Bringing adult learning principles to university–policy engagement training involving students and policy professionals

Within the knowledge exchange literature, there is growing recognition of the role that students have in contributing to knowledge exchange through university-based programmes. To add to this growing, but embryonic, knowledge base, this paper brings together reflections of policy engagement facilitators delivering an optional, online policy training course at UCL (University College London) and the University of Manchester, UK. Known as the Policy Boot Camp, it involved fifty policy professionals, from the civil service, think tanks, local government and the third sector, and three hundred students from undergraduate and master’s degree courses. We reflect on how we drew on the principles of andragogy to create our knowledge exchange programme, so that it was problem-focused, student-led, and interactive and collaborative in nature. We discuss if an intervention such as this can be a route to support more collaborative and fluid policymaking processes. Although our conclusions from this small-scale programme are tentative, we sketch out directions for future research that could contribute to evidencing the potential benefits of courses such as this

Structurally Unsound - Exploring Inequalities: Igniting research to better inform UK policy

Inequalities are deeply embedded in our society, permeating throughout our social structures and institutions. Legislative responses that outlaw discriminatory behaviours and promote positive change are an essential part of the battle, but the structural nature of horizontal inequalities (that is, those that apply to entire groups such as women, disabled people, LGBT individuals, and people of colour rather than just at the individual level) mean that they are not necessarily sufficient. That is particularly the case once we account for additional complications associated with the intersection of various forms of horizontal inequality. The inequalities faced by women of colour are not simply those faced by white women with a racial element ‘added on’: they are fundamentally different. Making further progress rests, as ever, on securing political and social will for change. But it rests too on further developing the evidence base – both in terms of more accurately capturing the nuance of the problem statement, and better understanding what works when it comes to policy interventions. It is that goal which this project has pursued. Over the course of nine months, UCL and the Resolution Foundation have convened a series of roundtables and undertaken interviews with research and policy experts from a range of disciplines, policy areas, sectors and locations. Five cross‑cutting themes have emerged that we believe warrant consideration by all members of the research and policymaking communities that want to more effectively tackle structural inequalities in the UK: * Language / * Opportunity / * Understanding evidence / * Voice / * Place / We construct a deliberately technocratic list of lessons that researchers and policymakers should consider when thinking about how to better approach the study and treatment of structural inequalities. In this way, we hope to spread best practice and help plug the gaps in understanding that our expert engagement identified

Genotype moderates the impact of food additives on hyperactive behavior in children

Introduction: The claim of a relationship between artificial food color and additive (AFCs) intake and behavior is highly contentious. We have shown in a previous population-based trial with 3yo children adverse effects of food additives on parentally-rated hyperactive behaviour (Bateman et al, 2004). The possible role of genetic polymorphisms in moderating this adverse effect has not been previously examined. Methods A randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled, within subject crossover food challenge was used for 144, 8 to 9 year old children and 153, 3 year old children. Following baseline assessment children were placed on a diet eliminating food additives and a benzoate preservative for 6 weeks during which time they were challenged for weekly periods with either a placebo mix or a drink containing sodium benzoate (45mg daily) and one of two mixes of AFCs.: Results: The T939C and Thr105Ile polymorphisms of the histamine N-methyltransferase gene (HNMT) moderated the adverse effect s of AFCs but the polymorphisms in catecholamine genes COMT Val108Met and ADRA2A C1291G did not. These findings point to a possible role for histamine in mediating the effects of food additives and help to explain why there has been inconsistency between previous studies. Conclusions: Genes influencing a range of neurotransmitter systems and their interplay with environmental factors, such as diet, need to be examined to understand genetic influences on hyperactivity.<br/

2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change: Briefing for health policy-makers and health professionals

The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change concludes that responding to climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the twenty-first century. Many solutions to climate change offer significant health ‘co-benefits’, reducing healthcare costs for often over-burdened health systems and improving economic productivity. Alongside reducing emissions, climate change adaptation is essential to protect health. Decades-long lag in the climate system means that we are already ‘locked-in’ to many years of warming, and the associated impacts, even if emissions drop sharply. Climate change affects the world’s poorest countries earliest and most severely, despite them being least responsible. Wealthier countries therefore have a responsibility to support poor countries’ responses