Public Health

Current Awareness

Source: KnowledgeShare

The role that alcohol or drug use can play in increasing the risk of suicide.
Carried out by Frankie Marcelline from Sussex Health on 27/9/2024
https://www.knowledgeshare.nhs.uk/index.php?PageID=literature_search_request_downloader&RequestID=52844
[This evidence search report aims to support a conference on suicide. This search focusses on the role that dependent or problematic patterns of alcohol and drug use, can play in increasing the risk of suicide. Results include a good number of very recent high-level studies on the risks of alcohol and drug use on suicide.]

Teens, screens and mental health.
World Health Organization (WHO); 2024.
https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/25-09-2024-teens–screens-and-mental-health
[New data from the WHO Regional Office for Europe reveals a sharp rise in problematic social media use among adolescents, with rates increasing from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022. This, coupled with findings that 12% of adolescents are at risk of problematic gaming, raises urgent concerns about the impact of digital technology on the mental health and well-being of young people.]

Digital health and equitable access to care.
Shaw J. PLOS Digital Health 2024;:10.1371/journal.pdig.0000573.
[This research uses a framework by Levesque et al on patient-centered access to care and the World Health Organization’s framework on digitally enabled health systems to generate insights into the ways that digital solutions can support access to needed health care for structurally marginalized communities.]

Keeping children and young people with mental health needs safe: the design of the paediatric ward.
Health Services Safety Investigations Body; 2024.
https://www.hssib.org.uk/patient-safety-investigations/keeping-children-and-young-people-with-mental-health-needs-safe-the-design-of-the-paediatric-ward/investigation-report/
[This investigation looks at the care of children and young people with mental health issues who are admitted to a paediatric ward in an acute hospital – that is, a ward for children and young people in a hospital that typically treats physical health conditions. Specifically, it focuses on the risk factors associated with the design of paediatric wards in acute hospitals caring for children and young people with mental health needs.]

Making Every Contact Count September 2024

The most recent Make Every Contact count public heath bulletin looking at latest evidence around smoking cessation, alcohol, healthy weight, healthy eating and physical exercise is now available. The bulletin is produced by Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS FT Library staff. If you cannot access any of the articles included in the bulletin please contact academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk.

Smoking Cessation

Alcohol

Healthy Weight

Healthy Eating

Physical Activity

Alcohol Awareness Week

Alcohol Awareness Week is here, offering a chance to reflect on our drinking habits and their impacts. This week highlights the risks of alcohol misuse and promotes healthier choices.

Learn and Share: Educate yourself about alcohol’s effects and share with others.

Promote Alternatives: Encourage non-alcoholic social activities.

Seek Help: Reach out if you or someone you know needs support.

Let’s use Alcohol Awareness Week to make positive changes. Visit our library for helpful resources.

Public Health

Current awareness updates

Weight management tier 2 interventions and their effectiveness.
Carried out by Frankie Marcelline from Sussex Health on 2/12/2021
[This evidence search report looks for recent evaluations and reports on the effectiveness of weight management tier 2 interventions for families, adults and children. A starting point might be Public Health England’s 2020 summary: Weight management services during COVID-19: phase 1 insights. Another source is Heggie’s: Tackling reporting issues and variation in behavioural weight management interventions.]

Brain tumours (primary) and brain metastases in adults.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This quality standard covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing any type of primary brain tumour or brain metastases in adults (aged 16 or over). It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.]

Urinary incontinence in women.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This quality standard covers managing urinary incontinence in women (aged 18 and over). It covers assessment, care and treatment options. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.
It does not cover urinary incontinence in women with neurological disease. In December 2021, changes were made to align this quality standard with the new NICE guideline on pelvic floor dysfunction.]

Pelvic floor dysfunction: prevention and non-surgical management.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.
[This guideline covers the prevention, assessment and non-surgical management of pelvic floor dysfunction in women aged 12 and over. It aims to raise awareness and help women to reduce their risk of pelvic floor dysfunction. For women who have pelvic floor dysfunction, the guideline recommends interventions based on their specific symptoms]

Management of acute respiratory illness in prisons and places of detention.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[This guidance will assist in the management of outbreaks of acute respiratory illness in prisons and places of detention. The guidance covers risk assessment, testing recommendations, antiviral therapies and when an outbreak can be declared over. An associated flow chart gives information for management depending on whether COVID-19 and/or influenza have been detected.]

BCG vaccination and SCID screening: patient pathway.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA); 2021.
[Flowchart showing the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination and SCID screening patient pathway (updated 09 December 2021)]

Optimising chronic wound care: a human and financial necessity.
Penfold J. British Journal of Healthcare Management 2021;27(11):269-271.
[Comment highlights the importance of evidence-based practice in wound care to reduce the burden on patients and healthcare services.]

Active Lives Children and Young People Survey: Academic year 2020-21.
Sport England; 2021.
[This report contains a full year of coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions, including comparisons back to summer term 2020, when school sites were closed to most pupils for much of the period. The proportion of children and young people in England who are active remains unchanged compared to 12 months ago. However, inequalities have increased and for some groups of children and young people, in particular teenage girls and Black children are the least likely to be physically active.]

What science has shown can help young people with anxiety and depression.
Wellcome; 2021.
[This report summarises what we’ve learned about the evidence for ‘active ingredients’ of effective interventions for youth anxiety and depression – these are the aspects of interventions that make a difference in preventing or managing anxiety and depression.]

Project ADDER.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Information on Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery), the government’s pathfinder programme combatting drugs misuse.]

Global Drug Survey (GDS) 2021 Global Report.
Global Drug Survey (GDS); 2021.
[The focus is on how COVID-19 changed people’s drug using behaviours especially with regard to alcohol, cannabis and cocaine, how people balance reducing harm and maximizing pleasure when using drugs, and whether microdosing has moved beyond those seeking to improve creativity and work performance to self-treatment for mental health issues.]

Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2020.
Office for National Statistics (ONS); 2021.
[Deaths caused by diseases known to be a direct consequence of alcohol misuse by sex, age, region and deprivation.]

From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives.
Home Office, Department of Health and Social Care, Ministry of Justice, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Education, and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; 2021.
[This policy paper sets out the government’s 10-year plan to cut crime and save lives by reducing the supply and demand for drugs and delivering a high-quality treatment and recovery system. Commitments are made across the government to break drug supply chains while simultaneously reducing the demand for drugs by getting people suffering from addiction into treatment, and deterring recreational drug use.]

Child of the North: building a fairer future after Covid-19.
NIHR Northern Health Science Alliance; 2021.
[This report paints a stark picture of inequality for children growing up in the north of England post-pandemic compared with those in the rest of the country. It looks at a wide range of factors, from child poverty to children in care, to build up a picture of ‘The Child of the North’. It sets out 18 clear recommendations that can be put in place to tackle the widening gap between the north and the rest of England.]

Children and young people’s mental health: Eighth Report of Session 2021–22.
House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee; 2021.
[Report highlights that the problems identified can only be addressed by government departments, local government and the health system acting together to promote good mental health and prevent new crises emerging. It recommends setting up a Cabinet sub-committee.]

Adfam Research

Overlooked: why we should be doing more to support families and friends affected by someone else’s drinking, drug use or gambling

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.

Social reintegration and employment: evidence and interventions for drug users in treatment

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, September 2018
In order to help drug users become full members of society following treatment, measures are needed that address the issues of housing, education, vocational training and employment as part of their recovery. This report considers existing interventions targeting this vulnerable social group. It also provides a set of conclusions targeted at policymakers and drug practitioners, in order to help them develop coherent and comprehensive social integration strategies. Examples of ‘what works’ in practice are a vital first step in developing evidence-based guidelines for future interventions.
Click here to view the full report.