If you work in the NHS, public health or social care, you’ve probably heard of QIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention), but have you heard of the QIPP collection? It’s a website run by NICE that contains: QIPP case studies – examples of how health and social care staff are improving quality and productivity across [read the full story…]
Early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) involves 20-40 hours of individualised instruction each week for children with autism. The therapy usually begins at age 4 or younger and continues for 2-3 years. The technique was pioneered by Dr. Ivar Lovaas and colleagues in the 1970s. A new systematic review from the Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems [read the full story…]
There is an increasing body of research that suggests that inflammation plays an important role in the development of schizophrenia. It is therefore logical to consider using anti-inflammatory drugs as a component within the overall treatment approach for people with schizophrenia. This new systematic review and meta-analysis carried out by researchers from the University Medical [read the full story…]
NICE have published three new public health briefings for local government on Inequalities and population health, the Public Health Outcomes Framework and Alcohol. These documents are aimed at local authorities and their partner organisations in the health and voluntary sectors, in particular those involved with health and wellbeing boards. Local government is preparing to take [read the full story…]
Research has shown that antidepressant use can lead to a non-significant increase in the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviour in people aged under 25 (Stone et al, BMJ 2009). This subject rightly received a large amount of media coverage a few years ago and it remains an area where new studies can add to [read the full story…]
There are many different antidepressants to choose from when treating acute depression, so it’s always helpful to see a systematic review that looks at the efficacy, acceptability and tolerability of the different drugs. This new Cochrane review compares duloxetine hydrochloride (one of the newer drugs) with other antidepressants and finds little high quality evidence upon [read the full story…]
It’s hardly surprising that teenage girls and boys express dissatisfaction with their bodies. The vast majority of TV, magazine, billboard and Internet images of the human body present a wholly unrealistic and unattainable version of the male and female physique. Young people cannot help but compare themselves to these standards and feel that they come [read the full story…]
My blog today is a bit different. It’s announcing a new website rather than highlighting a specific piece of mental health evidence. Coinciding with its 100 millionth search, the Trip Database has released its latest upgrade, easily the biggest change in Trip’s fifteen years. Trip is a clinical search engine designed to allow users (mainly [read the full story…]
Recovery is an increasingly popular concept and philosophy in mental health circles and rightly so. Many of us who have direct experience of suffering from a mental health condition extol the virtues of an educational self management approach that helps individuals to take responsibility for themselves. This kind of approach can help us develop the [read the full story…]
These new recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) cover home visits, early education and childcare for vulnerable children. The public health guidance recognises that disadvantage before birth and in a child’s early years can have life-long, negative effects on health and wellbeing. It aims to ensure that both universal and [read the full story…]
