Public health measures to reduce smoking prevalence in the UK: how many lives could be saved?

Background: To date, there appears to be no evidence on the longer-term impacts caused by COVID-19 and its related public health restrictions on some of the most vulnerable in our societies. The aim of this research was to explore the change in impact of COVID-19 public health measures on the mental wellbeing of people living with dementia (PLWD) and unpaid carers. Method: Semi-structured, follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with PLWD and unpaid carers between June and July 2020. Participants were asked about their experiences of accessing social support services during the pandemic, and the impact of restrictions on their daily lives. Results: 20 interviews were conducted and thematically analyzed, which produced 3 primary themes concerning emotional responses and impact to mental health and wellbeing during the course of the pandemic: 1) Impact on mental health during lockdown, 2) Changes to mental health following easing of public health, and 3) The long-term effect of public health measures. Conclusions: The findings from this research shed light on the longer-term psychological impacts of the UK Government’s public health measures on PLWD and their carers. The loss of social support services was key in impacting this cohort mentally and emotionally, displaying a need for better psychological support, for both carers and PLWD.

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The potential dangers of not understanding COVID-19 public health restrictions in dementia: “It’s a groundhog day – every single day she does not understand why she can’t go out for a walk”

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10815-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Clarissa Giebel ◽

Kerry Hanna ◽

Manoj Rajagopal ◽

Aravind Komuravelli ◽

Jacqueline Cannon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Third Sector ◽

Cognitive Capacity ◽

The Public ◽

Health Measures ◽

Third Sector Organisations ◽

The Uk ◽

Second Wave

Abstract Background Sudden public health restrictions can be difficult to comprehend for people with cognitive deficits. However, these are even more important for them to adhere to due to their increased levels of vulnerability, particularly to COVID-19. With a lack of previous evidence, we explored the understanding and changes in adherence to COVID-19 public health restrictions over time in people living with dementia (PLWD). Methods Unpaid carers and PLWD were interviewed over the phone in April 2020, shortly after the nationwide UK lockdown, with a proportion followed up from 24th June to 10th July. Participants were recruited via social care and third sector organisations across the UK, and via social media. Findings A total of 70 interviews (50 baseline, 20 follow-up) were completed with unpaid carers and PLWD. Five themes emerged: Confusion and limited comprehension; Frustration and burden; Putting oneself in danger; Adherence to restrictions in wider society; (Un) changed perceptions. Most carers reported limited to no understanding of the public health measures in PLWD, causing distress and frustration for both the carer and the PLWD. Due to the lack of understanding, some PLWD put themselves in dangerous situations without adhering to the restrictions. PLWD with cognitive capacity who participated understood the measures and adhered to these. Discussion In light of the new second wave of the pandemic, public health measures need to be simpler for PLWD to avoid unwilful non-adherence. Society also needs to be more adaptive to the needs of people with cognitive disabilities more widely, as blanket rules cause distress to the lives of those affected by dementia.

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Unusual case of suspected recurrent scarlet fever in a UK serviceman

Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps ◽

10.1136/jramc-2018-000961 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 164 (2) ◽

pp. 130-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rachel Phillips ◽

A J Martin-Bates ◽

R Withnall

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Scarlet Fever ◽

Unusual Case ◽

Streptococcal Infection ◽

Armed Forces ◽

Disease Spread ◽

Health Measures ◽

Group A ◽

Risk Of Disease ◽

The Uk

The UK prevalence of scarlet fever, a Group A streptococcal infection, is increasing. We present an unusual case of suspected recurrent scarlet fever in a member of the UK Armed Forces. Treatments, occupational implication and public health measures to mitigate the risk of disease spread.

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GENERATIONAL CHANGES IN HEIGHT AND BODY MASS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH ASIANS AND THE GENERAL POPULATION IN GLASGOW

Journal of Biosocial Science ◽

10.1017/s0021932097001016 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 101-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

MANFUSA SHAMS ◽

RORY WILLIAMS

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

General Population ◽

Positive Selection ◽

South Asian ◽

Generational Differences ◽

Health Measures ◽

Generational Changes ◽

British Asians ◽

The Uk ◽

Selection Of

A weighted total of 630 pupils aged 14–15 in Glasgow schools, about evenly divided between pupils of South Asian and non-Asian (overwhelmingly British) background, were measured for height and weight and compared with previous results for a similar Glasgow sample aged 30–40. Among 14–15-year-olds, British Asians were not so short compared with non-Asians as among 30–40-year-olds, especially females. Among 30–40-year-old Glasgow Asians only 7% were born in the UK, while among 14–15-year-old Glasgow Asians 86% were so born, indicating that they are the children of migrants. Generational differences in these comparisons cannot be due to positive selection of the migrant generation for height, and are attributed to improved environment, including nutrition and public health measures. This suggests the possibility of corresponding improvements in coronary and diabetic risk.

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Notes on policing, racism and the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK

Race & Class ◽

10.1177/03063968211063436 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 63 (3) ◽

pp. 92-102

Author(s):

Scarlet Harris ◽

Remi Joseph-Salisbury ◽

Patrick Williams ◽

Lisa White

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Race Relations ◽

Research Report ◽

Ethnic Communities ◽

Police Violence ◽

Police Powers ◽

Health Measures ◽

Rule Breaking ◽

The Uk ◽

Minority Ethnic

This commentary excerpts from the research report ‘A threat to public safety: policing, racism and the Covid-19 pandemic’, carried out by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) and published by the Institute of Race Relations in September 2021. One of the only pieces of research based on the experiences of the policed and their testimonies, the report suggests that policing during the Covid-19 pandemic undermines public health measures whilst disproportionately targeting Black and Minority Ethnic communities in the UK. The authors raise concerns about the policing of the pandemic and show that racially minoritised communities have been most harshly affected – being more likely to be stopped by the police, threatened or subject to police violence and falsely accused of rule-breaking and wrong-doing. The report argues that lockdown conditions, new police powers, and histories of institutionally racist policing have combined to pose a threat to already over-policed communities and the most marginalised and vulnerable sections of society.

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Do Regulations Matter in Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic? Lessons from Poland

European Journal of Risk Regulation ◽

10.1017/err.2021.53 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 739-757

Author(s):

Lukasz GRUSZCZYNSKI ◽

Mateusz ZATOŃSKI ◽

Martin MCKEE

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Population Density ◽

Cultural Factors ◽

Demographic Structure ◽

Health Consequences ◽

Structure Population ◽

Health Measures ◽

Western European ◽

The Uk

In this article, we argue that the design and timing of regulatory responses, as well as the adherence of the population to the relevant rules, have a critical impact on the progression and public health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This hypothesis is empirically tested using the example of Poland, a country that experienced, compared to its Western European neighbours, a relatively mild first phase of the pandemic. In this context, we compare Poland with selected countries, including France, Germany, Spain and the UK, and we supplement them with examples from other Visegrad Four (V4) countries – Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. On that basis, we conclude that while the observed differences between the countries in the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic are the result of a multitude of complex and interrelated reasons (such as demographic structure, population density and connectivity or cultural factors), well-designed public health measures, which are implemented early as a part of the proactive strategy that anticipates and reacts quickly to changing circumstances, can effectively decrease the number of COVID-19 infections and related deaths, provided that the adherence of the relevant population is high.

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Decision-making for receiving paid home care for dementia in the time of COVID-19: a qualitative study

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-020-01719-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Clarissa Giebel ◽

Kerry Hanna ◽

Jacqueline Cannon ◽

Ruth Eley ◽

Hilary Tetlow ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Decision Making ◽

Home Care ◽

Home Care Services ◽

Health Measures ◽

Care Services ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact ◽

Care Support

Abstract Background The lockdown imposed in the UK on the 23rd of March and associated public health measures of social distancing are likely to have had a great impact on care provision. The aim of this study was to explore the decision-making processes of continued paid home care support for dementia in the time of COVID-19. Methods Unpaid carers caring for a person living with dementia (PLWD) who were accessing paid home care before COVID-19 and residing in the UK were eligible to take part. Participants were interviewed over the phone and asked about their experiences of using paid home care services before and since COVID-19, and their decision-making processes of accessing paid home care since the outbreak and public health restrictions. Results Fifteen unpaid carers, who were also accessing paid care support for the PLWD before COVID-19, were included in the analysis. Thematic analysis identified three overarching themes: (1) Risk; (2) Making difficult choices and risk management; and (3) Implications for unpaid carers. Many unpaid carers decided to discontinue paid carers entering the home due to the risk of infection, resulting in unpaid carers having to pick up the care hours to support the person living with dementia. Conclusions This is the first study to report on the impact of COVID-19 on paid home care changes in dementia. Findings raise implications for providing better Personal Protective Equipment for paid carers, and to support unpaid carers better in their roles, with the pandemic likely to stay in place for the foreseeable future.

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Cigarette smoking among psychiatric out-patients

Psychiatric Bulletin ◽

10.1192/pb.15.7.413 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 15 (7) ◽

pp. 413-414 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Steve Brown

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

General Population ◽

Alcohol Abuse ◽

Cigarette Smoking ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

The Past ◽

Health Measures ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

The Uk

The dangers of cigarette smoking are well recognised, and a number of public health measures designed to reduce the level of smoking have been introduced over the past 20 years. These measures have been fairly successful, and there has been a steady decline in the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the UK over the period 1972–1988 (Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, 1990). A number of studies have shown a higher prevalence of cigarette smoking among psychiatric patients (Hughes et al, 1986); however, the majority of these have been of highly selected populations, or have failed to control for factors such as age, sex, socioeconomic status and alcohol abuse, all of which are known to affect the prevalence of smoking. This study compared the prevalence of cigarette smoking among a heterogeneous group of psychiatric out-patients with that of the general population with control for these confounding variables.

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A twelve-month projection to September 2022 of the Covid-19 epidemic in the UK using a Dynamic Causal Model

10.1101/2021.10.04.21262827 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Cam Bowie ◽

Karl Friston

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Causal Model ◽

Hospital Admissions ◽

Economic Cost ◽

Model Parameters ◽

Health Measures ◽

Contact Rates ◽

The Future ◽

The Uk ◽

Dynamic Causal Model

Objectives Predicting the future UK Covid-19 epidemic allows other countries to compare their epidemic with one unfolding without public health measures except a vaccine programme. Methods A Dynamic Causal Model (DCM) is used to estimate the model parameters of the epidemic such as vaccine effectiveness and increased transmissibility of alpha and delta variants, the vaccine programme roll-out and changes in contact rates. The model predicts the future trends in infections, long-Covid, hospital admissions and deaths. Results Two dose vaccination given to 66% of the UK population prevents transmission following infection by 44%, serious illness by 86% and death by 93%. Despite this, with no other public health measures used, cases will increase from 37 million to 61 million, hospital admission from 536,000 to 684,000 and deaths from 136,000 to 142,000 over twelve months. Discussion Vaccination alone will not control the epidemic. Relaxation of mitigating public health measures carries several risks including overwhelming the health services, the creation of vaccine resistant variants and the economic cost of huge numbers of acute and chronic cases.

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It runs in the family: parental influence on adolescents’ compliance with social distancing measures during Covid-19 lockdowns

10.31235/osf.io/y7wc6 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Ozan Aksoy

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Parental Influence ◽

Health Policies ◽

Public Health Policies ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Health Measures ◽

The Family ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

The Uk

Compliance with public health measures of adolescents who are often unfairly portrayed as spreaders of the Coronavirus is essential for controlling the pandemic. But does adolescents’ compliance develop independently from their parents? Using nationally representative longitudinal data and cross-lagged Structural Equation Panel Models I study compliance with social distancing measures of 6,754 triplets that comprise the adolescent child (age 19), their mother, and father during two national lockdowns in the UK. Results show that adolescents have the lowest and their mothers have the highest levels of compliance, and compliance generally drops over time. Moreover, parents, particularly mothers have significant influence on their adolescent child’s compliance. The child also has, albeit smaller effects on their parents’ compliance. Parental influence on adolescents’ compliance documented here thus redistributes some of the responsibility off adolescents towards all generations and calls for public health policies and campaigns that consider these family dynamics.

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