Yourtime: The development and pilot of a perinatal mental wellbeing digital tool using a co-design approach.

Introduction: Maternal anxiety and depression are major public health issues with prevalence as high as one in five women. There is a need to focus on preventative strategies to enable women to self-monitor their mental health status during pregnancy and postnatally.

Aim: To co-design and test a perinatal mental health digital tool to enable women to self-monitor their mental wellbeing during pregnancy and early parenting and promote positive self-care strategies.

The life of people with dementia who have multiple children in rural China: A phenomenological case study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of a rural dwelling person living with dementia and his children. Using a phenomenological case study methodology, it aims to explore the health-related and personal dilemmas faced by multiple family members who provide care to a person living with dementia in a rural area in Henan, China. The study also investigates the barriers to quality dementia care in this kind of setting in order to inform the relevant stakeholders.

'Guid times wi the bad times': The meanings and experiences of befriending for people living alone with dementia.

Befriending is a service in which volunteers provide companionship and support usually to people who are lonely or isolated. Such services are promoted in Scotland's national strategy to improve the lives of people with dementia, around a third of whom live alone. However, little is known about the perspectives of recipients.

Community nurses' participation in palliative care research: the Dignity Care Pathway.

Evidence-based practice is a cornerstone of modern health care. Ongoing challenges have been identified in the strength of the evidence base in community palliative care nursing (Walshe and Luker, 2010). This paper discusses the participation of community nurses in a palliative care research project.

Follow-up evaluation of a course to develop effective communication and relationship skills for palliative care.

This paper reports on a longitudinal follow-up evaluation of an interprofessional experiential course to support the development of effective communication and interpersonal relationship skills in palliative care: 'It's good to listen: advanced communication skills in end of life care'. The course was developed from evidence-based guidance produced by the West of Scotland Cancer Network and NHS Education for Scotland in 2009. The aim of the study was to explore the factors that support or hinder the sustainable integration of skills and learning from the course into clinical practice.

Nanoporous alumina-based interferometric transducers ennobled.

A high fidelity interferometric transducer is designed based on platinum-coated nanoporous alumina films. The ultrathin metal coating significantly improves fidelity of the interferometric fringe patterns in aqueous solution and increases the signal-to-noise ratio. The performance of this transducer is tested with respect to refractive index unit (RIU) sensitivity measured as a change in effective optical thickness (EOT) in response to a solvent change and compared to porous silicon based transducers.

Porous silicon biosensors on the advance.

Biosensor research is a rapidly expanding field with an immense market potential spanning a broad spectrum of applications including biomedical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, veterinary and food quality control. Porous silicon (pSi) is a nanostructured material poised to take centre stage in the biosensor development effort. This can be ascribed to the ease and speed of fabrication, remarkable optical and morphological properties of the material (including tuneable pore size and porosity), large internal surface area and the versatile surface chemistry.

Why do work patterns differ between men and women GPs?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in contractual commitments, job satisfaction and spouses' occupation among GP principals in NHS Scotland.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on data provided by a self-completion, postal questionnaire survey. The response rate was 50 per cent.

General practitioner non-principals benefit from flexible working.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore non-principals' working patterns and attitudes to work.

Design/methodology/approach: The article is based on data provided by a questionnaire survey. Findings - Gender division was apparent among the non-principals.

Who are your public? A survey comparing the views of a population-based sample with those of a community-based public forum in Scotland.

Unlabelled: This paper describes a questionnaire survey, carried out in the NHS Grampian area of NE Scotland. It compares responses from 84 members of a community-based public forum (39 of whom were sent questionnaires) and a random sample of 10,000 adults registered with general practices in Grampian (2,449 of whom were sent questionnaires).

Main Outcome Measures: differences in demographic profiles and opinions about different feedback mechanisms (patient representative, telephone helpline and NHS feedback website) and their likely effectiveness in three different scenarios.

The experiences of district nurses caring for people receiving palliative chemotherapy.

The treatment options being offered to people with advanced cancer are increasing with growing use of palliative chemotherapy. As people are experiencing shorter hospital stays and receiving treatment on an outpatient basis, this has implications for primary health-care provision. This study aimed to explore the experiences of district nurses caring for patients receiving palliative chemotherapy: how they viewed their role, factors that influenced their role and their attitudes to palliative chemotherapy.

The requirement for prior consent to participate on survey response rates: a population-based survey in Grampian.

Background: A survey was carried out in the Grampian region of Scotland with a random sample of 10,000 adults registered with a General Practitioner in Grampian. The study complied with new legislation requiring a two-stage approach to identify and recruit participants, and examined the implications of this for response rates, non-response bias and speed of response.

Methods: A two-stage survey was carried out consistent with new confidentiality guidelines.

Seasonal affective disorder and social deprivation in Aberdeen.

Background: Unlike non-seasonal depression, there is some evidence that seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is more common among more affluent socioeconomic groups.

Methods: In primary care settings in Aberdeen, 4557 subjects had previously completed a Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). From the subjects' postcodes they were allocated a Carstairs score which placed them in one of seven categories of socioeconomic deprivation.

Use of health care services in seasonal affective disorder.

Background: Little is known about the presentation and management of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in primary care.

Aims: To determine the use of health care services by people suffering from SAD.

Method: Following a screening of patients consulting in primary care, 123 were identified as suffering from SAD.