School and local authority characteristics associated with take-up of free school meals in Scottish secondary schools, 2014.

School meals are an important state-delivered mechanism for improving children's diets. Scottish local authorities have a statutory duty to provide free school meals (FSM) to families meeting means-testing criteria. Inevitably take-up of FSM does not reach 100%.

Working Backs Scotland: a public and professional health education campaign for back pain.

Study Design: Public and professional health education campaign.

Objective: To change public beliefs about the management of back pain.

Summary Of Background Data: Within the past decade, there has been a reversal in the strategy of management of back pain, from rest to staying active.

SMS reminders in the UK national health service: an evaluation of its impact on "no-shows" at hospital out-patient clinics.

The ownership of cell phones and use of short message service (SMS) are sufficiently common in the United Kingdom to be exploited by health services providers. The study evaluates their use to reduce nonattendance at out-patient clinics. The impact is modest, but so also is the cost, about 7.

Financial incentives, competition and a two tier service: lessons from the UK National Health Service internal market.

The experience of General medical practitioner (GP) fundholding is analysed for evidence of the response by family doctors to financial incentives. An analysis of consultant outreach, the local provision of out-patient services, in Scotland finds little evidence of a response, based on comparing the experience of fundholders with non-fundholders. At least in the case of hospital based services, financial incentives seem to be of secondary importance.