Background: Uptake of information and communication technology (ICT) by individuals with diabetes can assist nursing care delivery, and improve patient outcomes. However, it is unclear how such uptake relates to ethnic differences in diabetes risk. Aim: To assess the moderating effects of ICT uptake on South Asian excess diabetes prevalence over a specific elapsed timeframe, accounting for selected environmental, socio-economic, and behavioural risk factors. Method: Archived data from a UK Office for National Statistics household survey 2006-2011 (120 621 partly non-orthogonal participant records) were analysed using hierarchical binary logistic regression analyses. Results: ICT uptake qualified ethnic differences in diabetes prevalence. Non-smoking diabetes cases living in terraced housing with a home computer were more likely to be South Asian than Caucasian. By contrast, such cases were more likely to be Caucasian if a computer was unavailable (OR: 0.61; CI: 0.43-0.86; P=0.005). Furthermore, diabetes cases from low-income, mobile-dependent homes were probably South Asian (OR: 0.05; CI: 0.00-0.50; P=0.012). Conclusions: Home computing was linked to better tobacco control among South Asians with diabetes living in terraced properties. Mobile phone dependence was pronounced in those that received income support. Implications for nursing care are considered. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
'More than three-quarters (168) of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), in partnership with 132 local authorities, have submitted 66 joint Expressions of Interest to become part of the first phase of roll-out of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP).'
Doing nothing is no longer an option when it comes to clinicians embracing digital technology and information.
That was the clear message from Beverley Bryant to the Sustainable Healthcare Conference staged at the King’s Fund.
NHS England and the Department of Education have joined forces to launch a multimillion pound joint mental health pilot scheme for hundreds of schools.
The Mental Health Services and Schools Link Pilots will test a named single point of contact in 255 schools and in 22 pilot areas, meaning more joined up working between schools and health services. This has been backed by £3m of government funding.
A patient safety alert has been issued by NHS England to raise awareness of the importance of taking, recording and responding to vital signs where restraint has been used to manage a person’s behaviour if they are at risk to themselves or others.
Nurses hold children to administer treatment, prevent treatment interference and undertake clinical assessments, which can sometimes be invasive, as part of their regular duties. Clinical holding ensures this treatment or assessment is carried out safely, however, it has been reported that there is little training available in this area. This article explores the prevalent clinical holding techniques used by nursing staff when caring for children with behaviours that challenge. As an initial insight into what the researchers hope will become a more in-depth 2-year study, this investigation looks to explore current practice when holding children and the factors influencing this. It is hoped that this will inform the development of a training package offered to nurses when caring for these children. Thirteen semi-structured interviews took place with a small group of nurses, which were given thematic analysis. The overarching themes influencing holding practice were the nursing role itself along with intrinsic and external factors. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
'Digital technology can radically improve care, transform the relationship between clinician and patient and place power in the hands of the people to take more control of their wellbeing. But universality, equity and quality must be at the heart of how we adopt, build and scale these technologies. We must ensure that no-one is left behind.'
The American Psychological Association today indexed its 4 millionth record in its PsycINFO® database of scholarly psychology literature.
This achievement is the result of over eight decades of detailed abstracting and indexing of international literature in the field of psychology and its related disciplines. Since reaching 3 million records in 2010, more than 200 new journals and more than 10,000 new books have been added to the PsycINFO database, bringing overall journal coverage to more than 2,570 journals. All of these changes have been necessary to cover the expanding and increasingly interdisciplinary literature of interest to psychologists around the world.
Until recently, the focus of many within the 'autism service industry' has been on children and young adults who are on the autism spectrum where 'service transition' usually refers specifically to the transition from children to adult service provision. This article explores 'service transition' from the opposite end of the age scale, that of old age, and incorporates the views of older adults who are on the autism spectrum. In order to design and provide a service that is 'fit for purpose', training of health professionals and consulting with people on the autism spectrum is crucial. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
Blog post. Scouring the Web to learn new ways to instill better health habits? Trying to find the best health app to lose weight or reduce stress? Or maybe you’re posting on Twitter and Facebook to try to build a supportive community for your healthy goals. Online and mobile health interventions are getting easier to come by but psychologists say that while social media and Internet-based treatment programs can be beneficial, there is a need for rigorous methods to help guide the development and evaluation of these programs and apps.
'the study can only demonstrate associations between the data. We cannot say for sure that the WCAs were the direct cause of the mental health outcomes examined.'
The central public health challenge for winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is recurrence prevention. Preliminary studies suggest better long-term outcomes following cognitive-behavioral therapy tailored for SAD (CBT-SAD) than light therapy. The present study is a large, randomized head-to-head comparison of these treatments on outcomes one and two winters after acute treatment. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
'The study is undoubtedly of value in furthering our understanding of the brain structure of people who experience abnormal perceptions. However, further research is needed to investigate whether this is a risk factor or a consequence of the condition. As such, at present it has no preventative or therapeutic implications.'
The authors compared the effectiveness of initiating treatment with either clozapine or a standard antipsychotic among adults with evidence of treatment-resistant schizophrenia in routine clinical practice. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
The authors evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of cariprazine, an atypical antipsychotic candidate, in adult patients with acute bipolar I depression. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
'As the review authors suggest, more research with well-designed trials is needed to better assess the benefits and harms of the treatment, preferably with some subgroup analyses to see if it is possible to identify those who might have better or worse outcomes.'
In healthy individuals, autobiographical memory recall is biased toward positive and away from negative events, while the opposite is found in depressed individuals. This study examined amygdala activity during autobiographical memory recall as a putative mechanism underlying biased memory recall and depressive symptoms in currently depressed adults and two vulnerable populations: individuals remitted from depression and otherwise healthy individuals at high familial risk of developing depression. Identification of such vulnerability factors could enable interception strategies that prevent depression onset. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
'Researchers hope their work could help scientists develop new treatments to delay the common form of Alzheimer's disease, which affects almost 500,000 people in the UK.
However, it is too early to say whether the findings apply to people outside this unique Colombian family.'
Accumulating evidence indicates that manic symptoms below the threshold for hypomania (mixed features) are common in individuals with major depressive disorder. This form of depression is often severe and is associated with an increased risk for recurrence, suicide attempts, substance abuse, and functional disability. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of lurasidone in major depressive disorder with mixed features. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
'The results of this study are interesting, but should be treated with caution. The study only compared 13 healthy weight men with 10 overweight or obese men in the first part of the study, and just six men having weight loss surgery. These are very small numbers.
Similarly, we don't yet know whether the genetic changes identified in the overweight men will make their children more or less likely to be obese themselves, as this was not investigated in the study.'
Previous studies suggested that the treatment response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in major depressive disorder follows a flat response curve within the therapeutic dose range. The present study was designed to clarify the relationship between dosage and treatment response in major depressive disorder. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
This study evaluated the impact of antipsychotic review, social interaction, and exercise, in conjunction with person-centered care, on antipsychotic use, agitation, and depression in people with dementia living in nursing homes. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
'However, when looked at in its overall context, the study found only a small increased risk of a child developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – estimated to be less than 1 in 100 (0.72% of all births in this study).'
'A small study suggests the widely used painkiller does not help combat the overall effects of infection. The trial specifically looked at whether paracetamol had any effect on the amount of flu virus in the body (viral load). But it should be stressed this is something paracetamol is not designed to do. Paracetamol is designed to relieve symptoms, not cure any underlying infection.'
'The research compared modern antidepressants such as paroxetine, citalopram and fluoxetine, with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – a type of talking therapy aimed at helping people change unhelpful ways of thinking and behaving.
It found both treatments worked more or less equally well for the initial treatment of people with moderate to severe depression. However, the study did not say if either treatment was effective at preventing depression from returning at some point in the future or who responds best to which type of treatment.
The authors of the review, which included 11 studies involving 1,511 patients, concluded that people should be offered a choice of treatment.'
The question of whether there are significant changes in brain anatomy and function at illness onset and over the early course of schizophrenia is a crucial issue with broad implications for prognosis, patient care, and models of illness pathophysiology. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
Although mortality related to psychotropic medications has received much attention in recent years, little is known about the relationship between risk of death and cumulative antipsychotic load, and even less about the relationship between mortality and cumulative exposure to antidepressants or benzodiazepines. The authors examined these relationships using nationwide databases. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - www.sssft.nhs.uk/library
A systematic scoping review of peer-reviewed articles published from 1994 through 2014 explored home modifications and AD. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Assessment of the psychometric properties of the FLOTCA resulted in high interrater reliability, internal consistency and construct validity along with moderate ecological validity. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Findings from this study of 26 community-dwelling older adults suggest that postural sway responses depend on the integration of sensory information including head position, standing surface, and vision. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
A cross-sectional study with a convenience sample of 116 healthy participants illuminated the ways in which adult attachment, sensory processing, and distress may be interrelated in healthy adults. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Health care and educational legislation and policy require that clinicians demonstrate, using measurement and report of outcomes, accountability for services rendered. Clinical algorithms have been developed and are used by various health care professionals to assist with hypothesis generation and systematic clinical reasoning; however, they do not explicitly guide measurement of outcomes as part of the reasoning process. Schaaf and colleagues developed the Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) process to address the greater need for outcome measurement, systematically support decision making, target intervention more precisely, and measure and document outcomes. This article describes the application of the DDDM process with a child with ASD who received occupational therapy using Ayres Sensory Integration®. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Little is known about sons’ roles in caring for a parent with dementia. To ensure that interventions and practices appropriately match sons’ needs, we investigated their experiences. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Three-quarters of people with an alcohol use disorder in the USA never receive treatment. Our understandings of who receives care are informed by sociological perspectives, theories and models, each of which discuss the role of lay people's understanding of illness. However, comparatively little work has been done to unpack the cognitive processes underlying lay assessment. In the context of the Framework Integrating Normative Influences on Stigma (FINIS), we aim to understand key factors guiding lay people's stigmatizing attitudes, perceptions and assessments of alcohol use disorder behaviors. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
To test the total consumption model claiming that alcohol-related ill health can best be diminished by a policy of severe restrictions and high price. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
To review the international guidelines and recommendations on survey instruments for measurement of alcohol consumption in population surveys and to examine how national surveys in England meet the core recommendations. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
A substantial number of university students exceed alcohol guidelines. Impulsivity has been repeatedly implicated in heavy alcohol use, yet despite knowledge that impulsivity is multifaceted, there have previously been few studies applying multiple measures of self-report and behavioural impulsivity to examine the relationship with excessive student drinking. This results in a limited understanding of the relationship of various facets of impulsivity to student drinking. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Empirical data concerning the long-term psychosocial development of adolescents admitted to inpatient treatment with alcohol intoxication (AIA) are lacking. The aim of this study was to identify the factors that, at the time of admission, predict future substance use, alcohol use disorders (AUD), mental health treatment, delinquency and life satisfaction. Library Services do not currently have access to this journal, but you can request a copy of the article online and we will try to get a copy to you: http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Open access. Crohn's disease (CD) is rapidly increasing in children so an up to date knowledge of diagnosis, investigation and management is essential. Exclusive enteral nutrition is the first line treatment for active disease. The vast majority of children will need immunosuppressant treatment and around 20% will need treatment with biologics. Recent guidelines have helped make best use of available therapies.
Other than as a sanction for criminal acts, adults with capacity cannot in England be deprived of their liberty. But children and young people, competent or otherwise, have their liberty curtailed as a matter of course by their parents. The parent would regard this restriction of their child's freedom as common sense, while the law would view the parental restrictions as the exercise of their duty to ensure their offspring's welfare. On what legal basis can doctors justify depriving patients of their liberty to enable treatment? And to what extent is parents’ curtailment of their offspring's liberty to enable medical treatment lawful, following the recent decision in Trust A v X & Ors? To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Editorial. Over the last few years, and after a long period of relative neglect, the outcomes of babies born from 32 weeks’ gestation up to ‘term’ have received increasing attention from researchers, and several papers on this topic have been published in Archives of Disease in Childhood. It is clear that being born moderately preterm is associated with a spectrum of disadvantage that affects various domains of development at 2 years,1 and cognitive, behavioural and emotional functions well into the school years. But how much is this because of preterm delivery itself, and how much is moderate prematurity merely a marker for other factors that are the real causes of suboptimal outcomes in childhood? To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were frequently used as polytherapy until evidence from a series of studies in the late 1970s and early 1980s suggested that patients derive as much benefit from monotherapy as polytherapy.1–3 AED polytherapy is increasingly becoming popular again and as much as 30–40% of prescriptions to children are polytherapy. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Sleep problems in bipolar disorder (BD) are common, but reported rates vary from 10% to 80%, depending on definitions, methodologies and management of potential confounding factors. This multicenter study seeks to address these issues and also compares BD cases with Hypersomnia as well as the more commonly investigated Insomnia and No Sleep Problem groups. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Mental health hospital admissions present an opportunity for brief motivational interventions focussed on substance misuse and can lead to improvements in engagement. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are core features of psychotic illness and remain significant in predicting poor outcome and risk. There has been a wide range of approaches to understanding these experiences.To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
High intrinsic and extrinsic religiosities are likely to be associated with positive coping skills and better treatment outcome in patients with depression or diabetes. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Amongst children and young people the point prevalence of depression ranges from 1.9-3.4% in primary school children and from 3.2-8.9% in adolescents (Birmaher et al, 1996; Costello et al, 2003; Kovacs et al, 1984).
At this stage, it is pretty well known that negative attitudes held towards people with mental health problems (stigma) are responsible for harm against an already vulnerable group. However, such stigma is still very common, so like Winnie the Pooh wallpaper, it bears repeating. This is not about offence; although some views held can be pretty offensive, but actual harm.
This study asked a group of people with learning disabilities in Ireland what was important to them about their dental services.
The group easily ordered their priorities according to five topics: Access, Cost, Information, Quality of Care and Treatment.
The group's discussion revealed a disempowered group who had little control over how they interacted with dental services.
We suggest ways to empower people with learning disabilities in their interactions with dental services.
When you take a look back at the year just gone, do you see any times of real change? A turning point, perhaps – or maybe a transition? No, I’m not repeating myself: although many of us, including those who research our autobiographical memories, use them interchangeably, these two kinds of important life events are distinct, and as new research in Applied Cognitive Psychology shows, both have their own role in helping us organise our past.
Patients with takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy were three times as likely as those who had had a typical heart attack to have received an acute or chronic psychiatric diagnosis.
A meta-analysis identifies a treatment combination involving cognitive-behavioral therapy that may help patients with major depressive disorder stave off relapse.
This year, 2014/15 the Open Athens statistics for health care libraries in the North West have been calculated differently. There are three measures [description came from what I highlighted, which was different to box below. Don't choose Post as Publication option]
This is a reflection on Yammer, an enterprise social media system. It’s a kind of Facebook for corporations and organisations. Yammer works using your work eMail address. Register with Yammer using your eMail and you are in a space with your co-workers. Yammer is owned by Microsoft and run from their Office division, so you might reasonably expect Yammer to come to a Trust near you in the not too distant future. [copied through automatically]
We're currently making some changes in the background of our email updates to solve some problems we've been having recently. During our testing phase this may automatically generate some alerts, which will show below, but you can ignore these! If all goes according to plan we will be resuming normal service in the next week…
Rationale and key points
This article aims to help healthcare professionals to check the arterial pulse. It focuses on the radial pulse, and also briefly considers the brachial and carotid pulses. The arterial pulse provides information about the patient’s condition and is therefore a vital sign. Checking the pulse is an essential clinical skill for healthcare professionals.
▶
Palpating the pulse tells us the patient’s heart rate.
▶
It also provides information on the regularity, volume and character of the pulse. Loging using NHS Athens to access full text
Online “brain training” games can improve the cognitive skills of older adults and help them perform day to day tasks such as shopping and managing finances, a study has found. Loging using NHS Athens to access full text
Ideas to make an impact on patient care and quality improvement
COPD and inhaler technique
Regular review of inhaler technique could reduce … Login using NHS Athens