health

A review of the cost-effectiveness of individual level behaviour change interventions

Report, commissioned by the Health and Well-Being Alliance, which considers the economic case for implementing behaviour change interventions across the North West to tackle issues such as alcohol consumption at increasing and higher risk levels, smoking, obesity and increasing physical activity levels both in and out of the workplace.

It focuses on the delivery of education or communication based interventions.

Preventing infection in care: safe management of waste

Care homes for older people produce many different types of waste some of which requires special handling and disposal. This would include waste such as sharps, used continence products, wound dressings from individuals and waste generated from people who have or may have an infection, particularly during an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting.

This video resource documents the safe disposal of all waste by those involved in the handling, transporting and processing of it.

Challenge question: How can our work improve the health of children, young people and families living in poverty? How can this be reflected in health strategies?

Child Poverty challenge question postcards on health published by Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children's and Young People's Services (C4EO). This downloadable postcard present challenge questions from C4EO’s research. The questions act as checklists to stimulate multi-agency thinking and help you develop your Child Poverty strategy and practice. There are questions for strategic leaders in children’s services, housing professionals, health professionals and frontline practitioners.

GP budget holding: lessons from across the pond and from the NHS (Policy paper 7)

Paper which draws on evidence from the US as well as on previous experience in the NHS of GP commissioning in different forms, to identify lessons for policy makers as they take this policy forward.

While the government is on the right lines in promoting GP budget holding, the paper suggests that there is a need for caution in promoting budget holding as a universal solution without regard to the capabilities of practices to manage a budget and the safeguards that need to be put in place to avoid the downside risks.

In Sickness and in Health

Data from the Census in 2001 found that carers are a third more likely to be in poor health than non carers. The more recent Scottish Household Survey found that 12% of carers reported that they were in poor health. This increases to 18% for those caring for 20 hours or more each week. 12% of people termed in the Scottish Household Survey as “economically inactive” providing care also consider themselves to be permanent sick or disabled.