Liz Hughes summarises a recent rapid review on integrated care to address the physical health needs of people with severe mental illness.
[read the full story...]
Mark Horowitz summarises a recent study that investigates the impact that socio-economic gradients have on mental well-being. He finds to his surprise that the relationship between socio-economic characteristics and low mental well-being is not the inverse of the relationship with high mental well-being.
[read the full story...]
We know that people with learning disabilities have poorer health than those without learning disabilities and may also receive poorer quality healthcare. Emergency or unplanned readmissions may be one indicator of the quality of care.
Here, Pauline Heslop considers a study which looked at such readmissions for people with learning disabilities and those without to see how they compared and how far such readmissions may have been preventable.
[read the full story...]
Sarah Carr explores a study on the inclusion of LGBT issues in health and social care education and accreditation and finds worrying marginalisation.
[read the full story...]
Previous studies have suggested that women with learning disabities can feel frustrated at their lack of preparation for attendance for a mammogram.
Here Rosalyn Hithersay looks at a study, which sets out to develop a measure of preparedness for the procedure.
[read the full story...]
Alison Turner summarises the Department of Health’s Future in Mind report, which builds on the work of the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce and sets out a vision for increased coordination and collaboration to improve mental health and wellbeing in children and young people.
[read the full story...]
People with learning disabilities experience health inequalities and can face significant barriers in accessing healthcare. Whilst doctors have traditionally received little specific training in this area, there are increasingly new initiatives aimed at changing attitudes and improving knowledge and skills.
Here, in her debut blog, Genevieve Young Southward looks at an Australian initiative that aimed to involve people with disabilities directly in the training of medical students.
[read the full story...]
Despite an increasing body of research evidence that demonstrates the ongoing health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities, there have been few changes in policy and practice.
In her debut blog, Rosalyn Hithersay presents a paper that describes a series of workshops that took place in 2013 with the aim of addressing this shift from evidence to action.
[read the full story...]
Mark Horowitz summarises the new WHO and UCL Institute of Health Equity (Michael Marmot) report and research paper on social determinants of mental health. He concludes that it’s time to focus on the root causes of mental distress, namely poverty, unemployment, poor education and social isolation.
[read the full story...]
John Baker summarises a recent Cochrane systematic review of cultural competence education for health professionals, which tentatively concludes that low quality evidence supports this approach.
[read the full story...]
