The ‘FFAB’ project: Lessons learned from an early health intervention for male sports bettors

Background: Sports betting is a growth area for the gambling industry with football fans becoming a key target of advertising. This demographic is also one at elevated risk from gambling harm. This paper reflects on the NIHR-funded Football Fans and Betting project (FFAB) - an innovative early health intervention with football fans (aged 18-55) who gamble regularly to reduce their betting. Methods: We will present findings from interviews and observations to reflect on the delivery of our 8-week intervention delivered by 4 clubs’ Community Trust Coaches - Leicester, Preston North End, Accrington Stanley, and Blackpool. Planned as a feasibility study and pilot RCT, FFAB's feasibility learnings led to the development of a different model than originally proposed. Results: Preliminary findings suggest (1) there is a clear need for an early health intervention for men looking to reduce their betting. (2) Overcoming shame and stigma are significant barriers to recruitment in a study like this. (3) Conducting independent research with football clubs, given their complex sponsorship arrangements, presents multiple challenges. (4) relatedly, while recruitment was easier in smaller more locally rooted clubs, they faced more challenges for resources which led to difficulties with retention on the programme. Conclusions: FFAB is the first intervention of its kind and has lessons for interventions with underserved groups more widely. We identified the need for more focused pre-recruitment work on changing understandings of gambling through public health-focused education. We believe more recognition and visibility of a public health approach to gambling in the wider population would help to de-stigmatise language and discussion of gambling and lessen the challenges of engaging our target group. We recommend a more grassroots, localised approach to future early health interventions of this nature. In doing so, we believe that we could minimise many of the challenges we faced in delivery

Glucocorticoid-Treated Mice Are an Inappropriate Positive Control for Long-Term Preclinical Studies in the mdx Mouse

Dmd(mdx) (mdx) mice are used as a genetic and biochemical model of dystrophin deficiency. The long-term consequences of glucocorticoid (GC) treatment on dystrophin-deficient skeletal and heart muscle are not yet known. Here we used systematic phenotyping to assess the long-term consequences of GC treatment in mdx mice. Our investigation addressed not only the effects of GC on the disease phenotype but also the question of whether GCs can be used as a positive control for preclinical drug evaluations.We performed nine pre-clinical efficacy trials (treated N = 129, untreated N = 106) of different durations in 9-to-50-week-old dystrophic mdx mice over a 3-year time period using standardized methods. In all these trials, we used either 1 mg/kg body weight of prednisone or 5 mg/kg body weight of prednisolone as positive controls to compare the efficacy of various test drugs. Data from untreated controls and GC-treated mice in the various trials have been pooled and analyzed to assess the effects of GCs on dystrophin-deficient skeletal and cardiac muscles of mdx mice. Our results indicate that continuous GC treatment results in early (e.g., at 50 days) improvements in normalized parameters such as grip strength, motor coordination and maximal in vitro force contractions on isolated EDL muscle, but these initial benefits are followed by a progressive loss of muscle strength after 100 days. We also found a significant increase in heart fibrosis that is reflected in a significant deterioration in cardiac systolic function after 100 days of treatment.Continuous administration of prednisone to mdx mice initially improves skeletal muscle strength, but further therapy result in deterioration of muscle strength and cardiac function associated with enhanced cardiac fibrosis. These results suggest that GCs may not serve as an appropriate positive control for long-term mdx mouse preclinical trials

Expressions 1998-1999

https://openspace.dmacc.edu/expressions/1018/thumbnail.jp

Experiences from detection to diagnosis : lessons learned from patients with high-risk oral lesions

Oral cancer is the 6th most common cancer in the world, with a poor prognosis and frequent late-stage diagnosis, which significantly impacts survival and quality of life. The key to better control of this disease is early detection, preferably at a precancerous stage. In order to facilitate this early detection and diagnosis, it is critical to identify the factors potentially impacting on the time lag from initial detection to diagnostic biopsy. The overall goal is to develop effective strategies for early identification of oral cancers in order to achieve better control over this disease. There are 2 components in this thesis: the objectives of part I (personal interview) were 1) to develop an interview-style questionnaire, 2) to collect data from patients with high-risk oral lesions (HRL’s) and 3) to characterize the experiences of these individuals that may have impacted the time interval leading up to diagnosis. The objectives of Part II (focus group discussion) were 1) to gather feedback regarding the questionnaire developed in Part I, 2) to obtain recommendations for future planning and delivery of province-wide questionnaire and 3) as a group, to share information on patients’ experiences to diagnosis and patients’ perspectives on their interactions with health professionals (HP’s) throughout this journey. An interview-style questionnaire was developed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data on patients’ experiences. Forty patients with HRL’s diagnosed within 12 months were recruited and interviewed in the Dysplasia Clinic of the BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program. Two focus groups were conducted and feedback from participants regarding the questionnaire and patients’ experiences was recorded. Among 40 patients interviewed, 21 (53%) initially self-identified their lesions (SIG) and 19 (47%) were identified by health professional screening (PSG; 84% by dental professionals). The SIG showed higher rates of invasive SCC at diagnosis as compared to those in the PSG (76% vs. 32%, P = 0.01) and SIG took twice as long to have the initial biopsy performed as the PSG (23 ± 52 vs. 11 ± 28 months). Notably, the main symptom of patients in SIG was pain or presence of non-healing ulcers (18/21; 86%). In contrast, all lesions in PSG were asymptomatic. The mean time from detection to diagnosis was 17.5 ± 42.3 months (range: 0-240 months). Fourteen patients (35%) experienced a time lag of greater than 6 months from first detection of an oral lesion until the first diagnostic biopsy was performed. Both patient and professional factors impact on the time lag. The main contributing factors for this time lag include both patient factors (a lack of concern, fear, and a lack of oral cancer awareness) and the professional factors (lack of knowledge in differentiating high-risk lesions, delay in initiating the referral or ‘watch and wait’, and delay in scheduling of referral appointments to the specialists). Focus group results supported the format and content of the questionnaire, provided input in designing of future province-wide survey and emphasized that patients require continued post-diagnostic and treatment care. A general lack of awareness of oral cancer in general population and in HP’s in addition to a lack of screening activities have been brought forward as critical factors that result in delay to diagnosis. In conclusion, these results suggest HP’s, especially dental professionals, can play a critical role in early identification of HRL’s at an asymptomatic, pre-invasive stage through regular screening. Strategies in raising awareness of oral cancer in both the general population and among HP’s are essential for early identification of oral cancers in order to achieve better control over this disease.Dentistry, Faculty ofGraduat

Targeting the Next Generation of Gamblers? Gambling Sponsorship of Esports Teams.

No abstract available

The ‘Football Fans and Betting’ Project: Challenges and Lessons Learned from an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors

Background: Sports betting is a growth area for the gambling industry with football fans becoming a key target of advertising. This demographic is also one at elevated risk from gambling harm. This paper reflects on the NIHR-funded Football Fans and Betting project (FFAB) – an innovative early health intervention with football fans (aged 18-55) who gamble regularly to reduce their betting. Methods: We will present findings from interviews and observations to reflect on the delivery of our 8-week intervention delivered by 4 clubs’ Community Trust Coaches - Leicester, Preston North End, Accrington Stanley, and Blackpool. Planned as a feasibility study and pilot RCT, FFAB’s feasibility learnings led to the development of a different model than originally proposed. Results: Preliminary findings suggest (1) there is a clear need for an early health intervention for men looking to reduce their betting. (2) Overcoming shame and stigma are significant barriers to recruitment in a study like this. (3) Conducting independent research with football clubs, given their complex sponsorship arrangements, presents multiple challenges. (4) relatedly, while recruitment was easier in smaller more locally rooted clubs, they faced more challenges for resources which led to difficulties with retention on the programme. Conclusions: FFAB is the first intervention of its kind and has lessons for interventions with underserved groups more widely. We identified the need for more focused pre-recruitment work on changing understandings of gambling through public health-focused education. We believe more recognition and visibility of a public health approach to gambling in the wider population would help to de-stigmatise language and discussion of gambling and lessen the challenges of engaging our target group. We recommend a more grassroots, localised approach to future early health interventions of this nature. In doing so, we believe that we could minimise many of the challenges we faced in delivery

The Football Fans and Betting Project – Preliminary Findings From an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors

Sports betting is a growth area for the gambling industry with football fans becoming a key target of advertising. This demographic is also one at elevated risk from gambling harm. This paper reflects on the NIHR-funded Football Fans and Betting project (FFAB) – an innovative early health intervention with football fans (aged 18-55) who gamble regularly to reduce their betting. We will present preliminary findings from interviews and observations from the delivery of our 8-week intervention delivered by professional clubs’ community trust coaches in Leicester, Preston, Accrington, Blackpool, and Bolton. Planned as a feasibility study and pilot RCT, FFAB’s feasibility learnings led to the development of a different model than expected. Preliminary findings suggest (1) there is a need for an early health intervention for men looking to reduce their betting. (2) Overcoming shame and stigma are significant barriers to recruitment. (3) Conducting independent research with football clubs, given their complex sponsorship arrangements, presents multiple challenges. (4) While recruitment was easier in smaller more locally rooted clubs, they faced more challenges for resources which led to difficulties with participant retention. FFAB is the first intervention of its kind with gambling and has lessons for all early interventions, particularly in football clubs, and with underserved groups. Through engaging with football fans, we identified the need for more focused pre-recruitment work to grow understandings of gambling through public health-focused education. We believe more recognition and visibility of a public health approach to gambling in the wider population would help to de-stigmatise language and discussion of gambling and lessen the challenges of engaging the football fans we are targeting. We recommend a more grassroots, localised approach through community clubs for future early health interventions of this nature. In doing so, we believe that we could minimise many of the challenges we faced in delivery

The ‘Football Fans and Betting’ Project: Challenges and Lessons Learned from an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors

No abstract available

Young women sports betters in the UK: an overlooked demographic?

No abstract available