Evaluation of the Altogether Better Asset Mapping in Sharrow and Firth Park, Sheffield

‘I am My Community’ is an asset mapping exercise led by Altogether Better that has explored a model by which trained Community Health Champions (CHCs) are used to undertake an inventory of the physical and social assets linked to the health and well-being of their communities and neighbourhoods. The project, which started in 2011 and was completed in April 2012, was undertaken in two communities in Sheffield, Sharrow and Firth Park, by two delivery organisations, ShipShape and SOAR. A steering group including Altogether Better, the Department of Health, Sheffield Well-Being Consortium, Sheffield City Council, ShipShape staff and CHCs, SOAR staff and CHCs, and South Yorkshire Police has overseen the delivery and development of the project and work. This report presents findings from an evaluation of the ‘I am My Community’ asset mapping, conducted by the Centre for Health Promotion Research, Institute for Health and Wellbeing at Leeds Metropolitan University. It presents evidence about the engagement of CHCs in asset mapping and offers recommendations regarding their involvement in future projects

The Leeds Winter Warmth Campaign: Stakeholder Evaluation

The winter of 2012/13 was longer and colder than usual; whilst temperatures were average in December, it was colder than usual from January through to May. March was the coldest it has been for 50 years (Met Office, 2013). This evaluation focuses on the organisations funded by the Winter Warmth campaign to deliver services to Leeds residents. The overriding aim of the evaluation was to inform the operation of possible future schemes, with good practices and any issues identified. The views of organisations on the need for the funds and how the campaign was organised were ascertained. How they delivered the services, reached clients and worked with other stakeholders is explored and their suggestions for improvements described. This report should be read alongside the overall campaign report, by Leeds City Council, and the beneficiary report

An evaluation of the Department of Health’s Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

The Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF) is an innovative programme that was established in 2009 by the Department of Health (DH) to build organisational and community capacity for volunteering through a national and local grant scheme. The HSCVF has offered both funds and tailored support to health and social care projects delivered by Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations. The HSCVF is managed by a partnership led by Ecorys and with expertise from leading national voluntary sector organisations: Attend, Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and Primetimers. To date the HSCVF has funded a total of 157 local and national projects, of which 114 are currently live. This report presents findings from an evaluation of the HSCVF with a specific focus on the 2010/2011 national and local projects, conducted by a team from the Institute for Health & Wellbeing at Leeds Metropolitan University. It presents evidence on the extent to which, how and in what ways the HSCVF programme has built organisational and community capacity across the national and local HSCVF projects, as well as on the health and social outcomes that resulted

Labour efficiency on-farm

End of project reportImprovements in milking efficiency have a greater influence than any other aspect of the dairy farmers work on overall farm labour inputs (Whipp, 1992). In order to facilitate the examination of milking process labour inputs, the milking process may be divided into the following three components: herding pre and post milking (transfer of cows to and from the milking parlour); milking (milking tasks / work routines within the parlour); and washing (washing of milking machine and yard). Meanwhile, within milking specifically, the number of cows milked per operator per hour is the best measure of both the performance of the operator and the milking installation (Clough, 1978). This is affected by the following three factors: the milking times of the cows, the number and arrangement of the milking units, and the operator’s work routine (Whipp, 1992). The addition of extra milking units will only increase milking performance if the operator has idle time during milking (Hansen, 1999)

‘Small Project, Big Difference’: capacity building through a national volunteering fund : An Evaluation of The Department of Health’s Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

This article reports the findings of a mixed methods evaluation study on the impact of a national fund to support volunteering as a mechanism to achieve health and social goals, within the Department of Health’s Volunteering Fund Programme (HSCVF). This paper adds understanding of the mechanisms through which government organisations can build VSCE organisational capacity to support volunteers. Firstly, the programme increased capacity via resource mobilisation to enhance volunteer recruitment, secondly it strengthened voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations through linkages and finally the programme supported development and learning. The HSCVF impacted upon both volunteering projects and host organisations to produce a range of positive outcomes that were particularly marked in smaller organisations: ‘small project, big difference’. Successful community capacity building can result from programmes such as HSCVF, with this paper contributing to the evidence base by detailing the processes through which this occurred

Bioactive compounds of plum mango (Bouea macrophylla Griffith)

The fruit of Bouea macrophylla referred as Plum mango or Gandaria is a popular seasonal fruit, which is widely consumed in the Malay subcontinent. There is ample of traditional knowledge available among the locals on the use of leaves, bark, fruits and seeds of this plant. However, very limited research information and scientific report is available on their composition, phytochemicals or on the bioactive compounds. In the present chapter, we have aimed towards comprehensively providing information on nutritional value, functional qualities, health promoting bioactive compounds and volatile constituents of this underutilized fruit

Cadherin–catenin expression in primary colorectal cancer: a survival analysis

Both cell adhesion and cell signalling events are mediated by components of the cadherin-catenin complex. Loss of expression of the components of this complex have been shown to correlate with invasive behaviour in many tumour types although their exact role in colorectal cancer remains unclear. Immunohistochemical analysis of the expression of components of the cadherin-catenin complex in colorectal cancers from 60 patients was undertaken. Loss of memberanous expression of E-cadherin, alpha-catenin and beta-catenin was demonstrated in 52%, 85% and 40% of tumours respectively. Focal nuclear expression of beta-catenin ( 75% of tumour cells per section) was seen in 11 (18%) tumours. Loss of membranous alpha-catenin expression significantly correlated with tumour de-differentiation (P = 0.009). There was a trend towards an association between advanced tumour stage and loss of membranous expression of alpha-catenin or beta-catenin, although these associations were not statistically significant. Univariate analysis revealed that advanced Dukes' stage, tumour de-differentiation, loss of membranous beta-catenin expression, cytoplasmic beta-catenin expression and widespread nuclear expression of beta-catenin all correlated with short survival following apparently curative resection of the primary tumour. However, only Dukes' stage (P = 0.002), tumour grade (P = 0.02) and widespread nuclear expression of beta-catenin (P = 0.002) were independent predictors of short survival. Disturbed growth signalling events in colorectal tumours are thought to result in nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin. Consequently, tumours with widespread nuclear expression of beta-catenin are likely to have severely abnormal growth characteristics, and which therefore might be predictive of short survival in these patients

A systematic review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of peer education and peer support in prisons.

BACKGROUND: Prisoners experience significantly worse health than the general population. This review examines the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of peer interventions in prison settings. METHODS: A mixed methods systematic review of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness studies, including qualitative and quantitative synthesis was conducted. In addition to grey literature identified and searches of websites, nineteen electronic databases were searched from 1985 to 2012. Study selection criteria were: Population: Prisoners resident in adult prisons and children resident in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). INTERVENTION: Peer-based interventions Comparators: Review questions 3 and 4 compared peer and professionally led approaches. OUTCOMES: Prisoner health or determinants of health; organisational/ process outcomes; views of prison populations. STUDY DESIGNS: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed method evaluations. RESULTS: Fifty-seven studies were included in the effectiveness review and one study in the cost-effectiveness review; most were of poor methodological quality. Evidence suggested that peer education interventions are effective at reducing risky behaviours, and that peer support services are acceptable within the prison environment and have a positive effect on recipients, practically or emotionally. Consistent evidence from many, predominantly qualitative, studies, suggested that being a peer deliverer was associated with positive effects. There was little evidence on cost-effectiveness of peer-based interventions. CONCLUSIONS: There is consistent evidence from a large number of studies that being a peer worker is associated with positive health; peer support services are also an acceptable source of help within the prison environment and can have a positive effect on recipients. Research into cost-effectiveness is sparse. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO ref: CRD42012002349