Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock is setting out his ambition for every patient in the country to have access to social prescribing schemes on the NHS as readily as they do medical care.
Social prescribing involves helping patients to improve their health, wellbeing and social welfare by connecting them to community services. This can include activities such as art and singing classes.
BPS Blog post. Technology and screens are supposedly the enemy of health. They ruin our sleep, mental health and we’re slaves to their constant need for attention. At least that’s what seems to be the consensus in the news. However, the reality is much more two-sided. In fact, a new study demonstrates that our blue light emitting devices can be a force for good — by providing a novel way to deliver mental health interventions.
Problems with sleep, such as insomnia, have been shown to be associated with mental health difficulties such as depression. Although long recognised as a symptom of depression, there is growing recognition that sleep problems can also emerge before episodes of depression, but it’s currently unclear whether improving sleep is protective against developing depression later on.
A recent clinical trial in Sleep by Philip Cheng and colleagues at Henry Ford Health System and the University of Oxford explored just this. They looked at whether using an established digital intervention for insomnia would not only reduce depressive symptoms but also reduce the risk of someone developing depression.
BPS Blog post. With increased concern about the impact of meat on our health and the environment, and an ever-expanding selection of meat-free products available to buy, popular interest in vegetarianism and veganism has steadily grown.
But for those who want to cut down but aren’t quite ready to give up their burgers, there is a third way: flexitarianism. As a 2019 study from the University of Nottingham on red meat and heart health put it, you “don’t have to go cold turkey on red meat to see health benefits”, finding that halving the amount of red and processed meat eaten can have significant health benefits.
This consensus statement defines the shared commitment of the signatory organisations. It is the first time that such a wide range of organisations have come together to voice their intention to promote healthy ageing. Signatories span the areas of health, employment, housing and communities, and are from academia, local government, the NHS, and the public and voluntary sectors.
None of us enjoys having our job cut into our leisure time. So the next time your boss asks you to work late and miss your band rehearsal or board game night, point them to a new study in the Journal of Vocational Behavior. Researchers have found that spending more time on a hobby can boost people’s confidence in their ability to perform their job well. But watch out — if your hobby is too similar to your work, then increased time on leisure activities may actually have a detrimental effect.
Public Health England’s (PHE’s) ‘work as a health outcome’ programme seeks to promote healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) understanding of the health benefits of good work and encourage HCPs to have supportive conversations about work and health with their patients.
While there is little women can do to avoid living in areas of high air pollution, the study suggests another reason to press for better environmental standards to reduce air pollution.
This paper seeks to explore general practice nurses’ perceptions of interactional factors supporting communication with patients about lifestyle risk.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
Pharmacists are set to offer rapid detection and help for killer conditions like heart disease as part of a major revamp of high street pharmacy services.
The high street heart checks are part of an ambitious target the NHS in England has set itself as part of its Long Term Plan to prevent tens of thousands of strokes and heart attacks over the next ten years.
High dose statins could be made available directly from high street pharmacies as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to cut heart disease and stroke, NHS chief executive Simon Stevens has announced.
Facebook and Instagram have announced that they will remove posts promoting ‘miracle’ cures and get-slim-quick products, which are known to have limited benefits with possible damaging side-effects.
The move follows a series of requests from health service chiefs including NHS chief executive Simon Stevens to act responsibly and protect users from content that could cause physical or mental harm.
The RCPCH welcomes the CMO's updated physical activity guidelines and says "the key to longevity and success is embedding healthy habits into life early and making them part of a routine".
The latest data from a national smoking study indicates adult smoking rates fell 2.2% from January to July 2019 - equivalent to 200 fewer smokers every hour.