By Care Quality Commission (2013)
This document outlines the new approach that CQC will be taking to the inspection of mental health services. The updated inspections will put a greater emphasis on inspecting the care that people with mental health problems receive in the community.
By The King’s Fund (2013)
This report presents the findings from a two-year research project funded by Aetna and the Aetna Foundation. It aimed to understand the key components of effective strategies employed by studying five UK-based programmes to deliver co-ordinated care for people with long-term and complex needs. It elicits some key lessons and markers for success to help identify how care co-ordination might be transferred from the UK to the US context.
By Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2013)
This set of resources aims to help individuals, groups, communities and neighbourhoods take a closer look at and to reduce loneliness. It includes a briefing on the causes of loneliness; guidance; and session plans.
By Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence (October 2013)
This guide provides two frameworks for conceptualising and planning improvement activities. The improvement continuum describes four categories of improvement activities: topic or microsystem, care co-ordination, defined population and community health. For each of these categories, the framework describes the skills, tools and teams that lead to successful improvement efforts. The guide also includes a leadership action model and a framework for how to use the improvement continuum.
By Department of Health (March 2013)
This report, commissioned by the Department of Health, provides evidence on the importance of post diagnostic support for people with dementia and their carers, and the role that dementia advisers and peer support networks can provide in this.
By Care Quality Commission (2013)
This survey of people who use community mental health services asks about the experiences of more than 13,000 people during the past 12 months. The survey involved 58 trusts in England who provide mental health services. It finds that care people receive in the community needs to improve. Of particular concern is people’s lack of involvement in their care plans and having their views taken into account when deciding which medication to take.
By The Centre for Social Justice (2013)
This report lays bare the reality of substance abuse and addiction in Britain today. This ongoing challenge affects millions of people and has huge costs. Alcohol abuse costs taxpayers £21 billion a year and drugs £15 billion. While costs matter, it is the human consequences that present the real tragedy. The abuse of substances is a pathway to poverty and can lead to family breakdown and child neglect, homelessness, crime, debt, and long-term worklessness. From its impact on children to its consequences for those in later life, addiction destroys lives, wrecks families and blights communities.
Steptoe, A. et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, March 25th 2013; doi: 10.1073/pnas.1219686110
Both social isolation and loneliness are associated with increased
mortality, but it is uncertain whether their effects are independent
or whether loneliness represents the emotional pathway through
which social isolation impairs health. We therefore assessed the
extent to which the association between social isolation and
mortality is mediated by loneliness. We assessed social isolation
in terms of contact with family and friends and participation in
civic organizations in 6,500 men and women aged 52 and older
who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing in
2004–2005. A standard questionnaire measure of loneliness was
administered also. We monitored all-cause mortality up to March
2012 (mean follow-up 7.25 y) and analyzed results using Cox proportional
hazards regression. We found that mortality was higher
among more socially isolated and more lonely participants. However,
after adjusting statistically for demographic factors and
baseline health, social isolation remained significantly associated
with mortality (hazard ratio 1.26, 95% confidence interval, 1.08–
1.48 for the top quintile of isolation), but loneliness did not (hazard
ratio 0.92, 95% confidence interval, 0.78–1.09). The association
of social isolation with mortality was unchanged when loneliness
was included in the model. Both social isolation and loneliness
were associated with increased mortality. However, the effect of
loneliness was not independent of demographic characteristics or
health problems and did not contribute to the risk associated with
social isolation. Although both isolation and loneliness impair
quality of life and well-being, efforts to reduce isolation are likely
to be more relevant to mortality.
By The Kings Fund (2013)
This case study looks at Oxleas Advanced Dementia Service, which provides care co-ordination, and specialist palliative care and support to patients with advanced dementia living at home. It is part of a research project undertaken by The King’s Fund and funded by Aetna and the Aetna Foundation in the United States to compare five successful UK-based models of care.
By WHO (2013)
Health 2020 is a value- and evidence-based health policy framework for health and well-being among the people of the WHO European Region. Health 2020 focuses on improving health for all and reducing health inequalities, through improved leadership and governance for health. It focuses on today’s major health problems. It identifies four priority areas for policy action and is innovative in terms of responses across all levels and sectors of government and society, emphasizing developing assets and resilience within communities, empowerment and creating supportive environments. It details the strengthened roles of public health services and the health system.