Despite public campaigns to combat stigma around mental illness, people with mental health problems still face ongoing discrimination. And while some sections of the media focus on mental illness in cases of violence, a rise in the number of people who are more of a risk to themselves goes unnoticed. We still find it difficult [read the full story…]
The Six Lives report in 2009 investigated the provision of public services to people with learning disabilities following the deaths of the six people with learning disabilities highlighted in Mencap’s Death by Indifference report. The Department of Health in its response committed to providing progress reports on the recommendations and this report has been recently [read the full story…]
Life after cancer diagnosis and treatment is full of uncertainties for the patients and their caregivers. The possibility of cancer returning is hard to dismiss at least in the first few years after the end of treatment. Life has often changed in many imperceptible and subtle ways for people who have undergone cancer treatment, as [read the full story…]
We have previously looked at a review and a number of studies addressing the issue of oral hygiene and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and (Dental Elf May 20th 2013). A new Cochrane review has just been published which aimed to assess the effects of oral hygiene care (OHC) on the incidence of VAP in critically ill [read the full story…]
In February this year, we posted about new summary information sheets produced by the challenging behaviour foundation. This month sees the launch of a new series of three information sheets which look at the causes of challenging behaviour, and explain how to make effective plans to reduce it. The information sheets are designed to provide [read the full story…]
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioural disorder in the UK, with sufferers experiencing inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It is estimated to affect 3-9% of school aged children and young people in the UK (those aged 3 to 18), and 2% of adults worldwide (DSM-IV criteria). Typically ADHD will continue from childhood [read the full story…]
30% of domestic violence (DV) begins during pregnancy and is most prevalent within the working and lower middle socio-economic classes. It is a major public health concern and abuse during pregnancy is of particular concern due to the health risks to both mother and child. It can cause physical and psychological harm to women, and [read the full story…]
Carers are integral to health care improvement. This report highlights evidence that shows “the economic value of the contribution they make is £119bn per year”. However, without support, carers can feel isolated, depressed, and may be living in poor financial circumstances, which can lead to poor health for the carer too. The problem health and [read the full story…]
It has consistently been shown that a link exists between older adults who have depression and mortality (Cuijpers & Smit, 2002, Schulz et al., 2002). RCTs have demonstrated that treating depression during later life in primary care settings can result in the remission of depression and its associated symptoms as well as improve quality of [read the full story…]
In the mid 1990s, a questionnaire study carried out by Carr and Hollins in Wandsworth suggested that menopause may occur earlier in women with learning disabilities and that for women with Down syndrome, it may occur earlier still. These findings were strengthened by work a couple of years later in a U.S. study by Schupf [read the full story…]
