Category: Child Health

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.]

Health Information Week

Health Information Week is a national, multi-sector campaign promoting high-quality information for patients and the public

High quality health information can have a huge impact on people’s ability to stay healthy and manage illnesses effectively, giving them a better quality of life.

In response to these needs, Health Information Week 2021 runs from 5th to 11th July and focuses on the themes of:

  • Quality Marks
  • Health information for children and young people
  • Uplifting resources for the NHS from the NHS
  • Digital health
  • “Oh, I don’t know what to believe…”
  • Health information for everyone
  • Vaccines

Read more about today’s theme, Health information for children and young people

United Nations Population Fund

The state of the world’s midwifery 2021

Source: The King’s Fund Health Management and Policy Alert

This report presents findings on the Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Adolescent Health (SRMNAH) workforce from 194 countries and identifies the barriers and challenges to future advancement. It finds that there is a a global shortage of 1.1 million SRMNAH workers, the largest shortage (900,000) being midwives.

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

COVID-19: long-term health effects.
Public Health England (PHE); 2021.

(Information and guidance on persistent health problems reported following acute COVID-19 disease. There is accumulating evidence to suggest that cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) who have experienced both mild and severe symptoms can experience long-term health effects. This document provides information on the health problems reported in COVID-19 cases following acute disease, and guidance for healthcare professionals on how to advise recovering COVID-19 patients.)

COVID-19 in schools: study shows drop in infections Public Health England (PHE); 2021

(Round 4 of the Schools Infection Survey (SIS) shows a significant drop in the number of secondary school pupils and staff testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).)

Women’s Health Strategy: Call for Evidence.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.

(DHSC are seeking your views to help inform the development of the government’s Women’s Health Strategy. The easiest way to participate in the call for evidence as an individual is by completing the public survey. They also welcome written submissions from individuals or organisations who have expertise in women’s health, such as researchers and third-sector organisations. Written submissions can include the contribution of data, research and other reports of relevance to women’s health.)

Teachers’ concerns about pupils’ mental health in a cross-sectional survey of a population sample of British schoolchildren.[Abstract]
Mathews F. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2021;26(2):99-105.

(Understanding how well a teacher concern predicts mental disorder in a child or young person is important for mental health teams who need to respond to referrals. CONCLUSION: While teacher concern does identify those with poorer mental health, it is only moderately predictive of a disorder. When concerned about a child or young person, discussions with parents or others who know them may help teachers identify those who most need support.)

The relationship between alcohol-related hospital admission and specialist alcohol treatment provision across local authorities in England since passage of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
British Journal of Psychiatry 2021;:https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2020.120.


(The results suggest that the local authority areas in England most in need of adequately funded specialist alcohol treatment are not receiving targeted increased funding, and that the national rise in alcohol-related hospital admissions may be fuelled by local authority funding cuts to specialist alcohol treatment.)

Please contact: academic.library@lscft.nhs.uk for any support accessing articles.

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

One dose of COVID-19 vaccine can cut household transmission by up to half Public Health England (PHE)

(A new study by Public Health England (PHE) has shown that one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine reduces household transmission by up to half.)

Track and trace: identifying corruption risks in UK public procurement for the Covid-19 pandemic

(This study of procurement during the pandemic involved a painstaking review of nearly 1,000 contracts worth a total of £18 billion. It concludes that the way the UK government handled bids for supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and other Covid-19 response contracts appears partisan and systemically biased in favour of those with political access.)

Can SMS text messages help prevent relapse in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder?
The Mental Elf; 2021.

(A group of UCL Mental Health MSc students summarise a recent pilot study, which explores the acceptability and feasibility of the Texting for Relapse Prevention (T4RP) programme for people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.)

Can we teach schools how to improve care for young people who self-harm?
The Mental Elf; 2021.

(Douglas Badenoch appraises and summarises a recent systematic review of experimental studies, which looks at whether school staff training can improve responses to pupils who self-harm.)

JCVI issues new advice on COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women Public Health England (PHE)

(The JCVI has advised that pregnant women should be offered the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the rest of the population, based on their age and clinical risk group.)

Neonatal infection: antibiotics for prevention and treatment.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021.

[This guideline covers preventing bacterial infection in healthy babies of up to and including 28 days corrected gestational age, treating pregnant women whose unborn baby is at risk of infection, and caring for babies of up to and including 28 days corrected gestational age with a suspected or confirmed bacterial infection. It aims to reduce delays in recognising and treating infection and prevent unnecessary use of antibiotics. The guideline does not cover viral infections.]

Public Health

Current Awareness

Use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine: JCVI statement.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2021.
[Statement from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.]

COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine administration.
Gordon C. British Journal of Nursing 2021;30(6):344-349.
[This article provides an overview of current COVID-19 vaccines available within the UK, including their mode of action, storage and handling. It outlines the recommendations on priority groups for vaccination and provides insight into the training recommendations for vaccinators.]


How will the public mood shape care after the pandemic?
[The Health Foundation is hosting a webinar exploring what the public thought of care during the COVID-19 pandemic and what this means for future care – being held 15th April 11:45am]

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child health and the provision of Care in Paediatric Emergency Departments: a qualitative study of frontline emergency care staff.
Conlon C. BMC Health Services Research 2021;21(1):279.
[This qualitative study utilized insight from multidisciplinary frontline staff to understand 1) the changes in paediatric emergency healthcare utilization during COVID-19 2) the experiences of working within the restructured health system.]

A connected recovery: Findings of the APPG on Loneliness Inquiry.
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Loneliness; 2021.

[This inquiry makes the case for a ‘connected recovery’ from the pandemic. It explored four crucial policy areas, including: translating national policy into local action through local authorities; community infrastructure (including housing, transport and public spaces); how to adequately fund the voluntary and community sector upon which social prescribing depends; and designing and implementing ways to test the implications of government policies on loneliness.]

National Centre for Creative Health.
National Centre for Creative Health; 2021.

[The NCCH will advance good practice and research, inform policy and promote collaboration, helping foster the conditions for creative health to be integral to health and social care and wider systems. It was formed in response to the Creative Health report, the result of a two-year inquiry led by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing.]

Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

Preventing suicide in England: fifth progress report of the cross-government outcomes strategy to save lives Department of Health and Social Care; 27th March 2021

(This report details the steps taken to reduce deaths by suicide since 2019. It sets out the data and evidence on suicide and self-harm; the progress made against existing commitments designed to prevent suicides and self-harm; and further actions for the government and its agencies, particularly in the context of Covid-19.)

The cost of smoking to the social care system ASH; March 2021

(This report finds that on average smokers in England need care when they are 63, 10 years sooner than non-smokers. It estimates that £1.2 billion a year is spent on people who have care needs as a result of smoking. It calls for more comprehensive tobacco control strategies in order to ease the pressure on the social care system.)

Covid-19 mental health and wellbeing recovery action plan Department of Health and Social Care; 31 March 2021

(This action plan sets out an ambitious, cross-government, whole-person approach to promoting positive mental health and supporting people living with mental illness to recover and live well. While this plan sets out what the government will do in the coming year, it is also a call to action for the whole of society, for local communities, families and for individuals, who can take simple steps to look after their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around them – and can reach out for support, including from mental health services when necessary.)

The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days The Early Years Healthy Development Review Report

(This report sets out the findings of the Early Years’ Healthy Development Review, which was asked to review the first 1,001 critical days from pregnancy through to the age of two. The review sets out a vision for best practice across the health system to ensure babies and children can get the best possible start.)

Alcohol-related harm and drinking behaviour Nuffield Trust

(Excessive alcohol consumption can have harmful health consequences in the short term but also in the long term, through conditions such as liver disease, stroke and some cancers. This indicator explores whether alcohol-related harm and drinking behaviour has changed over time.)

Poverty, parenting and mental health

How the pandemic has impacted upon families

Source: The King’s Fund

Jo Davies, CEO at WILD Young Parents’ Project, discusses how the pandemic has shone a spotlight on health inequalities and impacted young families and their mental health in Cornwall.

She also shares the important role that charities and voluntary organisations have played during Covid-19 in providing practical and emotional support. Jo challenges leaders to be courageous in their ongoing response to the pandemic and to listen to the voices of local communities.

Watch her 4 minute video here:

Centre for Early Child Development

A good practice guide to support implementation of trauma-informed care in the perinatal period

Source: The King’s Fund Health Management and Policy Alert

This guide aims to help staff and services understand the impact of psychological trauma on women in the perinatal period and respond in a sensitive and compassionate way. It aims to support staff to ensure they ‘do no harm’ through care delivery that, without thought or intention, could retraumatise individuals.