Characterising the Exposure of Prison Staff to Second-Hand Tobacco Smoke

Acknowledgements This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research Programme (project number 15/55/44). We are grateful to all the staff at the Scottish Prison Service and in HMP Kilmarnock and HMP Addiewell who assisted with this study. We are also extremely grateful to David Walker, Ruaraidh Dobson and Mrs Flora Buthlay for their help with data collection and retrieval of instruments from prisons, and to Dr Steve Turner for helpful comments on an earlier draft. KH, HS, GL, ED gratefully acknowledge core funding from UK MRC and Chief Scientist Office (MC_UU_12017/12; SPHSU12; MC/PC/13027 partnership grant) for their work within prison settings. We acknowledge the contribution of our co-investigators in the TIPs research team to the overall design of the TIPs study (Professor Linda Bauld, Dr Kathleen Boyd, Dr Philip Conaglen, Dr Peter Craig, Douglas Eadie, Professor Alastair Leyland, Professor Jill Pell).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Environmental Context and Function of Burnt-Mounds : New Studies of Irish Fulachtaí Fiadh

The authors acknowledge funding from The Leverhulme Trust (F/00144/AI) and assistance from a large number of individuals including; Margaret Gowen (access to sites and assistance throughout),A. Ames, H, Essex (pollen processing), S. Rouillard & R. Smith (illustrations), C. McDermott, S. Bergerbrandt, all the staff of Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, TVAS Ireland and CRDS. Excavation works and some post-excavation analysis was paid for my Bord Gáis and the National Roads Authority (now Transport Infrastructure Ireland). Thanks also to David Smith for access to the Maureen Girling collection and assistance with identifications.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

Engaging in large-scale digital health technologies and services. What factors hinder recruitment?

Implementing consumer oriented digital health products and services at scale is challenging and a range of barriers to reaching and recruiting users to these types of solutions can be encountered. This paper describes the experience of implementers with the roll-out of the Delivering Assisted Living Lifestyles at Scale (dallas) programme. The findings are based on qualitative analysis of baseline and midpoint interviews and project documentation. Eight main themes emerged as key factors which hindered participation. These include how the ..

The environmental context and function of Burnt-Mounds: new studies of Irish Fulachtaí Fiadh

Burnt mounds, or fulachtaí fiadh as they are known in Ireland, are probably the most common prehistoric site type in Ireland and Britain. Typically Middle–Late Bronze Age in age (although both earlier and later examples are known), they are artefact-poor and rarely associated with settlements. The function of these sites has been much debated with the most commonly cited uses being for cooking, as steam baths or saunas, for brewing, tanning, or textile processing. A number of major infrastructural development schemes in Ireland in the years 2002–2007 revealed remarkable numbers of these mounds often associated with wood-lined troughs, many of which were extremely well-preserved. This afforded an opportunity to investigate them as landscape features using environmental techniques – specifically plant macrofossils and charcoal, pollen, beetles, and multi-element analyses. This paper summarises the results from eight sites from Ireland and compares them with burnt mound sites in Great Britain. The fulachtaí fiadh which are generally in clusters, are all groundwater-fed by springs, along floodplains and at the bases of slopes. The sites are associated with the clearance of wet woodland for fuel; most had evidence of nearby agriculture and all revealed low levels of grazing. Multi-element analysis at two sites revealed elevated heavy metal concentrations suggesting that off-site soil, ash or urine had been used in the trough. Overall the evidence suggests that the most likely function for these sites is textile production involving both cleaning and/or dyeing of wool and/or natural plant fibres and as a functionally related activity to hide cleaning and tanning. Whilst further research is clearly needed to confirm if fulachtaí fiadh are part of the ‘textile revolution’ we should also recognise their important role in the rapid deforestation of the wetter parts of primary woodland and the expansion of agriculture into marginal areas during the Irish and British Bronze Ages

Coping strategies of displaced Ukrainians in Glasgow: A qualitative study

The dataset was produced during the qualitative study to identify coping strategies of temporarily displaced Ukrainians in Glasgow. The study will utilized a one-to-one in-person interview (via Zoom or in person) method to collect data

Initial views and experiences of vaping in prison:a qualitative study with people in custody preparing for the imminent implementation of Scotland's prison smokefree policy

Introduction Scotland is one of few countries in which e-cigarettes were available in prisons before the introduction of a comprehensive national smokefree policy, to assist in its implementation. This qualitative study explores initial views and experiences of vaping in this specific context, from the perspective of people in custody (prisoners). Methods Twenty-eight people in custody were interviewed ~1-2 months after rechargeable e-cigarettes were made available in prisons and 2-5 weeks before implementation of a smokefree policy. Data were thematically analysed to identify the range and diversity of views and experiences. Results Participants expressed support for e-cigarettes in preparation for the smokefree policy, describing their symbolic and practical value in this context. Uptake of vaping was strongly influenced by the need for participants to manage without tobacco in the near future. Participants evaluated their initial vaping experiences, either positively or negatively, in relation to the utility of e-cigarettes for mandated smoking abstinence and in providing satisfaction, pleasure and novelty. Participant views on several issues related to e-cigarette use, both specific to the prison population (product choice, cost) and more generally (safety and long-term use), are explored. Conclusion Our findings suggest possible benefits of e-cigarettes as one means of supporting smokefree policy in a population with many smokers. They also point to potential challenges posed by vaping in prisons and smokefree settings caring for similar populations. There is a need for ongoing measures to maximise the health benefits of smokefree settings, and for further research on vaping in situations of enforced abstinence. Implications To our knowledge, no published studies have explored views and experiences of vaping in prison, when rechargeable vapes were new and the removal of tobacco was imminent. The results can inform tobacco control policy choices, planning and implementation in prisons and similar settings. In prison systems which permitting vaping, it is important that other measures (e.g. information campaigns, nicotine dependence services) are implemented concurrently to minimise potential risks to the health or personal finances of people in custody

Smoke-free homes Innovation Network (SHINE) Charter: Priorities for future collaboration

First paragraph: The UK and Ireland are both widely regarded as world leaders in tobacco control measures, introducing comprehensive smoke-free public places legislation between 2004 and 2007. Substantial gains were made through these policy changes leading to the near total elimination of second-hand smoke (SHS) in a range of public venues, and increased public support among smokers for such policies. Nearly 20 years on, however, most childrens’ and non-smokers’ exposure to SHS occurs in their own home, and close to 1 in 5 non-smoking adults and nearly one-third of children continue to be exposed to SHS during a typical day. Exposure to SHS is more common in areas of social deprivation. Housing constraints, having friends and family who smoke, sole-parenting and lack of access to safe outdoor space are just some of the wider challenges that make creating a smoke-free home difficult. There is no consensus about the type of interventions that can effectively tackle this inequality, which may have been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and ‘stay at home’ lockdown restrictions, leading to an increase in smoking in some homes

Smoke-free homes Innovation Network (SHINE) Charter: Priorities for future collaboration

First paragraph: The UK and Ireland are both widely regarded as world leaders in tobacco control measures, introducing comprehensive smoke-free public places legislation between 2004 and 2007. Substantial gains were made through these policy changes leading to the near total elimination of second-hand smoke (SHS) in a range of public venues, and increased public support among smokers for such policies. Nearly 20 years on, however, most childrens’ and non-smokers’ exposure to SHS occurs in their own home, and close to 1 in 5 non-smoking adults and nearly one-third of children continue to be exposed to SHS during a typical day. Exposure to SHS is more common in areas of social deprivation. Housing constraints, having friends and family who smoke, sole-parenting and lack of access to safe outdoor space are just some of the wider challenges that make creating a smoke-free home difficult. There is no consensus about the type of interventions that can effectively tackle this inequality, which may have been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and ‘stay at home’ lockdown restrictions, leading to an increase in smoking in some homes

Support for UNRWA's survival

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides life-saving humanitarian aid for 5·4 million Palestine refugees now entering their eighth decade of statelessness and conflict. About a third of Palestine refugees still live in 58 recognised camps. UNRWA operates 702 schools and 144 health centres, some of which are affected by the ongoing humanitarian disasters in Syria and the Gaza Strip. It has dramatically reduced the prevalence of infectious diseases, mortality, and illiteracy. Its social services include rebuilding infrastructure and homes that have been destroyed by conflict and providing cash assistance and micro-finance loans for Palestinians whose rights are curtailed and who are denied the right of return to their homeland