Rapid Evidence Summaries – What evidence is there to inform the development and safe delivery of a COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign in developed countries that maximises uptake and minimises the risk of infection?

By Public Health Wales Observatory (2020)

Click here to view the responses 

Impact of delays on effectiveness of contact tracing strategies for COVID-19: a modelling study

The Lancet Public Health Volume 5, ISSUE 8, e452-e459, August 01, 2020

In countries with declining numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19, lockdown measures are gradually being lifted. However, even if most physical distancing measures are continued, other public health measures will be needed to control the epidemic. Contact tracing via conventional methods or mobile app technology is central to control strategies during de-escalation of physical distancing. We aimed to identify key factors for a contact tracing strategy to be successful.

Click here to read the full article

Population-based estimates of healthy working life expectancy in England at age 50 years: analysis of data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

The Lancet Public Health Volume 5, ISSUE 7, e395-e403, July 01, 2020

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Background
Retirement ages are rising in many countries to offset the challenges of population ageing, but people’s capacity to work for more years in their later working life (>50 years) is unclear. We aimed to estimate healthy working life expectancy in England.
Methods
This analysis included adults aged 50 years and older from six waves (2002–13) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), with linked mortality data. Healthy working life expectancy was defined as the average number of years expected to be spent healthy (no limiting long-standing illness) and in paid work (employment or self-employment) from age 50 years. Healthy working life expectancy was estimated for England overall and stratified by sex, educational attainment, deprivation level, occupation type, and region by use of interpolated Markov chain multi-state modelling.
Findings
There were 15 284 respondents (7025 men and 8259 women) with survey and mortality data for the study period. Healthy working life expectancy at age 50 years was on average 9·42 years (10·94 years [95% CI 10·65–11·23] for men and 8·25 years [7·92–8·58] for women) and life expectancy was 31·76 years (30·05 years for men and 33·49 years for women). The number of years expected to be spent unhealthy and in work from age 50 years was 1·84 years (95% CI 1·74–1·94) in England overall. Population subgroups with the longest healthy working life expectancy were the self-employed (11·76 years [95% CI 10·76–12·76]) or those with non-manual occupations (10·32 years [9·95–10·69]), those with a tertiary education (11·27 years [10·74–11·80]), those living in southern England (10·73 years [10·16–11·30] in the South East and 10·51 years [9·80–11·22] in the South West), and those living in the least deprived areas (10·53 years [10·06–10·99]).
Interpretation
Healthy working life expectancy at age 50 years in England is below the remaining years to State Pension age. Older workers of lower socioeconomic status and in particular regions in England might benefit from proactive approaches to improve health, workplace environments, and job opportunities to improve their healthy working life expectancy. Continued monitoring of healthy working life expectancy would provide further examination of the success of such approaches and that of policies to extend working lives.

Database of public health guidance on COVID-19

By Health Information and Quality Authority (2020)

To inform the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically, to inform the development of public health guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we have created a database of COVID-19 public health guidance produced by international organisations.

This database is updated daily, and is primarily for the use of relevant stakeholders in the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, the National Public Health Emergency Team, the Department of Health, and Health Service Executive.

Click here to view this website

Finding the evidence: Coronavirus

By Public Health England (2020)

We are delighted to announce the launch of the COVID-19 Register of PHE led studies. It includes Public Health England led studies relating to COVID-19, that have taken place since February 2020. The register will be updated every two months, and can be accessed via our re-vamped Finding the evidence: Coronavirus page – 4th heading down

Click here to access this website

Free e-learning – All our health

By Public Health England (2019)

Public Health England has launched new free bite-sized e-learning sessions, developed in partnership with Health Education England, to improve the knowledge, confidence and skills of all health and care professionals in preventing illness, protecting health and promoting wellbeing.
The sessions cover some of the biggest issues in public health and they contain signposting to trusted sources of helpful evidence, guidance and support to help professionals embed prevention in their everyday practice.
You can access the All Our Health e-learning sessions here

NHS long term plan case studies

The NHS Long Term Plan will make sure the NHS is fit for the future.
Find out through our case studies and films about how the NHS is already making significant changes and developing to better meet the needs of patients and their families through every stage of life.

View case studies by topic:
Cancer
Cardiovascular
Diabetes
Digital
Integrated care
Learning disabilities
Maternity
Mental health
Personalised care
Primary care
Stroke
Urgent and emergency care

View case studies by life stage:
Starting well
Better care for major health conditions
Ageing well

Prescribing cannabis based drugs: response from NICE and Health Education England

I thought I would include this response from NICE and HEE as it is an important message. Click the link below to access the letter or read it below.

https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k4940

Further to Hamilton’s recommendation that general practitioners consult Google Scholar and ask their colleagues if they are unsure about prescribing cannabis,1 we write to remind readers in England that they have 24/7 access to reliable sources of evidence to inform clinical decisions.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s evidence search (https://www.evidence.nhs.uk) provides access to authoritative evidence on health, social care, and public health. It focuses on synthesised secondary evidence, including content from over 800 sources, including the British National Formulary, Clinical Knowledge Summaries, SIGN, the Cochrane Library, the royal colleges, Public Health England, and GOV.UK. Information and knowledge specialists at NICE add further good quality systematic reviews. This service is openly available to everyone in the UK; here you will find reviews on the use of cannabis in treatment of epilepsy, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, HIV/AIDS, and asthma.

Healthcare staff in England can access a vital, core collection of healthcare databases and full text journals for no charge at https://hdas.nice.org.uk. Purchased by Health Education England on behalf of the NHS in England, these are provided online in partnership with NICE. You simply need an NHS OpenAthens account. Register at https://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/evidence-services/journals-and-databases/OpenAthens.

NHS funded librarians and knowledge specialists are skilled in helping colleagues find information and search for evidence. They can offer summarised evidence searches and help teams keep up-to-date.

Health is a knowledge industry. We encourage practices to contact their local healthcare library. Check http://hlisd.org for details. Health Education England is committed to work with NHS organisations to ensure that all staff can access knowledge for healthcare23 and benefit from the expertise of healthcare librarians. We know that only a third of Clinical Commissioning Groups currently have such arrangements in place for their staff and member practices. For advice on improving your organisation’s access to knowledge services please contact your regional Health Education England library lead.3

 

Essential Practice for Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for nursing staff

By Royal College of Nursing (2017)

This publication provides important information and guidance on the essential principles of infection prevention and control and highlights why other issues, such as nutrition and hydration, should be viewed as an essential complementary component of nursing practice. This guidance is not intended as an in-depth reference document, but instead provides an overview of the core elements and rationale for infection prevention practice and associated
activities. It is applicable to all nurses, midwives and health care assistants, regardless of their practice setting.

Click here to view this guidance

Three updated Cochrane Reviews assessing the effectiveness of influenza vaccines

By The Cochrane Library (2018)

Three Cochrane Reviews have been newly updated to incorporate the latest available evidence on vaccines for the prevention of influenza. These reviews, which focus on the prevention of influenza in healthy adults, healthy children, and in the elderly, form a long-running series by the same author team, and are available in full on the Cochrane Library:

Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults

Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children

Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly

Click here to view these reviews