Yoga and Healthcare in the United Kingdom

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Mason ◽  
Nicole Schnackenberg ◽  
Robin Monro
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Long Term Conditions ◽  
Yoga Therapy ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Regional Hospitals

Abstract The emergence of yoga therapy in the United Kingdom began about 45 years ago with the emergence of yoga therapy organizations that offered both treatment and training. The integration of yoga into the National Health Service (NHS) is gradually happening Because: (a) yoga research supports its efficacy as a cost-effective, preventive and complementary treatment for a host of non-communicable diseases; and (b) the escalating economic burden of long-term conditions is overwhelming the NHS. The NHS is actively developing ‘sustainability and transformation plans’ that include yoga. Chief among these is ‘social prescribing,’ which empowers patients with complex health needs through activities groups. These activities reduce sedentary habits and social isolation, while helping patients to be more self-reliant. The NHS has allocated £450 million in funding to implement a variety of programs for its own staff, in which staff yoga classes were expressly mentioned. The yoga community is mobilizing forces and applying for funding to pilot relevant NHS staff yoga courses that can support the service in achieving its vision. Research shows that integrating yoga therapy for the treatment of low back pain (LBP) into the NHS would result in significant cost savings as compared with usual care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines on LBP and sciatica include yoga as one of the recommended treatments for these conditions. Three groups of yoga teachers, using different yoga practices, have gained traction with the NHS for the application of yoga therapy to LBP. Many regional hospitals in England have yoga classes. The NHS Choices website, which conveys information to the public regarding treatment options, has a page dedicated to the health benefits of yoga. Several institutions offer comprehensive training programs in yoga therapy and yoga therapy is recognized as an official profession. The Yoga in Healthcare Alliance has been established to help integrate yoga therapy into the NHS. This consists of parliamentarians, leaders in the NHS, yoga researchers, health professionals, and representatives from leading yoga organizations.

scholarly journals Benefits and Costs of Digital Consulting in Clinics Serving Young People With Long-Term Conditions: Mixed-Methods Approach (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Wook Kim ◽  
Jason Madan ◽  
Melina Dritsaki ◽  
Carol Bryce ◽  
Vera Forjaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Direct Costs ◽  
Long Term Conditions ◽  
Team Members ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Part Model

BACKGROUND Since the introduction of digital health technologies in National Health Service (NHS), health professionals are starting to use email, text, and other digital methods to consult with their patients in a timely manner. There is lack of evidence regarding the economic impact of digital consulting in the United Kingdom (UK) NHS. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to estimate the direct costs associated with digital consulting as an adjunct to routine care at 18 clinics serving young people aged 16-24 years with long-term conditions. METHODS This study uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 173 clinical team members on the impacts of digital consulting. A structured questionnaire was developed and used for 115 health professionals across 12 health conditions at 18 sites in the United Kingdom to collect data on time and other resources used for digital consulting. A follow-up semistructured interview was conducted with a single senior clinician at each site to clarify the mechanisms through which digital consulting use might lead to outcomes relevant to economic evaluation. We used the two-part model to see the association between the time spent on digital consulting and the job role of staff, type of clinic, and the average length of the working hours using digital consulting. RESULTS When estimated using the two-part model, consultants spent less time on digital consulting compared with nurses (95.48 minutes; P<.001), physiotherapists (55.3 minutes; P<.001), and psychologists (31.67 minutes; P<.001). Part-time staff spent less time using digital consulting than full-time staff despite insignificant result (P=.15). Time spent on digital consulting differed across sites, and no clear pattern in using digital consulting was found. Health professionals qualitatively identified the following 4 potential economic impacts for the NHS: decreasing adverse events, improving patient well-being, decreasing wait lists, and staff workload. We did not find evidence to suggest that the clinical condition was associated with digital consulting use. CONCLUSIONS Nurses and physiotherapists were the greatest users of digital consulting. Teams appear to use an efficient triage system with the most expensive members digitally consulting less than lower-paid team members. Staff report showed concerns regarding time spent digitally consulting, which implies that direct costs increase. There remain considerable gaps in evidence related to cost-effectiveness of digital consulting, but this study has highlighted important cost-related outcomes for assessment in future cost-effectiveness trials of digital consulting.

scholarly journals Sustainability Assessment of Goat and Sheep Farms: A Comparison between European Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Paraskevopoulou ◽  
Alexandros Theodoridis ◽  
Marion Johnson ◽  
Athanasios Ragkos ◽  
Lisa Arguile ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Long Term Results ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Goat Farm ◽  
Farm Sustainability

European sheep and goat farming faces diverse challenges at global or local scales and constitutes an important sector for many countries, playing important sociocultural, economic and environmental roles. A closer examination of the overall sustainability of the sector is necessary to assess the performance of different farm types in various geographical settings. This comparative study evaluates the use of a common sustainability assessment (SA) tool for the major European countries in the sheep and goat sector. In particular, the study reports the results of a SA using the Public Goods (PG) Tool, adapted within the Innovation for Sustainable Sheep and Goat Production in Europe (iSAGE) Horizon 2020 project, which includes questions accounting for 13 dimensions of a sheep and goat farm sustainability. In total, 206 farmers from Greece, Italy, Spain, Finland, United Kingdom, France and Turkey were interviewed, all of which were typical of specific types of a pan-European sheep and goat farm typologies elaborated within iSAGE. The study resulted in composite indicators of performance in each dimension for each country. Finland, Italy and the United Kingdom performed better than other countries, while Turkey and Greece performed below average in most categories. The results highlight challenges for each country but also at the European level, the latter mainly relating to generational renewal and an unwillingness to invest in the adoption of a more sustainable approach with long-term results.

scholarly journals Participation in voluntary and community organisations in the United Kingdom and the influences on the self-management of long-term conditions

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Jeffries ◽  
Amy Mathieson ◽  
Anne Kennedy ◽  
Susan Kirk ◽  
Rebecca Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Long Term Conditions ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Community Organisations

The British Are Coming!

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Bátiz-Lazo
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Prime Mover ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom

Chapter 3 (‘The British Are Coming!’) explains the origins of the technology in the United Kingdom. It is widely assumed that the operation of a machine in the Enfield branch of Barclays was the ‘prime mover’ in this industry. However, the historical record fails to identify a hero inventor; rather multiple independent versions of the cash machine were launched at more or less the same time in different countries. Yet in spite of the great fanfare, there was no real race to market. There is no evidence the engineers responsible for them knew of each other’s existence before this launch (but many bankers did). Four years later, very few members of the public knew the cash machine existed, even less had used them and only a handful found them convenient.

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