Public Health

Current awareness updates

Physical activity in disabled children and disabled young people: evidence review.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); 2022.
[Findings of a rapid evidence review into the health benefits and potential risks of physical activity for children and young people who have disabilities.]

d-Nav insulin management app for type 2 diabetes.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2022.
[d‑Nav is an app used for guiding insulin dosing for adults with type 2 diabetes. The innovative aspects are the insulin dose can be calculated and adjusted based on a person’s current and historic blood glucose levels on a weekly basis and without healthcare professional approval. The intended place in therapy would be to help optimise insulin dosage in people with type 2 diabetes.]

Is there an effective dose of aerobic exercise associated with better executive function in youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?
Khodaverdi Z. Child Neuropsychology 2021;:doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2021.1992378.
[Conclusion: Different dosage of aerobic exercise might differently influence aspects of executive function; however, this finding rests on preliminary evidence at this stage and thus should be treated with caution.It is necessary to establish suitable interventions with regard to the dosage of aerobic exercise types to improve executive function in young people with ADHD.]

Emotional Support

Online resources – SAM self-help app

SAM is an app to help you understand and manage anxiety. The app has been developed in collaboration with a research team from UWE, Bristol.

SAM will help you to understand what causes your anxiety, monitor your anxious thoughts and behaviour over time and manage your anxiety through self-help exercises and private reflection.

Download the app here.

Reducing stress

A science based app for meditation and mindfulness

Headspace aims to support people to reduce stress, build resilience and aid better sleep.

Even better… they are offering free access to their app to all NHS staff until the 31st December. Simply sign up here with your NHS email account.

News

NHS may use people’s phone data to predict mental health issues

Following a successful trial, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust is considering the roll-out of an app with a machine-learning algorithm that uses mobile phone data to predict who is at risk of having a mental health crisis.

Read more here