Tag: Young People

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Source: KnowledgeShare

We’ve only just begun: Action to improve young people’s mental health, education and employment.
Resolution Foundation; 2024.

(This report is the culmination of a three-year research programme exploring the relationship between the mental health and work outcomes of young people. The research was funded by the Health Foundation and is part of their broader Young people’s future health inquiry. It finds that more than 1 in 3 (34%) of young people aged 18–24 reported symptoms that indicated they were experiencing a common mental health disorder like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder.)

Cold at home: How winter cost of living pressures continue to impact older people and what more needs to happen to support them.
Age UK; 2024.

(This report highlights concerns about the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis on older people who are not receiving support from the benefits system. Many of these people are likely to be eligible for support but will still be missing out for a variety of reasons. Government figures show that an estimated 800,000 pensioners are eligible for Pension Credit but are missing out on this much-needed support.)

Reducing the harm from illegal drugs.
House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts; 2024.

(In response to Dame Carol Black’s review in December 2021, the From Harm to Hope strategy was launched. Two years on from when this strategy’s implementation began, overall progress has been mixed. This report outlines progress made and gives recommendations on next steps for the cross-departmental Joint Combating Drugs Unit in implementing this strategy.)

What patients want: a vision for the NHS in 2030.
Healthwatch England; 2024.

(Using experiences of care from more than 10 million people collected over the past 10 years, Healthwatch sets out where they think the NHS should be in six years and how it can get there.)

Smoking profile: March 2024 update.
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID); 2024.

(An overview of the extent of smoking, smoking-related harm and the measures being taken to reduce this harm at a local level in England.)

Health hubs: A community-centred prevention initiative to address health inequalities.
NHS Providers; 2024.

(Prevention is a crucial part of the NHS’s approach to improving population health and tackling health inequalities. One community-centred prevention initiative to address health inequalities is the creation of health hubs. This long read explores what health hubs are, how they can improve access for groups facing health inequalities, their broader social and economic benefits, and the role of trust leaders in their development.)

If you would like to receive personalised updates regarding your own interests, please complete the following form and send it to our team: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

KnowledgeShare-sign-up-formDownload

Commissioner’s concerns about children’s mental health

A report by the Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza on children’s mental health services has found an “alarming” postcode lottery when it comes to accessing children’s mental health services. The report follows the Commissioner’s The Big Ask, which surveyed children across England about their mental health. The report states one in five children said they were unhappy with their mental health and Ms De Souze said she is particularly worried about older teenage girls as two in five of 16 to 17 year old girls said they were unhappy with their mental health.

Children’s mental health services 2021-2022 | Children’s Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)

Crisis care for young people

What alternatives are there for young people’s crisis care? A new report by Look Ahead warns young people are unlikely to receive inpatient mental health care unless they ‘have attempted suicide multiple times’ and more alternatives to emergency care in A and E are needed.

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Source: KnowledgeShare

Apps to support the mental health of young people: flashy and available versus evidence-based and hidden?
The Mental Elf; 2022.
(Belinda Platt highlights a new review of mental health apps for young people, which finds there are many apps which seem appealing to young people but have no evidence-base, but only a handful of apps with a sound evidence-base which are available to young people. The post Apps to support the mental health of young people: flashy and available versus evidence-based and hidden? appeared first on National Elf Service.)

Supporting healthy relationships among parents with mental health difficulties: A practical guide.
Early Intervention Foundation (EIF); 2022.
(This practical guide for local areas has been developed to improve understanding of how risk factors among parents with mental health difficulties can impact on parental conflict and in turn on child outcomes, how to effectively engage these parents, what evidence-based support can be offered, and how to appropriately assess progress for these families.)

UK Biobank: a globally important resource for cancer research.
Conroy MC. British Journal of Cancer 2022;:doi.org/10.1038/s41416-022-02053-5.
(UK Biobank is a large-scale prospective study with deep phenotyping and genomic data. Its open-access policy allows researchers worldwide, from academia or industry, to perform health research in the public interest. UK Biobank is uniquely placed to transform our understanding of the causes of cancer development and progression, and drive improvements in cancer treatment and prevention over the coming decades.)

Parental perception of mental health needs in young children.[Abstract]
McGinnis EW. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2022;27(4):328-334.
Check for full-text availability
(There is evidence of unmet psychiatric needs in children under 6. These young children are dependent on their parents to identify their mental health needs. This study tested child and parent associations with parent perception of young child mental health need. CONCLUSIONS: Most preschool children that meet criteria for a psychiatric disorder are not perceived as needing help by their parents, which is dependent on both child and parent factors.)

Talking to young people about online safety: the who, what, when and how.
The Mental Elf; 2022. (In his debut blog, Luke Bayliss explores a Delphi study that will help mental health practitioners to converse with young people about their online activities and impact on mental health. The post Talking to young people about online safety: the who, what, when and how appeared first on National Elf Service.)

To create your own personalised current awareness update, please complete the KnowledgeShare form and send it back to: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk

KnowledgeShare-sign-up-formDownload

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

ASH brief for local authorities on youth vaping.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH); 2022.
(This short briefing is to help local authorities respond to growing concerns about youth vaping in their communities. It is primarily for public health officials and trading standards officers, but also sets out important information for councillors, schools, parents and retailers. Links to further information are also provided.)

Quantifying health inequalities in England.
The Health Foundation; 2022.
(Results show health inequalities starting at a very early age and continuing to develop through adulthood. The early ages and changing structure of health inequalities reinforces the notion that nothing short of a joined-up policy approach can address the wide and complex health inequalities we see in England. We believe this new presentation of health inequalities shows powerfully that investing in the circumstances in which people live will help people stay healthier for longer.)

Advertising ban was linked to lower purchases of unhealthy food and drink.
NIHR Evidence; 2022.
(This is the first study to look at the implementation of the TfL advertising ban. It found that advertising restrictions are feasible, and could have a meaningful impact on population health. The findings could encourage governments and local authorities to consider similar policies to prevent obesity. The TfL restrictions were part of a childhood obesity strategy, but they could influence the whole population.)

Commission on Young Lives,
Centre for Mental Health; 2022.
(Alongside the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, Centre for Mental Health have co-authored the fourth report from the Commission on Young Lives on rethinking mental health services for vulnerable young people. It reviews the latest data with a focus on those who are at higher risk, including those from racialised communities, lower socioeconomic backgrounds, young people with SEND, those in contact with the criminal justice and care systems, as well as LGBTQI+ communities.)

Domestic abuse and mental health: the amplified risks created during the pandemic.
Hisham I N. BJPsych Advances 2022;28(5):316-327.
[This article focuses on how COVID-19 and its anticipated aftermath exacerbate the risk factors for domestic abuse in the general population and discusses clinical implications for mental health practitioners in the UK. It aims to provide a point of learning based on previous disease outbreaks and recessions, with a focus on specific factors, such as unemployment and alcohol misuse, and how these contribute to increasing incidence and severity of abuse and how to mitigate these for patients…] Open Athens account required.

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Vulnerability in infancy.
Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID); 2022.
(Descriptive analysis of vulnerability in infancy using data from the Community Services Dataset (CSDS). Analysis which describes and quantifies the reasons given for hospital and community services recording children as vulnerable in a child’s health record. Vulnerable children are at greater risk of experiencing physical or emotional harm or experiencing poor outcomes because of one or more factors in their lives.)

Unemployment and insecure housing are linked to less successful treatment for depression.
NIHR Evidence; 2022.
(The study found poorer outcomes after treatment for depression among people who are unemployed, struggling financially, not homeowners, and have educational qualifications beyond school. The research concluded that housing and employment status are likely to have a clinically meaningful effect on recovery, independent of the severity of depression, age, marital status or other factors.)


Commission on Young Lives,
Centre for Mental Health; 2022.
(Alongside the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, Centre for Mental Health have co-authored the fourth report from the Commission on Young Lives on rethinking mental health services for vulnerable young people. It reviews the latest data with a focus on those who are at higher risk, including those from racialised communities, lower socioeconomic backgrounds, young people with SEND, those in contact with the criminal justice and care systems, as well as LGBTQI+ communities.)

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Weight loss outcomes achieved by adults accessing an online programme offered as part of Public Health England’s ‘Better Health’ campaign.
Toon J. BMC Public Health 2022;22(1456):-.
(This service evaluation shows that an online programme, offered as part of a national campaign, can offer effective support to a large number of people with different starting BMIs and from different socioeconomic backgrounds. An increased level of engagement leads to better weight losses.)

National operational framework: asylum accommodation.
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and Home Office; 2022.
(This framework contains the minimum standard principles to support the health and wellbeing needs of asylum seekers living in initial and contingency sites.)

Supporting healthy relationships among parents of children with behaviours that challenge: A practical guide.
Early Intervention Foundation (EIF); 2022.
(This practical guide for local areas has been developed to improve understanding of how risk factors among parents of children with behaviours that challenge can impact on parental conflict and in turn on child outcomes, how to effectively engage these parents, what evidence-based support can be offered, and how to appropriately assess progress for these families.)

Heads Up: Rethinking mental health services for vulnerable young people.
Commission on Young Lives; 2022.
(The report looks at the growing crisis of mental health problems among children and young people in England and puts forward ambitious and innovative proposals to redesign young people’s mental health services, particularly for those young people at risk of harm.)

How can NHS anchors support communities to create health: Learning from the community response to COVID-19.
The Health Creation Alliance; 2022.
(This report provides real-world insight into how NHS anchor institutions are working in partnership communities, capitalising on both their strengths to address health inequalities.)

Public Health

Current Awareness Bulletin

Systemic racism, not broken bodies: an inquiry into racial injustice and human rights in UK maternity care Birthrights, May 2022

(This year-long inquiry heard testimony from women, birthing people, health care professionals and lawyers outlining how systemic racism within maternity care – from individual interactions and workforce culture through to curriculums and policies – can have a deep and devastating impact on basic rights in childbirth. The report sets out five actions maternity services should take to drive forward concrete change. Please note that free registration is required to read this report)

Support at the end of life: the role of hospice services across the UK Eilís Keeble, Sarah Scobie and Rachel Hutchings, May 2022

(Covid-19 created huge disruption to end of life care services, with many thousands more people dying at home than previously. Hospices play a vital role supporting people and their families at the end of life, but little is known about how these services are being delivered and the issues they are grappling with. This analysis, based on a survey carried out by Hospice UK, provides a picture of a sector undergoing rapid change in the face of fast-changing circumstances.)

Drug misuse prevention review Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), May 18 2022

(The ACMD was commissioned in December 2021 to provide advice on preventing drug use among vulnerable groups of people, and how those groups can be prevented both from first using and from developing dependence on drugs. This report explores the factors that contribute to vulnerability, then examines general principles and specific approaches to prevention that are supported by the available evidence. It also considers the need for the delivery of interventions to be embedded properly in the wider system and context if their potential is to be achieved.)

Recruiting young people from care into NHS careers NHS Employers, May 19 2022

(The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) Looked After Children re-employment programme supports young people with a background in care and unaccompanied asylum seeker children, providing opportunities in NHS roles such as health care support, administration and ancillary. It was developed in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Next Step and The Prince’s Trust.)

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Antimicrobial resistance surveillance in Europe 2022 – 2020 data (2022).
World Health Organization (WHO); 2022.
[The report presents a regional and European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) overview, including traffic-light maps for priority drug–bug combinations of public health relevance, as well as 42 country and area profiles.]

Commentary: Climate change worry among adolescents-on the importance of going beyond the constructive-unconstructive dichotomy to explore coping efforts-a commentary on Sciberras and Fernando (2021). [Abstract]
Ojala M. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2022;27(1):89-91.
[This opinion piece comments on Sciberras and Fernando’s (2021) article in which an 8-year longitudinal study is presented. The authors investigate trajectories of climate change worry through adolescence and associations with measures of depression and engagement with news and politics in late adolescence. Their objective is to explore whether climate change worry is a constructive or unconstructive psychological phenomenon.]

Commentary: Three tasks for eco-anxiety research – a commentary on Thompson et al. (2021). [Abstract]
Pihkala P. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2022;27(1):92-93.

Commentary: Proactive practices to support youth coping with climate change – a commentary on Martin et al. (2021). [Abstract]
Flanagan C. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2022;27(1):94-95.
[Based on the scoping review of literature on youths’ anxieties and worries associated with their understanding of climate change, I suggest three practices for supporting youth coping: emphasizing what they can do through environmental action; emphasizing group over individual efforts – working in peer teams and networking with adult organizations dedicated to environmental action; and focusing on human impact in the place where they reside and ways they can observe and monitor that impact.]

Limitations of the new ISO standard for health and wellness apps.
Neal D. The Lancet Digital Health 2022;4(2):e80-e82.
[Software apps for health and wellness are proliferating rapidly. Policy makers, health-care providers, and consumers can benefit from assessment and standardisation of these apps, to support decision making in a rapidly developing field. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published a standard in July, 2021. However, we fear that, in its current form, the standard could stigmatise some app users and worsen inequalities in access to digital health technologies.]

Young people’s engagement with climate change issues through digital media – a content analysis.[Abstract]
Parry S. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2022;27(1):30-38.
[The reporting of climate change issues through social media can influence young people’s mental health and engagement. However, there has been little research undertaken directly with young people in relation to social and digital media’s reporting of climate change, and how this is experienced by young people. This study aimed to explore the interface between climate change and social media reporting for young people.]

Place-based civic science-collective environmental action and solidarity for eco-resilience.[Abstract]
Gallay E. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2022;27(1):39-46.
[We explored how place-based civic science (PBCS) can provide opportunities to engage youth in environmental understanding through teamwork in which youth feel that they belong to a group larger than themselves and gain a sense of hope from working with others toward shared goals. We argue that combining PCBS pedagogies of collective action and collaborative learning spaces can help to buffer against distress as CYP grapple with global environmental crises.]

Case study: Digital media for sexual health promotion.
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR); 2022.
[This case study provides an overview of a research project carried out by a team of researchers at University College London. The scoping review found that interactive digital interventions (IDIs) are effective for sexual health promotion and HIV prevention. They could be rolled out much more widely to complement school sex and relationships education and sexual health services.]

Physical health checks for people living with severe mental illness: a partnership approach to improving health checks in primary care.
Equally Well UK; 2022.
[This resources provides a partnership approach to improving physical health checks for people living with severe mental illness. Through data and intelligence, a summary of key strategic drivers and policy commitments and accessible check lists, the resource aims to provide guidance on the prioritised action required to prevent premature mortality, morbidity and inequalities experienced by people with severe mental illness.]

Leading the change: social prescribing within the fitness and leisure sector.
UKActive; 2022.
[This report calls for public health initiatives to help raise awareness of social prescribing in gyms, pools and leisure centres in order to reduce the pressure on the NHS. The report, sponsored by Matrix, makes four key recommendations to develop and grow social prescribing within the fitness and leisure sector.]

Signs and symptoms of suicidal ideation in children and adolescents.
Carried out by Frankie Marcelline from Sussex Health on 26/1/2022
[This is a broad evidence search for a new training course for social workers working with children and adolescents with, or at risk of, suicidal ideation/ behaviours and their families. It includes results on signs and symptoms of suicidal ideation in those under18 years old.]


Public Health

Current awareness updates

Children and young people’s mental health.
House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee; 2021.
[According to NHS data, the mental health of children and young people in England has worsened since 2017. Even before the pandemic, children and young people were facing a mental health crisis. Three lockdowns and the social distancing requirements of the pandemic have exacerbated the struggle with the loss of normal social structures, being unable to socialise in person with peers and not being able to attend school or university.]

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.
Trades Union Congress (TUC); 2021.
[Every workplace risk assessment should include aerosol transmission, and outline what steps are being taken to improve ventilation where necessary. Ventilation being one of the most effective ways to mitigate risk, but it’s the one employers are least likely to be paying attention to.]