Hard times: young people’s and young parents’ experiences of living through poverty in Luton

This research report is primarily concerned with the experiences of young people (16-24 years) and young parents bringing up children within the context of poverty in Luton. It is divided into three sections. Part One provides a general overview of poverty research in the UK. Part Two presents the findings from the study of young people and young parents’ experiences of poverty in Luton. Part Three discusses the implications of the findings presented and recommendations that arise from them. The overview of research presented in part one of this report is organised under the following headings: measures of poverty commonly adopted in UK poverty research; the extent of poverty in the UK including a short discussion of gender and ethnicity; attitudes to poverty amongst the general public; the impacts of poverty on children and families; poverty amongst young people; parenting in poverty; patterns of poverty. Part two of the report provides a brief description of the methodology adopted for this study and the sample amongst whom the research was conducted. Key findings are then summarised. Following this a thematic analysis of interview data is presented. This covers the following themes: how participants defined poverty; how participants explained poverty; the images of ‘poor people’ participants employed; whether participants considered they or their families were poor; participants’ descriptions of living through poverty; what participants thought the Local Authority should do to tackle poverty. Part three presents a discussion of the implications of the findings from this study and the recommendations that arise from them

Who uses NHS health checks? Investigating the impact of ethnicity and gender and method of invitation on uptake of NHS health checks

Background NHS Health Checks is a national risk assessment prevention programme for all individuals aged 40-74 that reside in England. Through the systematic assessment of an individual’s ten year disease risk, this programme aims to provide early identification and subsequent management of this risk. However, there is limited evidence on how socio-demographic factors impact on uptake and what influence the invitation method has on uptake to this programme. Methods NHS Health Check data from April 2013 to March 2014 was analysed (N = 50,485) for all 30 GP Practices in Luton, a culturally diverse town in England, UK. Data was collected for age, ethnicity, uptake (attendance and non attendance) and invitation method (letter written, verbal face-to-face, telephone). Actual usage of NHS Health Checks was determined for each ethnic group of the population and compared using Chi-square analysis. Results The overall uptake rate for Luton was 44 %, markedly lower that the set target of 50–75 %. The findings revealed a variation of uptake in relation to age, gender, level of deprivation. Ethnicity and gender variations were also found, with ‘White British’ ‘Black Caribbean’ and ‘Indian’ patients most likely to take up a NHS Health Check. However, patients from ‘Any Other White Background’ and ‘Black African’ were significantly less likely to uptake an NHS Health Check compared to all other ethnic groups. Ethnicity and gender differences were also noted in relation to invitation method. Conclusions The findings revealed that different invitation methods were effective for different ethnic and gender groups. Therefore, it is suggested that established protocols of invitation are specifically designed for maximizing the response rate for each population group. Future research should now focus on uncovering the barriers to uptake in particular culturally diverse population groups to determine how public health teams can better engage with these communities

Milton Keynes - preliminary estimates of regional traffic flows in 1981

The Milton Keynes Development Corporation and their planning consultants have asked the College Transport Group to investigate the scale of likely regional traffic flows into and out of Milton Keynes. At this stage the emphasis is on providing information for the preparation of a Master Plan for the city itself, rather than detailed traffic estimates for planning transport systems in the surrounding region. Population estimates for 1981 have been obtained from County Councils for areas within a 20 mile radius of the new city, and the proportions attracted to Milton Keynes for work and shopping assessed using gravity model techniques. Separate estimates have been made of work journeys from the city to regional employment and to London. Possible upper and lower limits to these forecasts are included to account for many uncertainties in the absolute and relative growth of population, employment and shopping opportunities in the city itself and in the surrounding region. The results are presented as traffic flews into and out of octant sectors around the city. Flows to the east are greater than to the west with work trip flows of the order of 2,500 person trips each way in the most heavily loaded sectors. A 1981 city population of 150,000 is likely to produce at least 1,500 daily commuters to London using the fast rail service, with an additional 200 commuters from the region using Milton Keynes railway station

Exploring factors contributing to low uptake of the NHS Breast Cancer Screening Programme among Black African women in the UK

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United Kingdom (UK) accounting for about 15% of cancer deaths. The National Breast Cancer Screening Programme in the UK was introduced in 1988 to assist with early detection and better management of breast cancer. Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) women however have a low uptake of the National Breast Screening programme when compared to their White counterparts. Within the BME group, Black African women have the lowest uptake of screening services and are more likely to have an advanced stage of the disease at diagnosis, leading to poorer survival rates than White women. This study aimed to explore the factors that lead to low uptake of the National Breast Cancer Screening Programme  among Black African women living in Luton and present action points to local breast cancer services. Using a qualitative research design, six focus groups were conducted with a total of twenty-five Black African women residing in Luton between May and June in 2013. Data was analysed thematically using the framework approach. Four main themes emerged across the focus group discussions: knowledge and beliefs about breast cancer and risk factors, prevention of breast cancer and awareness of the NHS breast screening service, delays in attending the NHS breast screening service and suggestions for improving information on breast cancer and the NHS breast cancer screening service. The findings from this study suggest the need for more targeted information on breast cancer and screening services for Black African women. This could help improve the uptake of the NHS breast screening service, promote early help-seeking behaviour and improve breast cancer outcomes for this ethnic group.

Dementia Education and Training in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire : An organisational audit commissioned by Health Education England

This audit established the range of dementia education available to NHS staff, social care staff and GPs across the two counties. It reports on current uptake of training, course content, assessment and accreditation of training. Future commissioning for dementia education and training might need to consider i) who in the workforce needs to be targeted, ii) whether or not there should be different sets of competencies for various professional groups, iii) accreditation that leads to recognised steps of progression; iv) joint commissioning of health and social care to deliver dementia education and trainin

Methyl Coenzyme M Reductase (mcrA) Gene Abundance Correlates with Activity Measurements of Methanogenic H2/CO2-Enriched Anaerobic Biomass

Biologically produced methane (CH4) from anaerobic digesters is a renewable alternative to fossil fuels, but digester failure can be a serious problem. Monitoring the microbial community within the digester could provide valuable information about process stability because this technology is dependent upon the metabolic processes of microorganisms. A healthy methanogenic community is critical for digester function and CH4 production. Methanogens can be surveyed and monitored using genes and transcripts of mcrA, which encodes the α subunit of methyl coenzyme M reductase – the enzyme that catalyses the final step in methanogenesis. Using clone libraries and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, we compared the diversity and abundance of mcrA genes and transcripts in four different methanogenic hydrogen/CO2 enrichment cultures to function, as measured by specific methanogenic activity (SMA) assays using H2/CO2. The mcrA gene copy number significantly correlated with CH4 production rates using H2/CO2, while correlations between mcrA transcript number and SMA were not significant. The DNA and cDNA clone libraries from all enrichments were distinctive but community diversity also did not correlate with SMA. Although hydrogenotrophic methanogens dominated these enrichments, the results indicate that this methodology should be applicable to monitoring other methanogenic communities in anaerobic digesters. Ultimately, this could lead to the engineering of digester microbial communities to produce more CH4 for use as renewable fuel