In her blog, Lindsey Pike of RiPfA examines a literature review on adult safeguarding in Britain and considers the implications for Care Act implementation.
[read the full story...]Return to work practices for musculoskeletal and mental health conditions
Heather Gray summarises a review of best practice in work absence management and return to work programmes for people with musculoskeletal and mental health conditions.
[read the full story...]Social determinants of mental health: how our societies are making us mentally unwell and what we can do about it
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...]Cognitive impairment in dementia need not prevent shared decision making
In her first blog for the Social Care Elf, Caroline Struthers looks at research on cognitive impairment and shared decision making for people with dementia and offers useful tips on understanding research reviews. She also shares some of her own personal experience of the research topic and reminds us about reliable evidence having real-life applications.
[read the full story...]Do perinatal mental health problems cost the UK £8 billion per year?
A recent report estimated the societal cost of perinatal mental health problems to be £8 billion, but should we believe it? Chris Sampson advises caution.
[read the full story...]Sex education programmes focused on ‘protection’ and ‘prevention’ with little attention given to supporting people to develop healthy, positive sexual relationships
Knowledge about sexuality is a key factor in helping people develop healthy relationships, maintain their sexual health and avoid potentially abusive situations, but how much do sexuality education programmes for people with learning disabilities help fulfil these aims?
In her debut blog, Sian Anderson looks at a review of literature which looks at the effectiveness of sex education programmes and educational materials developed for people with mild or moderate learning disabilities.
[read the full story...]E-cigarettes: a review of the evidence-base for regulation
Sally Adams summarises a recent review of e-cigarettes, which looks at use, content, safety, effects on smokers and the potential for harm and benefit.
[read the full story...]Can intermittent fasting improve mood?
Intermittent fasting is all the rage these days, but is the practice backed up by any reliable research? Mark Horowitz investigates, but has he bitten off more than he can chew?
[read the full story...]Review finds lack of published, robust evidence on impact of advocacy in social care services
Background A recent report from the Improving Health and Lives team suggested that over half of the advocacy organisations in the UK provide services for people with learning disabilities. The report pointed out that given the increasing move towards personalisation and the changes taking place in the organization of commissioning, that there was likely to [read the full story…]
ADHD and the importance of healthy sleep
Good sleep is a crucial part of our physical and mental well-being. We typically spend about a third of our lives asleep but when we miss out on sleep, we can feel fatigued and struggle to concentrate. Sleep problems are generally quite common and have been reported as one of the most common health conditions [read the full story…]