Identifying British Army infantry recruit population characteristics using biographical data

Background: The infantry accounts for more than a quarter of the British Army but there is a lack of data about the social and educational background of its recruits population. Aims: The current study uses biographical data tTo provide an insight into British Army Iinfantry rRecruits’ personal, social and educational background prior to enlistment. Methods: The study sample consisted of 1000 Iinfantry recruits who enlisted into the British Army School of Infantry. Each recruit completed a 95 item biographical questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the whole study sample in terms of demographics, physical, personal, social, and educational attributes. Results: The study sample consisted of 1000 male recruits. Over half of the recruits were consuming alcohol at a hazardous or harmful level prior to enlistment and 60% of recruits had used cannabis prior to joining the Army. Academic attainment was low, with the majority of recruits achieving GCSE grade C and below in most subjects, with 15% not taking any examinations. Over half the recruits had been in trouble with the police and either been suspended or expelled from school. Conclusions: Substance misuse and poor behaviour are highly prevalent among recruits prior to enlistment. Taken alongside existing evidence that some of these problems are commonplace among personnel in regular service, the assumption that the British Army iInfantry is, in itself, a cause of these behaviours should be questioned

Effectiveness and efficiency of training in digital healthcare packages: Training doctors to use digital medical record keeping software

Objective: Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) is the first hospital in Western Australia to implement a digital medical record (BOSSnet, Core Medical Solutions, Australia). Formal training in the use of the digital medical record is provided to all staff as part of the induction program. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the current training program facilitates efficient and accurate use of the digital medical record in clinical practice. Methods: Participants were selected from the cohort of junior doctors employed at FSH in 2015. An e-Learning package of clinically relevant tasks from the digital medical record was created and, along with a questionnaire, completed by participants on two separate occasions. The time taken to complete all tasks and the number of incorrect mouse clicks used to complete each task were recorded and used as measures of efficiency and accuracy respectively. Results: Most participants used BOSSnet more than 10 times per day in their clinical roles and self-rated their baseline overall computer proficiency level as high. There was a significant increase in the self-rating of proficiency levels in successive tests. In addition, a significant improvement in both efficiency and accuracy for all participants was measured between the two tests. Interestingly, both groups ended up with similar accuracy on the second trial, despite the second group of participants starting with significantly poorer accuracy. Conclusions: Overall, the greatest improvements in task performance followed daily ward-based experience using BOSSnet rather than formalised training. The greatest benefits of training were noted when training was delivered in close proximity to the onset of employment. What is known about the topic? Formalised training in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) is widespread in the health service. However, there is limited evidence to support the modes of learning typically used. Formalised training is often costly and there is little other than anecdotal evidence that currently supports its efficacy in the workplace. What does the paper add? Assessment of accuracy when using the BOSSnet system over time revealed that daily use rather than formalised training appeared to have the most impact on performance. Formalised training was rated poorly, and this appeared to correlate with time between training and use. The present study suggests that formalised training, if required, should be delivered close in time to actual use of the system to benefit end-users. The study also shows that daily experience is more effective than formalised training to improve accuracy. What are the implications for practitioners? Formalised training for ICT needs to be scheduled in close proximity to end-user use of the ICT. Current scheduling may be beneficial for ease of delivery, but unless it is delivered at a suitable time the benefits are minimal. Formalised training programs may not be critical for all staff and all staff improve with contextualised experience given time. Training may be better suited to optional rather than compulsory delivery programs with ongoing delivery to suit user schedules

Assessing the mental health and wellbeing of the Emergency Responder community in the UK

Those working in emergency responder (ER) roles may be at an increased risk of adverse mental health and wellbeing outcomes. The ER group, sometimes referred to as ‘First Responders’, is a broad category that includes those in the traditional ‘blue light’ emergency services and in volunteer organisations, such as Search and Rescue and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI). Regardless of the role type, the increased risk to mental health and wellbeing may be due to the nature of their work, which involves frequent exposure to potentially distressing situations, accident scenes, and threats to safety for themselves and others. These high stress activities may be compounded by intense workplace stressors, such as excessive workloads, staffing cuts, unpredictable work, inadequate support and increasing social accountability. Initial scoping work by Mind looked at wellbeing across ERs and reported a potential elevated risk of psychological issues compared to the general population, alongside a reluctance to seek support for their symptoms. However, there is a general dearth of research in this area. There is a lack of collated data concerning ERs mental health and wellbeing, and little is known about the nature and effectiveness of mental health and wellbeing support that is available to ERs and their families. This project addresses these concerns by identifying mental health and wellbeing research (completed and ongoing) across the emergency services, volunteer roles and their families, through a systematic review of UK, international and grey literature. In tandem, a comprehensive landscape review was conducted to assess the current mental health and wellbeing-related service provision and practice across the UK through stakeholder interviews and desktop-based research which investigated information available on the internet

How has the emergence of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern influenced worry, perceived risk, and behaviour in the UK? A series of cross-sectional surveys

Objectives: To investigate: changes in beliefs and behaviours following news of the Omicron variant and changes to guidance; understanding of Omicron-related guidance; and factors associated with engaging with protective behaviours. Design: Series of cross-sectional surveys (1 November to 16 December 2021, 5 waves of data collection). / Setting: Online. / Participants: People living in England, aged 16 years or over (n=1622 to 1902 per wave). / Primary and secondary outcome measures: Levels of worry and perceived risk, and engagement with key behaviours (out-of-home activities, risky social mixing, wearing a face covering, and testing uptake). / Results: Beliefs about worry and perceived risk of COVID-19 fluctuated over time, with worry, perceived risk to self and perceived risk to people increasing slightly around the time of the announcement about Omicron. Understanding of the new rules in England was low, with people over-estimating the stringency of the new rules. Rates of wearing a face covering increased over time, as did testing uptake. Meeting up with people from another household decreased around the time of the announcement of Omicron (29 November to 1 December), but then returned to previous levels. Associations with engagement with protective behaviours was investigated using regression analyses. There was no evidence for significant associations between out-of-home activity and worry or perceived risk (COVID-19 generally or Omicron-specific). Engaging in highest risk social mixing and always wearing a face covering in hospitality venues were associated with worry and perceived risk about COVID-19. Always wearing a face covering in shops was associated with having heard more about Omicron. / Conclusions: Almost two years into the COVID-19 outbreak, the emergence of a novel variant of concern only slightly influenced worry and perceived risk. The main protective behaviour (wearing a face covering) promoted by new guidance showed significant re-uptake, but other protective behaviours showed little or no change

Worry and behaviour at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak: results from three UK surveys

We aimed to describe levels of worry and uptake of behaviours that prevent the spread of infection (respiratory and hand hygiene, distancing) in the UK at the very start of the COVID-19 outbreak and to investigate factors associated with worry and adopting protective behaviours. Three cross-sectional online surveys of UK adults (28 to 30 January, n=2016; 3 to 6 February, n=2002; 10 to 13 February 2020, n=2006) were conducted. We used logistic regressions to investigate associations between outcome measures (worry, respiratory and hand hygiene behaviour, distancing behaviour) and explanatory variables. 19.8% of participants (95% CI 18.8% to 20.8%) were very or extremely worried about COVID-19. People from minoritized ethnic groups were particularly likely to feel worried. 39.9% of participants (95% CI 37.7% to 42.0%) had completed one or more hand or respiratory hygiene behaviours more than usual in the last seven days. Uptake was associated with greater worry, perceived effectiveness of individual behaviours and self-efficacy for engaging in them, and having received more information. 13.7% (95% CI 12.2% to 15.2%) had reduced the number of people they had met. This was associated with greater worry, perceived effectiveness, and self-efficacy. Worry and uptake of protective behaviours were high at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. A substantial minority reported adopting a behaviour that was not yet part of official guidance (reducing the number of people you met). At the start of novel infectious disease outbreaks, communications should emphasise perceived effectiveness of behaviours and ease with which they can be carried out.</p