Social prescribing practices and learning across the North West Coast region: essential elements and key challenges to implementing effective and sustainable social prescribing services.

Introduction: Social prescribing has become an important feature of the UK primary care offer. However, there remains limited evidence on how best to implement and deliver social prescribing programmes to maximise effectiveness and long-term sustainability.

Aim: To explore social prescribing practices and experience of implementing social prescribing programmes across National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) Collaborative Leadership for Applied Health and Care Research (CLAHRC) North West Coast (NWC) and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) NWC region to identify key learning points that can be applied to other settings.

The perception of risk in contracting and spreading COVID-19 amongst individuals, households and vulnerable groups in England: a longitudinal qualitative study.

Background: Social distancing restrictions to manage the COVID-19 pandemic were put in place from March 2020 in the United Kingdom (UK), with those classed as "highly clinically vulnerable" advised to shield entirely and remain at home. However, personal risk perception has been shown to comprise of various elements beyond those outlined in the national pandemic guidance. It is unclear whether those deemed COVID-19 vulnerable identified as high-risk to COVID-19 and thus complied with the relevant advice.

Characteristics of mental health stability during COVID-19: An online survey with people residing in a city region of the North West of England.

Background And Aim: Despite the significant mental health challenges the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated government measures have presented, research has shown that the majority of people have adapted and coped well. The aim of this study was i) to determine the proportion of people with mental stability and volatility during the pandemic in a North West England city region sample and ii) to establish group differences in psychosocial variables. Mental stability and volatility refer to the extent to which individuals reported change in levels of common mental health symptoms over the course of 12 weeks.

Anthelmintics for people with neurocysticercosis.

Background: Neurocysticercosis is a parasitic infection of the central nervous system by the larval stage of the pork tapeworm and is a common cause of seizures and epilepsy in endemic areas. Anthelmintics (albendazole or praziquantel) may be given alongside supportive treatment (antiepileptics/analgesia) with the aim of killing these larvae (cysticerci), with or without corticosteroid treatment. However, there are potential adverse effects of these drugs, and the cysticerci may eventually die without directed anthelminthic treatment.

Discussing end of life wishes - the impact of community interventions?

Background: Many people do not discuss end of life preferences with those closest to them, although this can be beneficial to the individual and wider population. This study evaluated a community intervention to promote end of life preparation and discussion among people who are currently well.

Methods: A series of presentations and workshops (the intervention) were delivered to community groups and people working within health and social care.

Causes of blindness in children attending a school for the blind in Mali.

Introduction: Among the 1.4 million blind children in the world, 300,000 live in Africa. The causes of blindness vary from one country to another.

Pilot randomised controlled trial of focused narrative intervention for moderate to severe depression in palliative care patients: DISCERN trial.

Background: Depression is poorly detected and sub-optimally managed in palliative care patients, and few trials of psychosocial interventions have been carried out in this group of patients.

Aims: A pilot trial to determine the effect of a focused narrative intervention on depression in palliative care patients when used in addition to usual care.

Design: Patients scoring 10 or higher on Patient Health Questionnaire-9 randomised to focused narrative intervention in addition to usual care or usual care only and followed up at 2, 4 and 6 weeks.

Rapid Diagnostic Testing for Plasmodium vivax and Nonfalciparum Malaria in Endemic Areas.

Clinical Question: How sensitive and specific are rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for diagnosing Plasmodium vivax and nonfalciparum malaria in endemic areas?

Bottom Line: Vivax-specific RDTs were highly sensitive and specific when compared with microscopy (the gold standard) for detecting P vivax malaria. RDTs that can only distinguish Plasmodium falciparum from nonfalciparum malaria were less sensitive.

WA23 Research methodology workshop.

Background: Public health approaches to end of life are a relatively recent development; hence research methodology in this area is also being developed.

Aim: A workshop for practitioners and researchers describing methodologies used by an end of life public health programme to develop and test interventions and assess the needs and potential for success of further work.

Methods: During the workshop we will describe the methodologies used in a programme which aimed to reframe death and loss as social event and additionally included participatory approaches and engaging communities.

PA20 Views on talking about death, dying and loss.

Background: Societal barriers to open discussion of personal feelings and preferences relating to death may hinder planning for end of life and supporting people who are dying or bereaved.

Aim: To explore views about talking about death, dying and loss.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 people; age range 30 to 83 years.

PA17 Interventions to improve upstream communication about death and dying.

Background: Death is universal. Only 37% of adults have a will and 48% have stated their wishes regarding cremation or burial.(1) Planning and communication can help prevent some of the distress associated with dying and bereavement.

Rapid diagnostic tests for diagnosing uncomplicated non-falciparum or Plasmodium vivax malaria in endemic countries.

Background: In settings where both Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum infection cause malaria, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) need to distinguish which species is causing the patients' symptoms, as different treatments are required. Older RDTs incorporated two test lines to distinguish malaria due to P. falciparum, from malaria due to any other Plasmodium species (non-falciparum).

Reminder systems to improve patient adherence to tuberculosis clinic appointments for diagnosis and treatment.

Background: People with active tuberculosis (TB) require six months of treatment. Some people find it difficult to complete treatment, and there are several approaches to help ensure completion. One such system relies on reminders, where the health system prompts patients to attend for appointments on time, or re-engages people who have missed or defaulted on a scheduled appointment.

Supportive and palliative care for patients with chronic mental illness including dementia.

Purpose Of Review: People with preexisting mental illness are known to have difficulty accessing healthcare services including palliative care and people with dementia have similar issues accessing palliative care.

Recent Findings: The review addressed the time period from January 2013 to March 2014. There were few articles addressing issues for palliative and supportive care for patients with preexisting mental health issues.

Interventions to encourage discussion of end-of-life preferences between members of the general population and the people closest to them - a systematic literature review.

Background: Discussing end of life preferences can be beneficial, and it is thought that the best time to have these conversations is usually when people are well. This review aims to establish current evidence for the effectiveness of community-based interventions to encourage people to consider, and to discuss with those closest to them, their preferences for end of life care or what they wish to happen after their death.

Methods: A systematic literature review was undertaken.

A clinical pattern-based etiological diagnostic strategy for sensory neuronopathies: a French collaborative study.

Sensory neuronopathies (SNNs) encompass paraneoplastic, infectious, dysimmune, toxic, inherited, and idiopathic disorders. Recently described diagnostic criteria allow SNN to be differentiated from other forms of sensory neuropathy, but there is no validated strategy based on routine clinical investigations for the etiological diagnosis of SNN. In a multicenter study, the clinical, biological, and electrophysiological characteristics of 148 patients with SNN were analyzed.

Support for children identified with acute flaccid paralysis under the global polio eradication programme in Uttar Pradesh, India: a qualitative study.

Background: Cases of polio in India declined after the implementation of the polio eradication programme especially in these recent years. The programme includes surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) to detect and diagnose cases of polio at early stage. Under this surveillance, over 40,000 cases of AFP are reported annually since 2007 regardless of the number of actual polio cases.

Nutritional supplements for people being treated for active tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculosis and malnutrition are linked in a complex relationship. The infection may cause undernutrition through increased metabolic demands and decreased intake, and nutritional deficiencies may worsen the disease, or delay recovery by depressing important immune functions. At present, there are no evidence-based nutritional guidance for adults and children being treated for tuberculosis.

Rapid diagnostic tests for diagnosing uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in endemic countries.

Background: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for Plasmodium falciparum malaria use antibodies to detect either HRP-2 antigen or pLDH antigen, and can improve access to diagnostics in developing countries.

Objectives: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of RDTs for detecting P. falciparum parasitaemia in persons living in endemic areas who present to ambulatory healthcare facilities with symptoms suggestive of malaria by type and brand.

Oral vaccines for preventing cholera.

Editorial Note: This review is superseded by the published Cochrane Review, Saif‐Ur‐Rahman 2024 [https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.

Healthy eating in early years settings: a review of current national to local guidance for North West England.

Objective: To determine the extent to which national and local UK guidelines for the early years sector address key recommendations for encouraging healthy eating based on best available evidence.

Design: Phase 1 comprised a literature review to identify new evidence to assess current relevance of the Caroline Walker Trust (CWT) 'Eating well for under-5 s in child care' guidelines. Phase 2 assessed the completeness of seven local to national-level government guidelines by comparison with the 'gold standard' CWT guidelines.

Anthelmintics for people with neurocysticercosis.

Background: Neurocysticercosis is an infection of the brain by the larval stage of the pork tapeworm. In endemic areas it is a common cause of epilepsy. Anthelmintics (albendazole or praziquantel) may be given to kill the parasites.

Zinc supplements for preventing otitis media.

Background: Otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear, usually caused by infection) affects people of all ages, but is particularly common in young children. Around 164 million people worldwide have long-term hearing loss caused by this condition, 90% of them in low-income countries. Because zinc supplements prevent pneumonia in disadvantaged children, we wondered whether they prevent otitis media.

Anthelmintics for people with neurocysticercosis.

Background: Neurocysticercosis is an infection of the brain by the larval stage of the pork tapeworm. In endemic areas it is a common cause of epilepsy. Anthelmintics (albendazole or praziquantel) may be given to kill the parasites.