Socio-economic inequalities in physical functioning: a comparative study of English and Greek elderly men

The associations between socio-economic position (SEP) and physical functioning have frequently been investigated but little is known about which measures of SEP are the best to use for older people. This study examined how different SEP indicators related to the physical functioning of men aged 50 or more years in England and Greece. The data derived from Wave 1 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Self-reported physical functioning limitations and mobility difficulties were combined and categorised into ‘no disability’, ‘mild disability’ and ‘severe disability’. The SEP indicators studied were: wealth, educational level and occupational class. The findings indicate that respondents with less wealth, fewer educational qualifications and lower occupational class were more likely to experience mild or severe physical disability than those of high SEP. When all three measures of SEP were adjusted for each other, in both samples wealth maintained a strong association with mild and severe disability, while education was associated with severe disability but only among English men. Occupational class was not strongly associated with physical disability in either case. Hence, among English and Greek older men, wealth was a more important predictor of physical functioning difficulties than either occupational class or education

Institute of Sport and Exercise Science Students’ Perception of Library Resources and Their Availability

While students appear to find library resources difficult to understand and use, they also seem reluctant to ask for help or unwilling to persevere when searching does not yield instant results. Focusing on undergraduate students studying Sport and Exercise Science, this paper discusses the findings of focus group interviews conducted with each undergraduate year group. The students were asked about their expectations of the library service and how they had acquired the information skills needed to use library resources. Students struggled to articulate individual skills required for successful library searches and frequently identified library instruction with boredom and frustration. The findings indicate that students expect using library resources to be easy, find librarian-led library teaching to be unrealistic, and develop a strategic searching strategy whereby as little time is spent on researching as possible. While primarily the views of ISES students, the findings could be applied to the wider student body. The paper recommends further investigation into students’ strategic searching and how this relates to their information literacy needs

Genre-based strategies for integrating critical and creative thinking in Engineering and Journalism

In this paper we propose genre-based strategies for integrating two key lifelong competencies, critical and creative thinking, in Engineering and Journalism. In both disciplines there is a need to apply professional expertise in various contexts and to communicate with different audiences. Drawing on previous studies, we sketch a basic needs analysis in these professional fields, point to major learning obstacles, and provide guidelines for collaboration between language and content teachers in English-medium instruction settings. In such collaboration, genre is simultaneously the hub, the framing structure, and the shared middle ground between content and form and even between disparate disciplines. Our goal is an integrative pedagogy that merges the acquisition of disciplinary content and procedures with the practice of ‘soft skills’ and the ability to transform and interrelate knowledge. Our contention for both Engineering and Journalism is that by allowing students to understand genres and explore their potential, we can provide them with learning experiences in which critical thinking and creativity are engaged

Quantifying the value of ecosystem services: a case study of honeybee pollination in the UK

There is concern that insect pollinators, such as honey bees, are currently declining in abundance, and are under serious threat from environmental changes such as habitat loss and climate change; the use of pesticides in intensive agriculture, and emerging diseases. This paper aims to evaluate how much public support there would be in preventing further decline to maintain the current number of bee colonies in the UK. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to obtain the willingness to pay (WTP) for a theoretical pollinator protection policy. Respondents were asked whether they would be WTP to support such a policy and how much would they pay? Results show that the mean WTP to support the bee protection policy was £1.37/week/household. Based on there being 24.9 million households in the UK, this is equivalent to £1.77 billion per year. This total value can show the importance of maintaining the overall pollination service to policy makers. We compare this total with estimates obtained using a simple market valuation of pollination for the UK

Management and drivers of change of pollinating insects and pollination services. National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England, Evidence statements and Summary of Evidence

These Evidence Statements provide up-to-date information on what is known (and not known) about the status, values, drivers of change, and responses to management of UK insect pollinators (as was September 2018). This document has been produced to inform the development of England pollinator policy, and provide insight into the evidence that underpins policy decision-making. This document sits alongside a more detailed Summary of Evidence (Annex I) document written by pollinator experts. For information on the development of the statements, and confidence ratings assigned to them, please see section ?Generation of the statements? below. Citations for these statements are contained in the Summary of Evidence document

Management of Devastating Ocular Trauma--Experience of Maxillofacial Surgeons Deployed to a Forward Field Hospital

Combat-related eye injuries continue to increase in frequency and are generally secondary to Improvised Explosive Devices. Many ocular injuries are potentially preventable by the wearing of ballistic eye protection. The management of penetrating eye trauma is normally outside the routine practice of maxillofacial surgeons in the UK. The aim of this paper is to describe the surgical techniques used in the modern management of devastating ocular trauma including selected case examples managed by British military maxillofacial surgeons deployed to Afghanistan

Assessing the Potential Return on Investment of the Proposed UK NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme in Different Population Subgroups: An Economic Evaluation

Objectives: To evaluate potential return on investment of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (DPP) in England, and estimate which population subgroups are likely to benefit most in terms of cost-effectiveness, cost-savings and health benefits. Design: Economic Analysis using the School for Public Health Research Diabetes Prevention Model Setting: England 2015-16 Population: Adults aged 16 or over with high risk of type 2 diabetes (HbA1c 6-6.4%). Population subgroups defined by age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic deprivation, baseline BMI, baseline HbA1c and working status. Interventions: The proposed NHS DPP: An intensive lifestyle intervention focussing on dietary advice, physical activity and weight loss. Comparator: No diabetes prevention intervention. Main outcome measures: Incremental costs, savings and return on investment, quality adjusted life years (QALYs), diabetes cases, cardiovascular cases and net monetary benefit from an NHS perspective. Results: Intervention costs will be recouped through NHS savings within 12 years, with net NHS saving of £1.28 over 20 years for each £1 invested. Per 100,000 DPP interventions given, 3,552 QALYs are gained. The DPP is most cost-effective and cost-saving in obese individuals, those with baseline HbA1c 6.2-6.4% and those aged 40-74. QALY gains are lower in minority ethnic and low socioeconomic status subgroups. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggests that there is 97% probability that the DPP will be cost-effective within 20 years. NHS savings are highly sensitive to intervention cost, effectiveness and duration of effect. Conclusions: The DPP is likely to be cost-effective and cost-saving under current assumptions. Prioritising obese individuals could create the most value for money and obtain the greatest health benefits per individual targeted. Low socioeconomic status or ethnic minority groups may gain fewer QALYs per intervention, so targeting strategies should ensure the DPP does not contribute to widening health inequalities. Further evidence is needed around the differential responsiveness of population subgroups to the DPP.

The cost-effectiveness of an updated theory-based online health behavior intervention for new university students: U@Uni2

Background: The transition to university marks a point where young people may be open to changing health behaviours such as smoking, exercise, diet and alcohol intake. This study aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of an updated online health behaviour intervention for new university students in the UK – “U@Uni2”, compared with both a control (measurement only) scenario and with the original intervention (“U@Uni1”). Methods: The economic analysis, based on a randomised controlled trial, comprised a detailed costing analysis, a within-trial cost-effectiveness analysis and long-term economic modelling. Cost-effectiveness of the U@Uni2 trial was estimated using 6-month data on costs and health-related quality of life. An individual patient simulation model was adapted for long-term economic analysis of U@Uni2. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis and value of information analysis accounted for uncertainty in model inputs and identified key parameters. Results: The U@Uni2 intervention costs £45.97 per person for full implementation, £10.43 per person for roll-out in a different institution and £3.03 per person for roll-out over five years. The U@Uni2 trial was not cost-effective because marginally fewer quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were obtained in the intervention arm than control. However, modelled over a lifetime, U@Uni2 is estimated to produce more QALYs than control but fewer than U@Uni1, primarily due to the effect of the interventions on smoking. Roll-out of U@Uni2 is highly likely to be more cost-effective than doing nothing (ICER = £536 per QALY, 86% probability cost-effective). Decision uncertainty occurs primarily around the effectiveness of the U@Uni2 intervention and is worth up to £3.24m. Conclusions: The U@Uni2 intervention is highly likely to be cost-effective to roll-out compared with doing nothing. The results suggest that preventing uptake of smoking is the key driver of QALY gain and should be the primary target of such interventions. Trial Registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN6768418

Management and drivers of change of pollinating insects and pollination services. National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England, Evidence statements and Summary of Evidence

These Evidence Statements provide up-to-date information on what is known (and not known) about the status, values, drivers of change, and responses to management of UK insect pollinators (as was September 2018). This document has been produced to inform the development of England pollinator policy, and provide insight into the evidence that underpins policy decision-making. This document sits alongside a more detailed Summary of Evidence (Annex I) document written by pollinator experts. For information on the development of the statements, and confidence ratings assigned to them, please see section ‘Generation of the statements’ below. Citations for these statements are contained in the Summary of Evidence document