Choking in people with learning disabilities: what can be done to reduce the risk?

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Today we have a debut blog from Nick Burton, Regional Operations Manager at Mencap. He reviews a new multi-agency report that provides guidance for services working to reduce the risk of choking in people with learning disabilities.

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Involve service users in design and delivery of services for better outcomes, advises new report

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This new report, from National Voices and Think Local Act Personal, considers what matters most to mental health service users in terms of their experience and outcomes.  The report accompanies an earlier publication which considers evidence from research and consultations on what patients and service users want and expect from support which is person-centred and coordinated. “No [read the full story…]

Promoting safer sex in people with severe mental illness

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Caroline Tomes summarises a recent systematic review which finds that behavioural interventions can result in short-term increases in safer sex in people with severe mental illness.

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Can schools prevent eating disorders?

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In 2012 there was a call from Parliament to research school interventions to reduce body dissatisfaction. Helen Bould reports on an RCT of school-based prevention programme for eating disorders, which highlights the need for more work in this area.

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Can mobile apps help recovering alcoholics?

Paul Christiansen reports on a recent RCT that investigates how a mobile app can provide support for recovering alcoholics who are leaving residential treatment.

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Insufficient evidence that probiotics can prevent caries, but they can reduce the mutans streptococci counts in the short term

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Probiotics have been used in the management of a wide range of conditions and have been shown to have a beneficial effect in gastrointestinal disease for example. A potential role in the prevention of caries has been suggested and the aim of this review was to evaluate the caries preventive effect of probiotics. Searches were [read the full story…]

Are there any effective interventions for preventing falls in older people with mental health problems?

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Falls are estimated to cost the NHS more than £2.3 billion per year (College of Optometrists, 2011) and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This fact alone should be giving us the drive to look for ways to prevent falls in healthcare settings. A systematic review recently published in BMC Nursing (Bunn et al, 2014) is [read the full story…]

Recommendations for commissioning quality weight management services

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This guidance has been published and should be read alongside the Commissioning Policy A05 Complex and Specialised Obesity Surgery Services of the NHS Commissioning Board April 2013. It has been sponsored by the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society, and is supported by a number of relevant professional bodies, including the Association of UK Dietitians [read the full story…]

Insufficient evidence for sexual health promotion interventions in people with severe mental illness

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People with serious mental illness (SMI) such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have higher morbidity and mortality rates due to physical illness. It’s estimated that people with SMI die 10-15 years earlier than the general population (DeHert et al, 2011). Increasingly attention is being paid to ways to improve the physical health of people with [read the full story…]