2020.
Srivastava PR. British Journal of Healthcare Management 2022;28(2):1-7.
[This article provides a bibliometric analysis of the direction of research relating to COVID-19 during the first year after the virus was first identified as a potential threat to public health.]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Physical activity in disabled children and disabled young people: evidence review.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2022.
[Findings of a rapid evidence review into the health benefits and potential risks of physical activity for children and young people who have disabilities.]

d-Nav insulin management app for type 2 diabetes.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2022.
[d‑Nav is an app used for guiding insulin dosing for adults with type 2 diabetes. The innovative aspects are the insulin dose can be calculated and adjusted based on a person’s current and historic blood glucose levels on a weekly basis and without healthcare professional approval. The intended place in therapy would be to help optimise insulin dosage in people with type 2 diabetes.]

Is there an effective dose of aerobic exercise associated with better executive function in youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?
Khodaverdi Z. Child Neuropsychology 2021;:doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2021.1992378.
[Conclusion: Different dosage of aerobic exercise might differently influence aspects of executive function; however, this finding rests on preliminary evidence at this stage and thus should be treated with caution.It is necessary to establish suitable interventions with regard to the dosage of aerobic exercise types to improve executive function in young people with ADHD.]

Covid 19

Current awareness updates

COVID-19: letter to patients on end of shielding programme.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[Reference-only version of letter from the government to patients on the end of the shielding programme.]

COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This guideline covers identifying, assessing and managing the long-term effects of COVID-19, often described as ‘long COVID’. On 11 November, NICE made new recommendations and updated existing recommendations on identification; planning care; multidisciplinary rehabilitation; follow up, monitoring and discharge; and service organisation. NICE also updated the list of common symptoms, emphasising that these may be different for children.]

COVID-19 booster vaccine programme for winter 2021 to 2022: JCVI statement, November 2021.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[This statement sets out further advice from JCVI on extension of the booster programme to revaccinate adults aged 40 to 49 years against COVID-19. The main aim of this booster vaccination programme is to reduce deaths, serious disease and hospitalisations from COVID-19 over the 2021 to 2022 winter period and through 2022.]

Why we think you should say yes to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group; 2021.
[An information leaflet about the COVID-19 vaccine where clinicians and faith leaders highlight the importance of having the vaccine. The leaflet has been translated into the following languages: Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Czech, Farsi, Kurdish Sorani, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Slovak, Tigrinya and Urdu. Audio versions of the leaflet are available for each of those languages.]

No one wants to see my baby: challenges to building back better for babies.
Parent-Infant Foundation; 2021.
[This report explores the continued impact of Covid-19 on babies. It consists of a survey of professionals, in-depth studies with 11 families and a review of the literature, conducted with partner organisations Home-Start and Best Beginnings. The report shows that many services across the UK are not operating as they were before the pandemic, and babies and their families are missing out as a result.]

Essential and Invisible: Filipino irregular migrants in the UK’s ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Kanlungan Filipino Consortium; 2021.
[For many in the United Kingdom, it might feel as if the “crisis” of the COVID-19 pandemic is coming to an end. Yet for irregular migrants, the pandemic has become a protracted struggle to survive. This report is based on interviews with Filipino irregular migrants based in the UK conducted in Spring 2021, compared to the same interviewees’ responses in Spring 2020.]

Coronavirus: support for landlords and tenants.
House of Commons Library; 2021.
[This briefing explains measures during the coronavirus outbreak to help renting households retain their homes. It covers calls for more assistance to prevent evictions and homelessness.]

Covid 19

Current awareness updates

COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing COVID-19.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[In October, NICE added new recommendations on casirivimab and imdevimab. New data on the use of heparins (from the REMAP-CAP trial results) does not change the current recommendations.]

The consequences of COVID-19 lockdown for formal and informal resource utilization among home-dwelling people with dementia: results from the prospective PAN.DEM study.[Abstract]
Vislapuu M. BMC Health Services Research 2021;21(1):1003.
[The care situation for PwD changed dramatically in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for those living alone who received less support from homecare services and visiting caregivers. For future crises and the forthcoming post-pandemic period, health authorities must plan better and identify and prioritize those in greatest need.]

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patterns of attendance at emergency departments in two large London hospitals: an observational study.[Abstract]
Vollmer MAC. BMC Health Services Research 2021;21(1):1008.
[Our study findings reflect broader trends seen across England and give an indication how emergency healthcare seeking has drastically changed. At ICHNT, we find that a larger proportion arrived by ambulance and that hospitalisation outcomes of patients without COVID-19 did not differ from previous years. The extent to which these findings relate to ED avoidance behaviours compared to having sought alternative emergency health services outside of hospital remains unknown.]

Remote schooling through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, England: April 2020 to June 2021.
Office for National Statistics (ONS); 2021.
[How remote learning has affected the amount of learning materials covered by pupils and the dependence of remote learning on parental input over the course of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.]

Inequalities in accessing dementia care and support during COVID-19.
The Mental Elf; 2021.
[Catherine Talbot reviews a recent qualitative study on accessing post-diagnostic dementia care before and since COVID-19, which highlights the need to reduce inequalities in dementia care.]

COVID-19: provision of immunisation sessions for outbreaks in schools.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Guidance for School Age Immunisation Services on the provision of immunisation sessions in schools where there are cases or an outbreak of COVID-19.]

UKHSA review into IPC guidance.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Recommendations for changes to COVID-19 infection prevention and control (IPC) advice to help ease pressure on the NHS.]

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health among youth with physical health challenges.[Abstract]
Hawke LD. Early Intervention in Psychiatry 2021;15(5):1146-1153.
[CONCLUSIONS: Mental health concerns are highly prevalent among youth with physical health concerns, and also appear to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical health concerns appear to constitute risk factors for heightened mental health responses to the pandemic situation. System planners striving to adapt mental health services to meet distancing recommendations are urged to consider youth with physical health conditions and ensure that integrated supports are available to them.]

NDNS: Diet and physical activity – a follow-up study during COVID-19.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[This report presents the findings from a follow-up study of National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme (NDNS RP) participants which aimed to describe and assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diet and physical activity of people in the UK in 2020.]

Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) Covid-19 vaccine: Recognition of batches manufactured in India.
House of Commons Library; 2021.
[This briefing provides an overview of the regulatory concerns associated with batches of the Vaxzevria (previously called AstraZeneca) vaccine which were manufactured in India.]


Covid 19

Current awareness updates

Preventing and controlling outbreaks of COVID-19 in prisons and places of detention.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Information for prisons and other prescribed places of detention on coronavirus (COVID-19).]

COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing COVID-19.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[In September 2021, NICE added new recommendations on non-invasive respiratory support and doxycycline, and updated existing recommendations on heparins.]

COVID-19 shared learning from NHS trusts.
NHS Employers; 2021.
[Despite the relentless pressures of COVID-19 on NHS trusts, we have seen innovation, transformational change, and real improvements to enhance the experience of staff across the service. This page presents seven examples of good practice from trusts that have adapted and innovated during the pandemic.]

Debate: Is there a true global children and young people’s mental health crisis, fact or fiction?[Abstract]
Ford T. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2021;26(3):272-273.
[Following COVID-19, there has been increasing concern about the well-being of children and young people across the United Kingdom; however, our major problem is the lack of robust data. We discuss emerging research capturing the impact of restrictions and experiences of COVID-19 on children and young people.]

Debate: The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors.[Abstract]
Melhem NM. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2021;26(3):274-275.
[The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in children are still not fully known. However, COVID-19 and the mitigation strategies to limit its transmission have affected children and adolescents through increased parental morbidity and mortality, increased poverty and financial strain, social isolation, and lost connectedness to school, peers, and afterschool activities.

Experiences of maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic in the North of England.
Stacey T. British Journal of Midwifery 2021;29(9):516–523.
[During 2020, UK maternity services made changes to service delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to explore service users’ and their partners’ experiences of maternity services in the North of England during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents (n=606) completed a co-produced survey during August 2020. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis.]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Alcohol and self-harm: A qualitative study.
Alcohol Change UK; 2021.
[This study explores how and why alcohol and self-harm are related, and how alcohol, self-harm, and related services, are experienced and understood. Eleven people who had experience with self-harm and alcohol use were recruited through mental health support organisations across England and Wales. Interviews invited participants to ‘tell their stories’ about self-harm, alcohol use, the relationship between the two practices and their experiences with services in relation to these.]

Chronic kidney disease: assessment and management.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This guideline covers care and treatment for people with, or at risk of, chronic kidney disease (CKD). It aims to prevent or delay the progression, and reduce the risk of complications and cardiovascular disease. It also covers managing anaemia and hyperphosphataemia associated with chronic kidney disease.]

Bonded By Blood: A Mothers Story.
ACLT; 2021.
[A new nationwide blood donation campaign, created by a group of Black health charities and community organisations with support from NHS Blood and Transplant, the campaign will focus on amplifying the need for more blood donors of Black heritage to donate. It is launched in memory of sickle cell patient Richard Okorogheye. The campaign will share the stories of mothers with children who receive regular blood transfusions.]

Good Childhood Report 2021.
The Children’s Society; 2021.
[Our Good Childhood Report 2021 shows that modern life continues to erode the happiness of young people. Dissatisfied with school, friendships and how they look, children deserve drastic change. Our tenth annual report finds that 7% of 10 to 15 year-olds (an estimated 306,000 children) in the UK are not happy with their lives.]

The health impacts of Sure Start.
Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS); 2021.
[This briefing note from the Institute for Fiscal Studies extends the evidence from its previous 2019 report to show how Sure Start has influenced children’s health. Specifically it assesses the programme’s impact on hospitalisations of very young children, who are still eligible to use its services (ages 1-4), and of adolescents (ages 12-15), who may still enjoy medium-term benefits from Sure Start exposure.]

Building Connections Fund evaluation final reports.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; 2021.
[The £11.5 million Building Connections Fund (BCF) was the first ever government fund dedicated to tackling loneliness in England. There are two separate reports for this evaluation: part one, the evaluation report, which covers findings before the Covid-19 pandemic; and part two, focusing on the evaluation activity following the Covid-19 pandemic.]

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Drug users urged to be extra careful following a high number of likely heroin overdoses.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Public Health England (PHE) has issued a warning of a sharp rise in the number of overdoses linked to people using drugs in several areas across England. To date, there have been at least 46 poisonings resulting in 16 deaths but investigations are still ongoing. The areas affected include South London, the South East, South West and East of England.]

Mental Health Crisis Care Profile.
PHE Fingertips; 2021.
[The Crisis Care Profile collates and analyses a wide range of publicly available data on associated prevalence of mental health crisis. Risk factors include access to care, treatment, and outcomes. Includes risk factors around age, deprivation, illness and disabilities, crime and social isolation. Other topics – urgent and emergency care, quality of treatment, access to support. Data available by local authorities.]

Dental health: migrant health guide.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Advice and guidance on the health needs of migrant patients for healthcare practitioners. 17 August 2021: New model of care to support refugees and asylum seekers to access NHS dental services.]

Cervical screening: support for people who find it hard to attend.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Guidance on support for people who find it hard to attend cervical screening due to having a mental health condition, or having experienced trauma or abuse. 16 August 2021: Clarification that this guidance is based on research conducted with users of mental health services and addition of signposting to guidance to support other underserved groups.]

Oral healthcare: model for asylum seekers and refugees.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[This model of care provides professionals with guidance to support access to NHS dentists. Asylum seekers and refugees can face barriers when accessing NHS dentists. This model of care details the processes, rights and entitlements to care and includes supporting information and links to forms and guidance. It is designed for local authorities, support services and health professionals who work with asylum seekers and refugees.]

Antenatal care.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This quality standard covers care for healthy women and their babies during pregnancy (up to 42 weeks). It covers routine antenatal care in primary, community and hospital settings. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement. In August 2021, changes were made to align this quality standard with the updated NICE guideline on antenatal care.]


Service specification: Cystinosis diagnosis and co-ordination of management (all ages).
NHS England; 2021.
[This service specification covers the provision of services for patients with Cystinosis, all ages.]

Continuous positive airway pressure for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[Evidence-based recommendations on continuous positive airway pressure for treating obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome in adults. August 2021: The recommendation on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for mild obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS) has been updated and replaced by recommendation 1.5.2 on CPAP for mild OSAHS in the NICE guideline on obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome and obesity hypoventilation syndrome in over 16s.]

Obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome and obesity hypoventilation syndrome in over 16s.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This guideline covers the diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS), obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with OSAHS (COPD–OSAHS overlap syndrome) in people over 16. It aims to improve recognition, investigation and treatment of these related conditions.]

Ethnic differences in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy in United Kingdom healthcare workers: Results from the UK-REACH prospective nationwide cohort study.
Woolf K. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe 2021;8(-):100180.
[Using a nationwide prospective cohort study and qualitative study in a multi-ethnic cohort of clinical and non-clinical UK healthcare workers (HCWs) researchers analysed ethnic differences in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy. Of the 11,584 HCWs included in the cohort analysis, 23% (2704) reported vaccine hesitancy. Ethnicity was a significant predictor of hesitancy.]

Association of the COVID-19 lockdown with smoking, drinking and attempts to quit in England: an analysis of 2019–20 data.
Addiction; 2021.
[Following the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, smokers and high-risk drinkers in England were more likely than before lockdown to report trying to quit smoking or reduce alcohol consumption and rates of smoking cessation and use of remote cessation support were higher. However, high-risk drinking prevalence increased post-lockdown and use of evidence-based support for alcohol reduction by high-risk drinkers decreased with no compensatory increase in use of remote support.

Everybody active, every day: 5 years on.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Summary of the 5 year review to the national physical activity framework, ‘Everybody active, every day’ and the PHE response.]

Quality in Qual: a proposed framework to commission, judge and generate good qualitative evaluation in wellbeing impacts.
whatworkswellbeing; 2021.
[Based on interviews with ten leading organisations and individuals who have in-depth evaluation and methodological expertise this report sets out why work on qualitative evaluation is valuable and important, what resources already exist. The report identifies six prompts for potential uses of qualitative research in evaluations.]

Genomics nation: A benchmark of the size and strengths of the UK genomics sector.
UK Bioindustry Association; 2021.
[The NHS Long Term Plan promised greater focus on prevention to help people stay healthy and ease the burden on the health service. The early detection of disease, rather than merely the diagnosis and treatment of illness, will be critical to achieve this objective. The NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS), launched in 2018, provides a single, national coordinated approach to genomic testing and genomic research in the NHS.]

A joint thematic inspection of community-based drug treatment and recovery work with people on probation.
HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP); 2021.
[Probation services across England and Wales supervise nearly 156,000 people in the community. HM Inspectorate of Probation estimates that almost 75,000 of these individuals have a drugs problem, yet fewer than 3,000 people were referred by probation services to specialist drug misuse treatment in 2019/2020. HMIP partnered with the Care Quality Commission to examine how probation services supervise this cohort and found probation services are responding poorly to drugs misuse and addiction cases.]