scholarly journals Supporting Vulnerable Populations During the Pandemic: Stakeholders’ Experiences and Perceptions of Social Prescribing in Scotland During Covid-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110642
Author(s):  
Dr Alison Fixsen ◽  
Dr Simon Barrett ◽  
Michal Shimonovich
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Social Prescribing ◽  
Social Divisions ◽  
Personalized Health

Social prescribing schemes refer people toward personalized health/wellbeing interventions in local communities. Since schemes hold different representations of social prescribing, responses to the pandemic crisis will vary. Intersectionality states that social divisions build on one another, sustaining unequal health outcomes. We conducted and inductively analysed interviews with twenty-three professional and volunteer stakeholders across three social prescribing schemes in urban and rural Scotland at the start and end of year one of the pandemic. Concerns included identifying and digitally supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals and reduced capacity statutory and third-sector services, obliging link workers to assume new practical and psychological responsibilities. Social prescribing services in Scotland, we argue, represent a collage of practices superimposed on a struggling healthcare system. Those in need of such services are unlikely to break through disadvantage whilst situated within a social texture wherein inequalities of education, health and environmental arrangements broadly intersect with one another.

scholarly journals Weathering the storm: A qualitative study of social prescribing in urban and rural Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 205031212110291
Author(s):  
Alison Fixsen ◽  
Simon Barrett ◽  
Michal Shimonovich
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Clinical Approach ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Social Prescribing ◽  
And Shifts

Objectives: The non-clinical approach known as social prescribing aims to tackle multi-morbidity, reduce general practitioner (GP) workload and promote wellbeing by directing patients to community services. Usual in-person modes of delivery of social prescribing have been virtually impossible under social distancing rules. This study qualitatively examined and compared the responses of three social prescribing schemes in Scotland to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We interviewed a theoretical sample of 23 stakeholders in urban and rural social prescribing schemes at the start of COVID-19 pandemic. Follow-up interviews with a representative sample were conducted around 10 months later. Interviewees included social prescribing coordinators (SPCs) GPs, managers, researchers and representatives of third sector organizations. Interview transcripts were analysed in stages and an inductive approach to coding was supported by NVivo. Results: Findings revealed a complex social prescribing landscape in Scotland with schemes funded, structured and delivering services in diverse ways. Across all schemes, working effectively during the pandemic and shifting to online delivery had been challenging and demanding; however, their priorities in response to the pandemic had differed. With GP time and services stretched to limits, GP practice-attached ‘Link Workers’ had taken on counselling and advocacy roles, sometimes for serious mental health cases. Community-based SPCs had mostly assumed a health education role, and those on the Western Isles of Scotland a digital support role. In both rural or urban areas, combatting loneliness and isolation – especially given social distancing – remained a pivotal aspect of the SPC role. Conclusion: This study highlights significant challenges and shifts in focus in social prescribing in response to the pandemic. The use of multiple digital technologies has assumed a central role in social prescribing, and this situation seems likely to remain. With statutory and non-statutory services stretched to their limits, there is a danger of SPCs assuming new tasks without adequate training or support.

Establishing a learning healthcare system to improve health outcomes for people with epilepsy

2021 ◽  
Vol 117 ◽  
pp. 107805
Author(s):  
Maria A. Donahue ◽  
Susan T. Herman ◽  
Deepika Dass ◽  
Kathleen Farrell ◽  
Alison Kukla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Learning Healthcare System ◽  
Improve Health

scholarly journals Effectiveness of a personalized health profile on specificity of self-management goals among people living with HIV in Canada: a protocol for a blinded pragmatic randomized controlled trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Maryam Mozafarinia ◽  
Fateme Rajabiyazdi ◽  
Marie-Josée Brouillette ◽  
Lesley Fellows ◽  
Bärbel Knäuper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcome ◽  
Text Mining ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Rate Ratio ◽  
Self Management ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
Personalized Health ◽  
Living With Hiv

Background: Goal setting is a crucial element in self-management of chronic diseases. Personalized outcome feedback is needed for goal setting, a requirement for behavior change. This study contributes to the understanding of the specificity of patient-formulated self-management goals by testing the effectiveness of a personalized health outcome profile. Objective: To estimate among people living with HIV, to what extent providing feedback on their health outcomes, compared to no feedback, will affect number and specificity of patient-formulated self-management goals. Methods: A personalized health outcome profile has been produced for individuals enrolled in a Canadian HIV Brain Health Now cohort study at cohort entry and at the last recorded visit. Participants will be randomized to receive or not “My Personal Brain Health Dashboard” prior to a goal setting exercise. Self-defined goals in free text will be collected through an online platform. Intervention and control groups will receive instructions on goal setting and tips to improve brain health. A total of 420 participants are needed to detect a rate ratio (number of specific words/numbers of person-goals, intervention:control) of 1.5. Text mining techniques will be used to quantify goal specificity based on word matches with a goal-setting lexicon. The expectation is that the intervention group will set more goals and have more words matching the developed lexical than the control group. The total number of words per person-goals will be calculated for each group and Poisson regression will be used to estimate the rate ratio and 95% confidence intervals and compare rate ratios between men and women using an interaction term. Conclusions: This study will contribute to growing evidence for the value of person-reported health outcomes in tailoring interventions, and will provide a thorough understanding of the quality of person-defined goals using text mining. Trial registration: Clinical Trials NCT04175795, registered on 25th November 2019.

The role of the third sector working with the hard and soft structures of public–private partnerships to promote individual health and reinvigorated, healthier communities

2020 ◽  
pp. 301-318
Author(s):  
Tony Chasteauneuf ◽  
Tony Thornton ◽  
Dean Pallant
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Public Private Partnerships ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Third ◽  
Individual Health ◽  
The Third Sector

This chapter discusses the role of the third sector working with the hard and soft structures of public–private partnerships to promote healthier individuals and communities. It considers how a recommitment to the 'local authority' of citizens and beneficiaries offers the possibility of revitalised and healthier individuals and reinvigorated and healthier communities, which are unachievable through the hard and soft structures of the commissioner/provider statutory approach. The chapter then identifies the pivotal dynamic of one-to-one relationships in these processes and their association with health outcomes (emotional, physical, and spiritual) alongside the opportunities and challenges in agencies engaging/re-engaging with the agency of citizens and beneficiaries. It explores the tension between the 'agency' of citizens and beneficiaries that constitutes bottom-up power and 'agencies' with top-down power. The chapter also looks at the benefits of embracing the expertise and investment of individuals and their communities in their personal and shared lives, how this can be supported and how it can be undermined.

scholarly journals Addressing Health Disparities in the Undergraduate Curriculum: An Approach to Develop a Knowledgeable Biomedical Workforce

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 636-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocio Benabentos ◽  
Payal Ray ◽  
Deepak Kumar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
The United States ◽  
Undergraduate Institutions ◽  
Minority Serving Institutions

Disparities in health and healthcare are a major concern in the United States and worldwide. Approaches to alleviate these disparities must be multifaceted and should include initiatives that touch upon the diverse areas that influence the healthcare system. Developing a strong biomedical workforce with an awareness of the issues concerning health disparities is crucial for addressing this issue. Establishing undergraduate health disparities courses that are accessible to undergraduate students in the life sciences is necessary to increase students’ understanding and awareness of these issues and motivate them to address these disparities during their careers. The majority of universities do not include courses related to health disparities in their curricula, and only a few universities manage them from their life sciences departments. The figures are especially low for minority-serving institutions, which serve students from communities disproportionally affected by health disparities. Universities should consider several possible approaches to infuse their undergraduate curricula with health disparities courses or activities. Eliminating health disparities will require efforts from diverse stakeholders. Undergraduate institutions can play an important role in developing an aware biomedical workforce and helping to close the gap in health outcomes.

scholarly journals Nurses as Immigrant Advocates: A Brief Overview

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Biggerstaff ◽  
Taiyyeba Skomra
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethical Responsibility ◽  
Broad Overview

Nurses have both a professional and ethical responsibility to advocate for social justice and vulnerable populations. Immigrants are considered one of the most vulnerable populations in the United States and interact with nurses at all levels of the healthcare system. This article provides a broad overview of immigration and the immigration system in the United States and calls for nurses to practice individual advocacy for immigrant patients at the clinic. Included are practical ways that nurses can advocate for immigrant patients at the systems and state and federal levels.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document