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Date of publication: Spetember 2011

Publication type: Research

In a nutshell: Observational study offering an economic evaluation of a Find and Treat service that both screens and manages tuberculosis cases. The service costs £1.4million per year and gains 220 QALYs. This gives an incremental cost effectiveness ratio of £6400-£10000/QALY gained.  Concludes that the two elements of the service are each cost-effective in their own right, as well as in combination.

Length of publication: 11 page pdf

Some important notes: This is an open access article, no Athens password is required.

Acknowledgement: HMIC

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Date of publication: November 2011

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: A study funded by the NHS in Scotland, found that a link between deprivation and bowel cancer deaths was mostly seen in men rather than women, with deprived men more likely to die from bowel cancer than the more affluent members of society.

Length of publication: Webpage

Scan or click to download 'Cities outlook 2011'

The Skinny: Report that highlights some of the challenges confronting cities today: economic development, unemployment, changing demographics, ever-increasing resident expectations – all
coupled with significantly reduced budgets. Leaders will need to act decisively and on a broader range of topics if their cities are to transition successfully into ‘Smarter Cities’.

Publisher: Centre for Cities

Published: 2011

Size: 68p.

Scan or click to download 'Health Impact Assessment of Liverpool City Council's Housing Strategy Statement'

Title: Health Impact Assessment of Liverpool City Council’s Housing Strategy Statement

The Skinny: Health Impact Assessment of Liverpool City Council’s Housing Strategy Statement, it identifies that in terms of:

1. Human Capital

1. Health and safety and occupational health training required for all new construction industry employees entering industry via local employment initiatives.

2. A employee focussed pro-active occupational health service should be provided for frontline staff.

3. Community consultation and involvement in stock clearance and redevelopment needs to be a major element of the housing market restructuring programme. All policies need to address:

1. Low levels of numeracy and literacy in parts of the community

2. Support frontline officers

3. Should offer dedicated resources to community involved in process.

4. Recruitment from the community to community development/involvement posts

2. Natural Resources

1. Must encourage use of brownfield sites and resource this

2. Prepare green construction code

3. Locate and replace lead piping using Public Service Agreement (PSA) for both social and private sector housing. United Utilities should resume the mains lead piping replacement policy and these should be monitored through the Liverpool Asset Management Programme.

3. Enviromental Protection

1. City council should complete travel plan

2. Major employers in city should develop travel plans

4. Social Capital

1. Explore possibilities of developing sustainable housing provision for key health care workers.

2. Shadowing between front line housing and healthcare staff should be explored.

3. Need to focus on the participation of children and young people, and, at a citywide level and resource this with staff.

4. Identify health centres, GP practices, churches and social locations that may facilitate access to older men living in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

5. Strengthen the outreach activities of health centres, GP practices, community-based health initiatives, churches and community development activities to socially excluded groups living in HMOs, especially in times of loss and other times of vulnerability.

6. Strengthen the effectiveness of facilities such as the Job Bank through developing outreach work and targeting unemployed people living in HMOs.

7. Commission more substantial research to identify the most appropriate ways to access hard to reach groups living in HMOs.

8. Ensure adequate resources for the purpose of comprehensive risk assessment of HMO properties.

9. Promote housing design with ground floor self contained flat accommodation and defensible space to increase safety.

10. Expand health links with information developments taking place in the city for example the development of Liverpool Direct and One Stop Shops for all public sector service queries.

Publisher: Liverpool City Council

Published: 2003

Size: 45p.

Scan or click to download 'Child and working age poverty and inequality in UK 2010'

Title: Child and working age poverty and inequality in UK 2010

The Skinny: Presents forecasts of relative and absolute income poverty in the UK among
children and working-age adults for each year between 2010– -11 and 2015—16, and for 2020– -
21, using a static microsimulation model augmented with forecasts of key economic and
demographic characteristics.

Publisher: Institute for Fiscal Studies

Published: October 2011

Size: 69p.

Scan or click to download 'Working Paper 134: The Impact of the Economic Downturn on Health in Wales A Review and Case Study'

Title: Impact of the Economic Downturn on Health in Wales A Review and Case Study

The Skinny: Literature review of what is known about the health impact of past recessions and their aftermaths, a qualitative case study of perceived current and potential health impacts on relevant statutory and voluntary services in two contrasting local authority areas, and a policy dialogue to discuss the findings with a small group of policy makers and service leads with national and local responsibilities.

The report concludes with a number of broad recommendations to support and guide decisions at national and local government levels.

Publisher: Cardiff School of Social Sciences

Published: November 2010

Size: 135p

Scan or click to download 'Mental health and the economic downturn: National priorities and NHS solutions'

The Skinny: Report that identifies priorities for the Government, NHS, commissioners and providers and identifies areas of potential efficiency against a backdrop where it is apparent that:

• Mental health problems have not only a human and social cost, but also an economic one, costing £110 billion a year
• Demand for mental health services is likely to increase as a result of unemployment, personal debt, home repossession and other fallout from the recession.
• At the same time, UK government and the devolved administrations are under pressure to reduce levels of spending on public services.

Publisher: Royal College of Psychiatrists

Published: October 2011

Size: 25p.

Scan or click to download ‘Social networks: Their role in addressing poverty’

The Skinny: Considers the role of social networks in delivering social capital and their consequential impact on poverty. Finds that they are not a substitute for financial resources. It is only those with sufficient financial resources that think it is. Investment, then, is still required. Where social networks do help people in poverty, there is no short cut or substitute for the kind of state-funded investments that have helped people to capitalise on the social networks they do have (training, financial support and effective equality practice). Suggests therefore that there is an over emphasis on the Big Society.

Publisher: JRF

Published: August 2011

Size: 22p.

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Date of publication: June 2011

Publication type: Press Release

In a nutshell: Research from King’s College London suggests more than 2,600 deaths in England from some of the most common types of cancer could be avoided each year if all cancer patients had the same chance of survival as the most affluent patients. More well-off patients had a better chance of survival than their less affluent counterparts.

Length of publication: Webpage

Some important notes: See also the Cancer Research UK Press Release Poorer women less likely to survive breast cancer

Source: Journal of Medical Screening, 2011, vol./is. 18/1, pages 24-9

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Follow this link for the full-text

Date of publication: March 2011

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: The Scottish national colorectal cancer screening programme sent out pre-notification letters two weeks ahead of the screening test kit. They found this to be an effective method of increasing uptake in colorectal cancer screening for both genders and all age and deprivation groups.

Length of publication: 6 pages

Some important notes: Original article may be available with an NHS Athens username; contact your local NHS library service for details Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

from Pediatrics

Boston, MA – Black Medicare patients are significantly more likely to be readmitted to the hospital after an initial hospitalization for congestive heart failure, acute MI, and pneumonia, according to the results of a new study . In addition, patients discharged from minority-serving hospitals also had significantly higher rates of readmission compared with non-minority-serving hospitals, report investigators.

Michael O’Riordan. MI and CHF readmission rates higher in black patients . theheart.org. [Clinical Conditions > Acute Coronary Syndromes > Acute coronary syndromes]; Feb 15, 2011. Accessed at http://www.theheart.org/article/1185465.do on Feb 15, 2011. (Requires free registration.)

from Revista de Sociedade Brasileira de Fonoaudiologia

Fade Fave: Comparative appraisal of educational inequalities in overweight and obesity among adults in 19 European countries

Fade Skinny: In Western societies, a lower educational level is often associated with a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. This article aims to describe educational inequalities in overweight and obesity across Europe, and to explore the contribution of level of socio-economic development to cross-national differences in educational inequalities in overweight and obese adults in Europe.

An NHS Athens password is required to access this article online, alternatively contact the library for a copy of the article.

Fade Fave: Association of Socioeconomic Position With Health Behaviors and Mortality

Fade Skinny: This article examines the role of health behaviors in the association between socioeconomic position and mortality and compare whether their contribution differs when assessed at only 1 point in time with that assessed longitudinally through the follow-up period.

This article can be accessed online using an NHS Athens password alternatively contact the Library for a copy of this article.

Fade Fave: The effect of socio-economic deprivation on severity of glaucoma at presentation

Fade Skinny: Age and socio-economic deprivation were associated with severity of glaucoma at presentation, with patients from areas of higher socio-economic deprivation presenting with more advanced glaucoma.

(NHS Athens is required to access this article online)

Source: British Journal of Cancer, 2009, 101, S60–S63.

Follow this link for  abstract.

Follow this link for  fulltext.

Date of publication: December, 2009

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell:  The study examined the uptake of colorectal cancer screening using the faecal occult blood test (FOBT) in London in relation to area-level socio-economic deprivation. 401 197 individuals were sent a test kit. Uptake was defined as the return of a completed test kit within a 3 month period. Lower return rates were associated with area-level household mobility, ethnic diversity and poor health. The results demonstrated a strong socio-economic gradient in FOBT uptake. The study highlights the need to understand causes of socio-economic gradients in screening participation.

Length of publication: 4 pages

Some important notes: Fulltext is available through some NHS Athens Accounts (North West PCTs). Please contact your local NHS Library if you need an NHS Athens Account or to request the fulltext if your NHS Athens Account won’t allow you to access it. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

 Acknowledgement: PubMed

Fade Fave: Education and risk for acute myocardial infarction in 52 high, middle and low-income countries: INTERHEART case-control study

Fade Skinny: Aims to identify the effect of education and other measures of socioeconomic status (SES) on risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in patients and controls from countries with diverse economic circumstances (high, middle, and low income countries). Finds low education was the marker most consistently associated with increased risk for AMI globally, most markedly in high-income countries.

(NHS Athens is required to access this article online)

• Males in the professional class had a life expectancy at birth of 80.0, compared with 72.7 years for those in the manual unskilled class

• Females in the professional class had a life expectancy at birth of 85.1 years compared with 78.1 years for the unskilled manual class

• Unskilled men (Social Class V) aged 65 could expect to live a further 14.1 years, fractionally above the expectation of life professional men would have had in 1972-76 (14.0 years)

• Unskilled women aged 65 had an expectation of life of 17.7 years, less than professional women in 1972-76 (19.1 years)

Details can be found in Variations persist in life expectancy by social class – 2002-2005 data.

If you want to see what the mass media said about it you can do so here.

Urban Appalachian

• An “invisible minority”
• Generally white, mostly Baptist or Pentecostal and blue-collar
• A distinct dialect: “Mountaineer” accent
• Stereotypes: “ignorant, lazy, immoral, unclean”, “hillbilly”
• Viewed as “unfit parents” by school personnel

Appalachian Culture

• Not recognized as an ethnic group
• Not accepted by the main stream
• Outsider status within the city
• Return often to “down home”
• Value personal relationships

Culture, as a family

• Poor, urban, totally non-literate
• Print was nearly non-existent in the home
• Parents, Big Donnie & Jennie did not read or write
• Relied on memory for directions & information
• Used landmarks, not signs to navigate the city
• Knowledge was acquired and passed on orally