Introduction This guidance has been prepared for commissioners and all staff providing lifestyle advice in primary care, including community health and allied health professionals, such as physiotherapists. It aims to raise awareness of the issues caused by inactivity, not just for individuals, but for the health service and economy as a whole, and provides a [read the full story…]
We have posted a number of times about the healthcare needs of people with learning disabilities and in particular the responses of the healthcare services. Recently, the results of the Confidential Inquiry into Premature Deaths of People with Learning Disabilities was published which found that men with learning disabilities died on average 13 years earlier [read the full story…]
While depression is the leading cause of disability for both males and females, the burden of depression is 50% higher for females. In fact, depression is the leading cause of disease burden for women in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries (WHO, 2008). Research has shown that women with unidentified and untreated maternal depression [read the full story…]
BILD’s communication factsheet suggests that estimates of the proportion of people with learning disabilities who have difficulties with communication vary between 50% and 90%. For many people with learning disabilities, this communication will be non-verbal, or working at a pre-lingual level, which mean the use of many means including gesture, facial expression, sign language, picture [read the full story…]
Light systems to cure orthodontic bonding materials to attach orthodontic brackets have been in use for many years. In recent years, alternatives to halogen lights, including light emitting diodes (LEDs) and plasma lights, have been developed. The aims of this review was to compare bracket failure risks and times taken to place attachments with 3 [read the full story…]
Early childhood caries remains a significant problem in many parts of the world and has been defined by the American Dental Association as:- the presence of one or more decayed (non-cavitated or cavitated lesions), missing (due to caries) or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a preschool-age child between birth and 71 months [read the full story…]
Rational commissioning This report describes a project, led by Right Care, to involve surgeons in the commissioning decision-making process, because observations made by the Department of Health and Surgical Specialty Associations showed that there were inconsistencies in the rates of elective surgical procedures between Primary Care Trusts, and that sometimes existing surgical procedures were “classified [read the full story…]
The risks of congenital malformations and impact of cognitive development after foetal exposure to anti-epileptic drugs has been known for some time. Sodium valproate is a frequently used drug for epilepsy and other disorders (including bipolar disorder and migraine). The researchers aimed to examine the link between foetal exposure and subsequent development of autism. Methods [read the full story…]
As you know here at Elf towers, we are committed to bringing you the evidence, so that you can make informed decisions about practice. However I hope you’ll forgive a slight deviation from this aim this Friday, as we bring to your attention the publication of yet another report that highlights poor NHS care. On [read the full story…]
I wonder if the timing of this publication was planned to be so close to the release of DSM-5, but this debut guidance on social phobia (now known as social anxiety disorder) is certainly going to ruffle some feathers. It fuels the discussion about the medicalisation of human personality traits and some will see it [read the full story…]
