Transient and Quasi-Steady Thermal Behaviour of a Building Envelope due to Retrofitted Cavity Wall and Ceiling Insulation

Accurate understanding of the thermal behaviour of building components is essential for predicting heat-ing or cooling needs and facilitates the implementation of more successful energy saving strategies and retrofits. This paper focuses on a specific measure commonly introduced through the residential energy efficiency retrofit programmes in Ireland–insulation. Traditionally, assessments of the performance of building envelopes have been based on assumed thermal resistances of the materials involved, labora-tory tests and computer modelling. The aim of the present work is to investigate the in situ thermal behaviour of a case study building and its components under transient and quasi-steady environmental conditions, comparing data before and after the fixing of cavity wall and ceiling insulation. The paper concludes by proposing that predicted values of heat loss using standardised assumed material prop-erties of the existing structure do not reflect the actual values achieved in situ for this test case. These values greatly overestimated the impact of the retrofitted insulation on heat loss through the ceiling and wall

Alternative and Simulated Placements - Augmenting Routes for Registration for Biomedical Scientists

“The lack of clinical placement pathology across NHS pathology services is well documented and is a factor linked to a nationwide shortage of newly registered Biomedical Scientists entering the clinical diagnostic workforce. This lack of workforce capacity is a contributory factor in diagnostic delays and increased staff turnover as the National Health Service embarks on ambitious and challenging recovery plans to tackle the post-pandemic backlogs to clinical services. Despite the recent adaptation to simulated and alternative placements across other allied health professions to mitigate against loss of placement capacity, such alternatives have not been adopted as standard practice within Biomedical Scientist education. This work will explore the current challenges and present evidence-based approaches to incorporating simulated clinical laboratory experience into undergraduate biomedical science teaching. This will include examples of best practice and case studies, qualitative and quantitative evaluation of student and practitioner involvement in simulated experiences, and the presentation of a tool kit approach to evidence-based, risk assessed laboratory simulation design.

The association between exaggeration in health related science news and academic press releases: retrospective observational study

Objective To identify the source (press releases or news) of distortions, exaggerations, or changes to the main conclusions drawn from research that could potentially influence a reader’s health related behaviour. Design Retrospective quantitative content analysis. Setting Journal articles, press releases, and related news, with accompanying simulations. Sample Press releases (n=462) on biomedical and health related science issued by 20 leading UK universities in 2011, alongside their associated peer reviewed research papers and news stories (n=668). Main outcome measures Advice to readers to change behaviour, causal statements drawn from correlational research, and inference to humans from animal research that went beyond those in the associated peer reviewed papers. Results 40% (95% confidence interval 33% to 46%) of the press releases contained exaggerated advice, 33% (26% to 40%) contained exaggerated causal claims, and 36% (28% to 46%) contained exaggerated inference to humans from animal research. When press releases contained such exaggeration, 58% (95% confidence interval 48% to 68%), 81% (70% to 93%), and 86% (77% to 95%) of news stories, respectively, contained similar exaggeration, compared with exaggeration rates of 17% (10% to 24%), 18% (9% to 27%), and 10% (0% to 19%) in news when the press releases were not exaggerated. Odds ratios for each category of analysis were 6.5 (95% confidence interval 3.5 to 12), 20 (7.6 to 51), and 56 (15 to 211). At the same time, there was little evidence that exaggeration in press releases increased the uptake of news. Conclusions Exaggeration in news is strongly associated with exaggeration in press releases. Improving the accuracy of academic press releases could represent a key opportunity for reducing misleading health related news

The strengths and challenges of online services and interventions to support the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people: A study exploring the views of young people, carers, and social care professionals in Wales during the Coronavirus pandemic

The Coronavirus pandemic and its associated lockdowns and restrictions prompted a move from face-to-face interactions to remote forms of engagement that relied on telephone or online contact. This had consequences for the type and frequency of mental health and wellbeing services and interventions that were available to care-experienced children and young people and their foster and kinship carers. This report presents the views and experiences of online mental health and wellbeing provision among young people, carers, and health and social care professionals in Wales during the Coronavirus pandemic. Data were produced in online qualitative interviews with 23 participants, including care-experienced young people (n=3), the biological child of a foster carer (n=1), health and social care professionals (n=9), and foster and kinship carers (n=10). The participants discussed the strengths and challenges of online and in-person services and offered recommendations for future practice and interventions. Once the interview data was generated and analysed the project team met with three advisory groups to discuss the findings of the study and refine the recommendations for policy and practice. These meetings involved foster and kinship carers (n=10) who were members of The Fostering Network’s All Wales Foster Carers’ Advisory Forum, which is facilitated by The Fostering Network in Wales, care-experienced young people (n=4) who were part of CASCADE Voices, and young people (n=4) who were members of The Fostering Network in Wales Young People’s Care Forum. The findings from the study noted some benefits of online mental health and wellbeing services and interventions for care-experienced children and young people, including accessibility, privacy and being able to engage or disengage remotely without the pressures of face-to-face interactions. However, accessibility, a lack of privacy and the format of online interactions were also cited as some of the challenges of remote forms of contact. Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of online versus in-person contact were complex and intertwined. This complexity reflects the important point that care-experienced children and young people are not a uniform group. Rather, care-experienced young people need to be seen as individuals and to be afforded a choice about the provision of health and wellbeing interventions that best support their particular needs and requirements. The report offers recommendations in six key areas, research; training; awareness and access; resources; choices and flexibility; safety, and protection and risk. The findings of this report aim to support improvement of both remote and face-to-face services and interventions to support the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people as we move beyond the restrictions of the Coronavirus pandemic

Acceptability, feasibility and perceived effectiveness of online and remote mental health and wellbeing interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study with care-experienced young people, carers and professionals

The COVID-19 pandemic, and associated lockdowns, saw numerous services move to online and remote delivery. This included mental health and wellbeing interventions for care-experienced young people. To date there has been limited consideration of how different stakeholders experienced the receipt or delivery of remote provision during this period. We conducted online one-to-one and small group interviews with: young people with experience of care (n = 3); a young person whose biological parents were foster carers (n = 1); foster and kinship carers (n = 10); and social care and affiliated professionals (n = 9). We further engaged with relevant stakeholder consultation groups to refine and confirm study findings. Five central themes were generated, that reflected participants’ experience of a range of services, while also serving as recommendations for the future development and optimisation of provision: 1) Awareness: there is a lack of general awareness of mental health provision and understanding of what is available to support care-experienced young people, and a specific lack of knowledge regarding online support; 2) Choice and tailoring: young people need choice and flexibility in identifying provision that best suits their needs, and this includes the decision to receive online, blended or in-person services; 3) Training: carers and professionals need training on how to foster relationships with young people online and how to ensure safety and child protection; 4) Safety, protection and risk: young people need to have safe and private spaces when accessing online services; and 5) Access and resources: care-experienced young people don’t always have access to online support, and need appropriate technological devices that don’t have prohibitive restrictions. Taken together, the study findings offer insight into how interventions and services may be developed and optimised moving forward to ensure that they are meeting the needs of young people in care, and maximize likely effectiveness

‘I probably wouldn’t want to talk about anything too personal’: A qualitative exploration of how issues of privacy, confidentiality and surveillance in the home impact on access and engagement with online services and spaces for care-experienced young people

This paper draws on a qualitative interview-based study that explored online mental health and wellbeing interventions and services for care-experienced young people. The study involved young people (n = 4), foster carers (n = 8), kinship carers (n = 2) and social care professionals (n = 9) in Wales, UK. The paper reflects on the complexities of online communication in the space of ‘the home’. It documents the ways in which care-experienced young people’s living arrangements can restrict access to services and complicate confidentiality within portals to the virtual world, creating an environment where young people and their carers ‘wouldn’t want to talk about anything too personal’. Drawing on data generated in a study focused on services and interventions to support the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people, the paper considers privacy, confidentiality and surveillance in the home and reflects on how associated relational practices impact on care-experienced young people. While the data discussed in this paper was generated during the Covid-19 pandemic, its findings have implications for how care-experienced young people and their carers can be supported to engage with the digital world in the future