Covid 19

Current awareness updates

Implementing lateral flow devices in long-term care facilities: experiences from the Liverpool COVID-19 community testing pilot in care homes- a qualitative study. [Abstract]
Kierkegaard P. BMC Health Services Research 2021;21(1):1153.
[Our study demonstrates that the real-world implementation of LFDs to test visitors and staff faces significant challenges as a result of several contextual factors negatively affecting the work practice and environment. More comprehensive studies are needed to identify and inform effective implementation strategies to ensure that LFDs can be adopted in an agile way that better supports an already exhausted and morally depleted workforce.]

Urgent need to develop evidence-based COVID-19 recommendations for primary schools.
Patel S. Archives of Disease in Childhood 2021;106(11):1039-1040.
[Implementation of evidence-based recommendations for primary school is a priority for all governments to avoid young children unnecessarily missing significant quantities of schooling this winter, along with a knock-on effect on their families. Parents and teachers need to understand that new evidence and transmission rates will continually be reviewed and recommendations will change if required.]






Public Health

Current awareness updates

How has cognitive behaviour therapy been adapted for adolescents with comorbid depression and chronic illness? A scoping review.[Abstract]
Morey A. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2021;26(3):252-264.
[BACKGROUND: Depression becomes increasingly common in adolescence. Around 10%-20% of adolescents have a chronic illness, and they are more likely to experience depression. There is emerging evidence for cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) interventions to treat depression in adolescents with chronic illnesses, yet no review has been undertaken of how these CBT interventions are delivered in practice.]

The best terminology to describe self-harm: “There is more that unites us than divides us”.
The Mental Elf; 2021.
[Angharad de Cates reviews a recent study which examined international definitions of English-language terms for suicidal and self-harm behaviours.]

Education, schooling and health summary.
Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England; 2021.
[Summary of the existing evidence of the health and wellbeing benefits of school-age education. This paper aims to summarise the existing evidence of the health and wellbeing benefits of school-age education, including the wider impacts on mental and physical health and wellbeing of being in school and the observed impacts of the loss of education in the last 18 months.]

Does the IAPT self-referral process work for people living in poverty?
The Mental Elf; 2021.
[In her debut blog, Alice Potter reviews a qualitative study exploring different perspectives on the accessibility of current IAPT self-referral processes for people with mental health problems living in poverty.]

STI rates remain a concern despite fall in 2020.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[New data from Public Health England (PHE) reveal that diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) decreased in 2020 by 32% compared to 2019.]

Promotional material: Flu immunisation for social care staff.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.
[Leaflets for social care workers and personal care assistants to support the annual flu programme.]

Dismissed for too long: recommendations to improve migraine care in the UK.
The Migraine Trust; 2021.
[This report found a wide range of issues with migraine health care, including slow or no diagnosis and lack of access to specialist care. It sets out the action needed from the government, health care systems and other organisations to give everyone living with migraine in the UK the support they need.]




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.]

Medical Education

Medical students on long-term rural clinical placements and their perceptions of urban and rural internships: a qualitative study

There is some anecdotal evidence that anxiety about the responsibility of an intern influences rural future intentions. Additionally, research has shown that urban interns have reported that they are worried about being ‘forced’ to work in non-metropolitan hospitals in their first year after graduation. This study sought to explore rural medical students’ perceptions and expectations of a rural internship and how local health services and/or their medical school can prepare them best for a rural intern position.

BMJ Open

Leadership development in complex health systems: a qualitative study

Objective leadership is associated with organisational performance in healthcare, including quality, safety and clinical outcomes for patients. Leadership development programmes have proliferated in recent years. Nevertheless very few have examined participant experiences in depth in order to understand which programmatic aspects they regard as most valuable relative to leadership in increasingly complex systems, or whether and how learnings may sustain over time. This article explores experiences of participants in an interdisciplinary leadership development programme using qualitative methods over an extended look-back period.

Read more here

BMJ Journals

Patient-centred medicine: Original Research

What helps and hinders the provision of healthcare that minimises treatment burden and maximises patient capacity? A qualitative study of stroke health professional perspectives

Read the article here