The relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviours and outcomes for people living with and beyond cancer: an overview of Systematic Reviews

There are an extensive number of published evidence reviews examining the influence of lifestyle behaviours on cancer outcomes. Healthy lifestyles are a significant topic of debate in oncology and in policy and practice organisations that support people living with and beyond cancer. Such reviews vary in quality, address different relationships, outcomes and cancers, and there is often more than one review on important topics. This makes it difficult for policy and practice professionals to make decisions about the prescription and promotion of lifestyle behaviours for cancer populations. An overview of systematic reviews provides a single, overarching summary of evidence from published systematic reviews and compares and contrasts the findings of systematic reviews, providing healthcare professionals with the evidence needed for more effective decision making (Smith et al. 2011). This overview of systematic reviews synthesises evidence from systematic reviews on smoking, physical activity, dietary behaviours and alcohol consumption to present a summary of evidence about the relationships between these lifestyle behaviours and outcomes for people living with and beyond cancer

A systematic overview of reviews of the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of interventions to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours in people living with or beyond cancer

An overview of systematic reviews synthesised evidence on the relationship between smoking, physical activity, dietary behaviours and alcohol consumption and important outcomes for people living with and beyond cancer. That review demonstrated that some lifestyle behaviours may be associated with important outcomes in people living with and beyond cancer (PLWBC). However it did not inform us of whether specifically delivering interventions aimed at modifying lifestyle behaviours effectively improve outcomes for PLWBC. How to promote and sustain healthy lifestyle behaviours in cancer populations is not well understood. A single, overarching summary of evidence from published systematic reviews of lifestyle interventions which compares and contrasts findings can provide policy and practice professionals with the evidence needed for more effective decision making. This overview of systematic reviews provides a synthesis of evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions aimed at altering lifestyle behaviours for improving outcomes for people living with and beyond cancer

Qualitative findings from a systematic review: Visual arts engagement for adults with mental health conditions

This article reports on an investigation of the effects of ‘visual arts’-based programmes on subjective well-being (SWB) outcomes for adults with mental health conditions. In a systematic review, electronic databases were searched for articles published from January 2007 to April 2017. Grey literature completed from January 2014 to April 2017 was also considered. Six published articles of mostly moderate quality and six evaluation reports (grey literature) covering a wide range of visual arts practice, population groups and settings were included. Key themes emerged connected to the concept of ‘bonding’, sense of belonging, appreciation of self-identity and the confidence that engagement in visual arts can facilitate. The overall conclusion supports that visual arts have the potential to enhance the SWB of adults with mental health conditions. The evidence is relatively limited in terms of scope and quality ‐ increased funding across sectors should be secured to support more extensive and long-term research.ESRC, UK Research and Innovation Project. Project Reference: ES/N003721/

Sport and dance interventions for healthy young people (15-24 years) to promote subjective wellbeing: A systematic review

© Article author(s) (or their employer(s). Objective: to review and assess effectiveness of sport and dance participation on subjective wellbeing outcomes among 15-24 year olds. Design: Systematic review. Methods: We searched for studies published in any language between January 2006 and September 2016 on PsychINFO, Ovid MEDLINE, Eric, Web of Science (Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Social Science and Science Citation Index), Scopus, PILOTS, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and International Index to Performing Arts. Additionally, we searched for unpublished (grey) literature via an online call for evidence, expert contribution, searches of key organisation websites and the British Library EThOS database, and a keyword Google search. Published studies of sport or dance interventions for healthy 15-24-year olds where subjective wellbeing was measured were included. Studies were excluded if participants were paid professionals or elite athletes, or if the intervention was clinical sport/dance therapy. Two researchers extracted data and assessed strength and quality of evidence using criteria in the What Works Centre for Wellbeing methods guide and GRADE, and using standardised reporting forms. Due to clinical heterogeneity between studies, meta-analysis was not appropriate. Grey literature in the form of final evaluation reports on empirical data relating to sport or dance interventions were included. Results: Eleven out of 6587 articles were included (7 RCTs and 1 cohort study, and three unpublished grey evaluation reports). Published literature suggests meditative physical activity (yoga and Baduanjin Qigong) and group-based or peer-supported sport and dance has some potential to improve subjective wellbeing. Grey literature suggests sport and dance improve subjective wellbeing but identify negative feelings of competency and capability. The amount and quality of published evidence on sport and dance interventions to enhance subjective wellbeing is low. Conclusions: Meditative activities, group and peer supported sport and dance may promote subjective wellbeing enhancement in youth. Evidence is limited. Better designed studies are needed.Economic and Social Research Council (ES/ NOO3721/1)

Infectious Fear: The Rhetoric of Pestilence in Middle English Didactic Texts on Death

This article examines literary references to bubonic plague in a sample of late fourteenth- and fifteenth-century English texts that are didactic in tone and address the theme of death, including Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Pardoner’s Tale”, John Lydgate’s “Danse Macabre” and the anonymous The Castle of Perseverance and “A Disputation between the Body and Worms”. Although there have been broad surveys of bubonic plague in Middle English literature, as well as studies of isolated texts, this article is the first to examine the role of pestilence in a group of texts linked by theme and authorial intention. It contributes to current understanding of the disease in late medieval literature and culture, showing how authors utilised the idea of pestilence as a frightening cause of sudden death and as a form of rhetoric serving to encourage readers to reflect on mortality, the spiritual health of the soul and the prospect of salvation. Whereas previous research has shown that doctors, priests and writers interpreted the pestilence as a divine punishment for sin, this study demonstrates how that belief could be exploited for rhetorical purposes. The rhetoric of pestilence emerges as a powerful contemplative tool urging readers to practise self-examination, penitence and a more active, strategic approach to death

The potential influence of the digital food retail environment on health: a systematic scoping review of the literature

Introduction: The digital food retail environment (defined in this study as a digital platform, app or website where food can be purchased by individuals for personal consumption) is an emerging component of the wider food system. We aimed to systematically search and review the literature to understand the potential influence of the digital food retail environment on population diets and health. Methods: Four databases (across health, business, and marketing) and grey literature were searched using terms relating to “food and beverages”, “digital”, and “purchasing”. Identified studies were included if they examined any aspect of the digital food retail environment where outcomes were examined with a health-related focus and were published before September 2023. All study designs were included (quantitative, qualitative, observational and experimental). Reviews and conference abstracts were excluded. Results: We identified 21,382 studies, of which 57 articles were eligible for inclusion. Of the 57 included studies, 30 studies examined online grocery retail, 22 examined online food delivery platforms, and five examined meal kit subscription services. Of the 30 studies examining online grocery retail, six studies reported that customers believed they purchased fewer unhealthy food and beverages when shopping online, compared to shopping in-store. Nevertheless, customers also reported that their ability to choose healthy foods and beverages was reduced when shopping online due to difficulty in product comparison. Studies that examined online food delivery platforms primarily found that they promoted unhealthy foods and beverages more often than healthy options, through extensive use of marketing practices such as price discounts and images, and that unhealthy food offerings on these platforms dominate. Meal kit subscription services offered mostly healthy meals, with studies suggesting that these types of services may help individuals alleviate some of their “mental load” and stress related to cooking meals for their families. Conclusions: The literature describing the digital food retail environment was found to be diverse, with different aspects having potential to impact health in different ways. Some evidence suggests that online grocery retail and meal kit subscription services may have positive population dietary impacts, whereas online food delivery platforms appear likely to promote unhealthy food purchasing. However, the current evidence base is fragmented, with many knowledge gaps. Further research is required to understand the influence of the digital food retail environment on population diets, and how these environments can be designed to support healthy food choices