Public Health

Current Awareness Updates

WHO European regional obesity report 2022

(Overweight and obesity affect almost 60 per cent of adults and nearly one in three children in the WHO European Region. Recent estimates suggest that overweight and obesity is the fourth most common risk factor for noncommunicable diseases in the Region, after high blood pressure, dietary risks and tobacco. This report examines the growing challenge and impact of obesity in the Region and focuses on managing obesity throughout the life course and tackling obesogenic environments. It also considers more recent challenges, including problematic digital marketing to children and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on obesity prevalence.)

Doctor’s orders: Why adherence is critical to improving health outcomes across the life course

(Nearly half of all adults and approximately 8% of children worldwide have a chronic condition. Yet, studies have shown that adherence to medication is poor. This is expensive for governments, requiring three extra medical visits per year. This article from the ILC suggests some key recommendations to support adherence.)

Thousands of people with diabetes set to benefit from real time information after updated NICE recommendations

(More than 250,000 people living with type 1 diabetes are set to be offered new technology to help them manage their condition and at the same time reduce the need for finger prick testing by up to 50%, following new advice from NICE.)

Link workers for population health: it’s time to get with the (social prescribing) programme

(Embedding a population health approach into health care at the local, regional and national level in England will require slow, incremental cultural shifts over the space of years, as suggested in their report; A vision for population health.)

Health and Prosperity

Report

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

This report warns that the UK’s deep health inequalities and ineffective policies mean people are living shorter lives, with more years spent in poor health, and face greater barriers to staying in and getting on at work. It calls for a new post-pandemic approach to the nation’s health to ensure people can enjoy living healthy lives longer and to improve the nation’s economy. A new cross-party Health and Prosperity Commission is being launched to explore how good health can be the foundation for a fair and prosperous economy.

Health and Social Care

Integrated care

In September 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England (NHSE) and the Local Government Association (LGA) published ‘ICP engagement document: integrated care system (ICS) implementation’. Following that publication, the DHSC, NHSE and LGA conducted an engagement exercise with those who have an interest in the formation of integrated care partnerships. This paper sets out the key findings from the engagement process. It also proposes next steps and outlines how DHSC, NHSE and the LGA intend to support and guide the development of these new partnership arrangements going forward.

Integrated care communications toolkit
This toolkit was developed to help communicate the changes taking place in the health and care system. Resources have been produced to help with explaining integrated systems to the public, elected members and officers of councils, and non-executive directors. The toolkit also includes a jargon buster and some FAQs

Podcast

Exploring the best ways to implement digital innovation into our health sector

Source: Finger on the Pulse podcast

Former Chief Nurse at NHS Digital, Anne Cooper discusses her experiences of implementing digital ways of working into healthcare during her time with the NHS firstly as a nurse then then in her later role at NHS Digital.

Podcast

Creative thinking to improve access to healthcare – Andrea Coleman

Source: Thinking Beyond Boundaries (Making More Health) Podcast Series by the NHS Confederation

Throughout this podcast series, Michael Wood, head of health economic partnerships at the NHS Confederation, will be interviewing a number of Making More Health Fellows – celebrating their achievements, discovering what drove them personally and discussing the particular role social entrepreneurs play in fostering long-term change.

In this episode learn how one woman’s passion for motorbikes led to the transformation of health access for rural communities in Africa.

As a former motorcycle racer, Andrea Coleman, founder and chief executive of Two Wheels for Life and co-founder of Riders for Health, has dedicated her life to using motorcycles for humanitarian causes. Listen in to hear how Andrea has harnessed her passions to optimise healthcare services by providing transport logistics in low-resource settings to ensure that patients receive the care and treatment they deserve.

Covid 19 and female health and care

Workforce Survey Update

Source: The King’s Fund Health and Policy Alert

This report presents the findings of a survey commissioned by the network to find out how the impact of the pandemic on women working across health and care changed as the crisis progressed. It finds that since summer 2020, the impact of the pandemic on the female workforce has demonstrably worsened and more women are reporting an even greater negative impact on their physical and emotional wellbeing.

For more information click here.

Podcast

The health care of tomorrow? International learning on community, technology, and avoiding digital exclusion

Source: The King’s Fund

Anna Charles talks with Dr Steven Tierney from Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska, and Dr Henry Chung from Montefiore in New York, to explore how their health systems have transformed to better support local communities, and how to address digital exclusion in an increasingly digital world.

To listen to the podcast click on the image below.

Digital Technology

How is this shaping health and social care?

Source: The King’s Fund

This report, commissioned by the Health Foundation, provides a summary of evidence for how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, smartphones, wearable devices and the internet of things are being used within care settings around the world.

The authors analyse the available evidence around the use of these technologies to support leaders in health and care to engage in long-term thinking about the role of digital technology. The report looks back at recent developments in digital technology in the health and care system before the Covid-19 pandemic, supplemented by the Fund’s evidence-gathering on how digital technologies have been used during the pandemic, in England in particular. It also considers a set of potential futures to distil factors driving change and what this means for leaders now.

State of health and care

The NHS long-term plan after Covid-19

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

After a decade of austerity, the NHS long-term plan was meant to be a turning point for health care. However, those plans have been severely disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. This analysis shows the scale of the damage done by the pandemic across several major health conditions. It recommends a package of six ambitious changes to ‘build back better’.

NHS Leadership Academy

How might leadership roles evolve in integrated health and care systems?

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

This report for the NHS Leadership Academy explores some of the implications of the long-term plan and its supporting plans on leadership within local health and care systems, the roles that may emerge over time, and what knowledge, skills and support leaders need in the future. The report provides an overview of research carried out to better understand how leadership roles are changing in the health and social care sector, especially in collaborative and integrated health and care systems.

For more information click here.