By The Royal College of Nursing (2012)
This publication examines the background and development of the assistant practitioner role in children and young people’s services and looks at key policy issues as well as detailing recommendations for future development and implementation.
By ChaMPs (2012)
This film features the National Child Measurement Programme, a mandatory function that is soon to move from NHS to local authority control. The Director of Public Health for Knowsley talks about the importance of the programme and lessons learned and a local head teacher comments on how it is more effectively run through schools.
Beckett V. et al. Archives of Diseases in Childhood, 2012; 97: 838-841
Parents administer oral medications with various measuring devices including metal teaspoons, calibrated spoons and oral syringes. We aimed to determine which was the most accurate. The calibrated spoon was the most accurate producing a mean volume of 5 ml, while the oral syringe had the smallest variance. The increased variability of calibrated or metal spoons may result in under or overdosing especially when administering drugs with a narrow therapeutic window. Health care professionals must make a case-by-case decision regarding which device is preferable depending on the medication in question. Parental education could improve measuring accuracy.
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Quadri-Sheriff, M. et al. Pediatrics, 2012; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-0140
Herd immunity is an important benefit of childhood immunization, but it is unknown if the concept of benefit to others influences parents’ decisions to immunize their children. Our objective was to determine if the concept of “benefit to others” has been found in the literature to influence parents’ motivation for childhood immunization.
By Community Care Online (2012)
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to risk assessing parents who misuse drugs and alcohol. Each case is different, depending on the circumstances. Community Care asked three experts what children’s social workers should look out for.
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Jimenez Soto, E. et al. PLOS Medicine, 2012; 9 (8)
Summary points
At the sub-national level—where most health services are delivered—critical knowledge and capacity gaps exist, which prevent evidence from making a direct contribution to health plans and budgets.
The Investment Case framework pairs locally led problem-solving analysis with quantitative techniques to inform local planning and decision-making.
The framework allows for the development of locally appropriate strategies to overcome identified health system constraints and it estimates cost and impact should such strategies be implemented.
The varied success of this initiative in terms of influencing annual plans and budgets reflects the political nature of resource allocation and the need to embed such approaches in the local policy process.
To sustain evidence-based planning, we propose a collaborative arrangement that allows researchers to address specific evidence gaps and health managers to focus on their core business of delivering universal health coverage.
Duncanson, K et al. BMC Public Health, 2012; 12: 564
The Feeding Healthy Food to Kids (FHFK) Randomised Control Trial (RCT) examines the impact of providing low cost, self-directed nutrition and parenting resources to rural parents, on child dietary intake and parent-child feeding practices.
By The Children’s Commissioner (2012)
A paper by the children’s watchdog for England examined inequalities in health service outcomes for children, and made a series of recommendations for tackling them.
By Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (2012)
This guidance was produced in collaboration with the Royal College of Midwives and the National Childbirth Trust and aims to give CCGs advice and evidence-based information relating to some key issues to the commissioning and provision of maternity services in England.
By Department of Health (2012)
This guidance provides a structured approach on common issues associated with maternal mental health and wellbeing, from pregnancy through the early months after the birth. It focuses on the role of the health visitor but also recognises the contributions of partners in midwifery, mental health, general practice and the third sector. It aims to strengthen the consistent provision support and care through enhanced partnership working.