All-Party Group on Coronavirus - Oral Evidence Session 20. Workers: Wellbeing, Burnout, and NHS Capacity

Evidence given on 23rd March 2021 by Dr Rachel Sumner (UoG) and Dr Elaine Kinsella (UL) to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus inquiry on the impact of the pandemic on frontline healthcare workers. Evidence based on work by Dr Rachel Sumner and Dr Elaine Kinsella

The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing: Where is Eastern Europe and Central Asia region fifteen years later?

This report represents UNFPA’s contribution to a global stocktaking exercise to mark the 15th anniversary of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) which was adopted at the Second World Assembly on Ageing in April 2002. This report is one of six that are are being prepared by UNFPA and which complement the regional review reports prepared by respective UN Regional Commissions. It contributes to the cooperation programme on ageing that exists between the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECARO). It is a technical, analytical report that reflects demographic analysis, direct experiences, literature review and policy and programme assessments. In addition, it focuses on a specific subset of countries: in this case the UNFPA programme countries in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region. It is hoped that this analytical UNFPA report will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the implementation and challenges ahead of the Madrid International Plan of Action and inspire governments and non-governmental actors to share good practices and learn from successful examples

White noise, white heat: A call to action from the frontline

Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic moves into a new phase with the successful roll out of vaccines in adults in the UK, there is an opportunity to reflect, re-evaluate, and reconfigure public health responses. Of importance is the need to defend and protect the frontline workforce who have sacrificed so much over the last 18 months. The present essay summarises key recommendations from frontline workers to policymakers with specific reference to the preparation needed for the Autumn and Winter to come. The participants from the CV19 Heroes Project give voice to concerns over the unique challenges posed by the coming months, and speak of the need to embed evidence into future policy to both compensate existing, and prevent future, occupational exposure to Covid-19, the experience of Long Covid, and the overall psychological and physical scars experienced from what has been a traumatic period of their working lives

A walk on the wild side: How interactions with non‐companion animals might help reduce human stress

1. The literature addressing the potential for nature and natural environments to reduce stress and improve health outcomes has a relative paucity of work regarding interactions with animals, particularly those that are not domestic pets. 2. The present observational study sought to understand whether a brief encounter with non-domestic animals might reduce stress and improve wellbeing of participants, and whether participants’ nature relatedness, and their appraisals of the interaction might influence these changes. 3. Participants (N=86, mean age=20.8 years, 81.8% female) took part in a brief wildlife encounter at a UK safari park, walking for approximately 11 minutes around an enclosure with free-roaming lemurs. Heart rate, cortisol, and measures of mood were taken before and after the encounter to understand whether this activity could reduce biological levels of stress and improve psychological wellbeing. 4. There was no decrease in participants’ heart rate after their encounter but there was a statistically significant decrease in salivary cortisol. Measures of mood significantly improved immediately after the encounter. Reductions in cortisol were associated with dimensions of an individual’s nature relatedness, as well as aspects of the animal encounter (number of lemurs and lemur proximity). 5. The findings contribute to parallel literature on nature-health relationships, with the addition of factors seemingly driving the interaction (individuals’ nature relatedness, and the number and proximity of the animals) providing important contributory information. The present study provides new information on how encounters with nature, particularly those involving animals, may be beneficial for health and wellbeing. Critically, this study was carried out in a setting where potential impact of visitors on animals is negligible, thereby demonstrating the potential for creating environments where both human and animal wellbeing is maximised

Engage with your community with fresh eyes: Preliminary evaluation of mindful photography as an intervention to support wellbeing

The Mindful Photography course offered by Look Again was established to support individuals to increase their wellbeing and mental health. Mindful Photography is defined as “using our sight and a camera as an anchor to help us become more consciously aware of the present moment. It is experiencing the process of creating photographs in a non-judgmental, compassionate way” (Ruth Davey, 2017). The mindful photography course involved six half-day sessions to develop photography skills and improve mental health and wellbeing through mindfulness techniques. The present evaluation was commissioned to evaluate this intervention for its efficacy in improving participants’ health and wellbeing

‘Light in dark places’: exploring qualitative data from a longitudinal study using creative arts as a form of social prescribing

Background: This paper draws on a longitudinal study exploring the outcomes of an arts referral programme in General Practice in the South West of England since 2009. It focuses on the qualitative responses of the patient cohort Methods: Using qualitative methods and thematic analysis, this paper explores and considers the responses from n = 1297 participants who provided feedback from an open-ended questionnaire on self-reported benefits of the arts referral programme. Results: Participant reactions demonstrate that the programme provided a range of personal and social benefits rarely considered or explored in comparative studies. The analysis suggests participants were able to self-manage aspects of their health-related conditions, and were able to make progress towards a better physical and/or mental health. Conclusions: The evidence suggests that arts-based referral programmes, have a range of benefits for participants that may not have been fully appreciated. The consequences on self-management requires further investigation

Causal claims about correlations reduced in press releases following academic study of health news

Background: Exaggerations in health news were previously found to strongly associate with similar exaggerations in press releases. Moreover such exaggerations did not appear to attract more news. Here we assess whether press release practice changed after these reported findings; simply drawing attention to the issue may be insufficient for practical change, given the challenges of media environments. Methods: We assessed whether rates of causal over-statement in press releases based on correlational data were lower following a seminal paper on the topic, compared to an equivalent baseline period in the preceding year. Results: We found that over-statements in press releases reduced from 28% (95% confidence interval = 16% to 45%) in 2014 to 13% (95% confidence interval = 6% to 25%) in 2015. A corresponding numerical reduction in exaggerations in news was not significant. The association between over-statements in news and press releases remained strong. Conclusions: Press release over-statements were less frequent following publication of Sumner et al. (2014), indicating that press release practice is malleable. However, this is correlational evidence and the reduction may be due to other factors