Stolen Wages in the Nation's Capital: Fixing DC's Broken Wage Theft Claims Process

Today in the District of Columbia ("the District" or "DC"), low wage workers are being shortchanged. Policies currently in place make it very difficult, to nearly impossible, for victims of wage theft to hold employers accountable for failing to pay wages owed. The Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2014, co-introduced on February 4, 2014 by Councilmembers Vincent Orange, Jim Graham, and Mary Cheh, would provide needed accountability and stronger protections to ensure that those working an honest day receive honest pay for their labor. This document provides an introduction to the current barriers affecting workers in the District, and presents an overview of the ways in which the Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2014 would ameliorate these problems; thereby making the District a better place for workers and responsible businesses

EAST MIDLANDS INTEGRATED LIFESTYLE (ILS) DATABASE: FEASIBILITY STUDY - FINAL REPORT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background: A regional integrated database could serve as a rich data source for in-depth analysis in research studies across key Public Health lifestyle areas in the East Midlands. This could inform Public Health policy, service delivery and commissioning decisions. Unfortunately, existing datasets are poorly aligned across the four key Public Health lifestyle areas examined in this study: physical activity, smoking cessation, reduction in alcohol consumption, and diet and weight management. This feasibility study was therefore commissioned by the East Midlands Directors of Public Health Group chaired by Professor Derek Ward, Director of Public Health in Lincolnshire, with funding from the NIHR East Midlands Clinical Research Network and the College of Social Science, University of Lincoln. Public Health researchers in the Mental Health, Health and Social Care Research Group (MH2aSC) at the University of Lincoln were invited to carry out the study to explore the feasibility of developing and implementing an integrated lifestyle database across the East Midlands Region. Methods: A scoping review for available evidence was conducted to inform decisions about feasibility of the proposed integrated lifestyle database. This was followed by a consultation exercise with 18 stakeholders, predominantly in the East Midlands, from September 2020 to February 2021. The consultation exercise sought to gather the views of stakeholders, purposively invited to take part due to their role in public health, about the potential feasibility of an integrated database. Stakeholders were identified and invited by email to participate in the consultation meetings which took place via Microsoft Teams. A topic guide, designed specifically for this study, was used to guide the discussion. The meetings were recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically. Results: The scoping literature review revealed potential benefits but also barriers to the development of an integrated lifestyle dataset, and highlighted the need to consider local factors which need to be better understood prior to implementation. These findings from the literature were supported by rustults from the subsequent consultation exercise. Stakeholders for the most part, welcomed the idea of an integrated East Midlands lifestyle database because of its potential benefits for research and to produce evidence to inform service development and commissioning decisions. However, concerns were expressed by some providers including anxieties around revealing their business strategies to rival organisations also involved in the provision of lifestyles services, the cost of setting up and running the proposed integrated database, and the complexities involved in information sharing and governance arrangements which would need to be established. Conclusion: In view of the findings the following options should be explored while taking into consideration the barriers and facilitators expressed by stakeholders: 1. A fully integrated individual level lifestyle dataset across the whole East Midlands covering all four lifestyle areas, with governance and access controlled by one institution (possibly a Local Authority or a university) that will house and maintain the database. 2. A fully integrated individual level dataset for all four lifestyle areas, within just one geographical area to start with, which is owned by the service provider. There is a need to consider how to make this available more widely, as the providers only report collated data back to the commissioners. 3. A fully integrated individual level dataset initially starting with one health area (possibly smoking which already has a standardised Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across the whole region, (to be rolled out later subject to success), with governance and access controlled by the institution (either a Local Authority or a local university) that will house the database. 4. An integrated aggregated level dataset covering all four lifestyle areas (reporting similar KPIs as is done currently by service providers who report back to their commissioners), across the whole East Midlands, with governance and access controlled by one institution (possibly a Local Authority or a university) that will house and maintain the database. 5. A fully integrated aggregated level dataset for all four lifestyle areas, within just one geographical area to start with, as we have in Lincolnshire, which is owned by the service provider. There is a need to consider how to make this more widely available, as the providers only report collated data back to the commissioners. This is the model already used in Lincolnshire. 6. An integrated aggregated level dataset initially starting with one health area (possibly smoking which already has a standardised KPI) across the whole region, (to be rolled out later subject to success), with governance and access controlled by the institution (either a Local Authority or a local university) that will house the database

Peer Supporters’ Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing needs:Key Factors and Opportunities for Co-Produced Training

Abstract Introduction Peer supporters are a valuable asset to mental health and support services, but their own mental health needs are often overlooked in research and practice. This study explored peer supporters' perceived challenges of maintaining their mental health and emotional wellbeing and co‐produced training needs. Methods A qualitative approach was used to explore factors affecting peer supporters' mental health and emotional wellbeing. Semi‐structured interviews and focus groups were conducted online with 11 peer supporters across North East England. Results A thematic analysis identified: ‘Lack of training and support’, ‘Role ambiguity’ and ‘Emotional labour’ as challenges experienced by peer supporters in relation to maintaining their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Peer supporters' own lived experiences had the potential to act as a barrier towards providing support to others. Conflict with peer ‘supportees’ sometimes negatively impacted on the peer supporter experience. Participant responses emphasised a need for person‐centred, co‐produced training. Conclusion This work highlights the need for targeted training for peer supporters, including both role‐specific education and strategies to support their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Patient or Public Contribution Participants were contacted and asked to provide feedback on finalised themes to ensure the analysis was congruent with their experiences, further enabling the future development of an emotional wellbeing training programme for peer supporters

Porridge, piety, and patience: young Qur’anic students’ experiences of poverty in Kano, Nigeria

Inequalities are growing on a global scale and rising consumerism has exacerbated the negative connotations of material deprivation in many places. What does this imply for how poor people experience their situation? What role does religion play in their lives? This paper explores these questions by studying how young Qur'anic students (almajirai) in Kano in northern Nigeria experience, and deal with, being poor. In the context of growing violent conflict related to the Boko Haram insurgency, poor Muslims, including the almajirai, have frequently been cast as being prone to violence in order to claim their share of highly unequally distributed resources. Religion has often been portrayed as a radicalizing force in their lives. This paper challenges such views. It describes how the almajirai deploy religious discourses to moderate feelings of inadequacy and shame triggered by experiences of exclusion. At the same time, recourse to religious discourses emphasizing the values of asceticism and endurance does not further an agenda of social change and thus risks perpetuating the almajirai's weak social position. The paper concludes that consumerism and wealth-based definitions of status are likely to silence demands for social justice

One You Lincolnshire Interim Evaluation Slide deck

Description of the RE-AIM evaluation framework Research Design and Methodology Interview and Focus Group Results Findings, Implications and Next Step

RE-AIM Evaluation of One You Lincolnshire Integrated Lifestyle Service: Interim Report

Introduction: Many unhealthy behaviours such as tobacco smoking, poor diet, harmful alcohol use, and physical inactivity tend to group. In England, around a quarter of people are engaged in three or more unhealthy behaviours, contributing to a higher risk of ill health. Interventions, known as integrated lifestyle services (ILS), encourage sustained health changes and reduced costs. There is limited evidence on the effectiveness of ILSs in rural settings and factors that impact implementation. One You Lincolnshire is a non-NHS provider working with GP practices, community care services and local charities to offer online, digital lifestyle support for individuals with long-term health conditions. Methods: This study aimed to identify the impact of addressing unhealthy behaviours for an individual through One You Lincolnshire (OYL), establish how OYL has been implemented, and highlight any potential risks and challenges that may impact the intervention in the future. This presentation will give an overview of the key findings from phase 1 of the evaluation, which used a mixed-method approach and was co-produced with a multi-stakeholder group. The study had a total of 53 participants, including Service Users (n = 24), Health Professionals (n= 9), One You Lincolnshire staff (n=17) and Stakeholders (n=3). Key Findings: Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes in service delivery and implementation. From the interviews and focus groups, the key findings were as follows:  - Online delivery model offered much greater accessibility for a wide range of clients in rural areas.​  -Once referred, an integrated service model decreased barriers for stigmatised health needs such as smoking cessation or alcohol reduction.​ -A legacy of decommissioning services led to apprehension for some health professionals to adopt the model. The results from phase 1 highlight that digital service delivery during the covid pandemic may increase accessibility for individuals with long-term health conditions. Also, participating in multiple pathways suggest an increase in sustained long-term changes.  Conclusion: Integrated lifestyle services could be an effective model to tackle co-morbidities with opportunities to work with community partners to develop robust care pathways. However, there are still challenges in adopting the model by GP practices and the need to further explore the service's health outcomes and cost-effectiveness. Implications: These findings will be used to make real-time changes to One You Lincolnshire service delivery and contribute to a broader body of research on the implementation of ILS in rural settings. One limitation of the study was the dropout of some participants between survey and interview, resulting in fewer service users' perspectives than desired. However, phase 2 will focus on a more extensive dataset to triangulate the findings