Clinical decision making and risk appraisal using electronic risk assessment tools (eRATs) for cancer diagnosis: A qualitative study of GP experiences.

Background: Electronic Risk Assessment Tools (eRATs) are intended to improve early primary care cancer diagnosis. eRATs which interrupt a consultation to suggest a possibility of a cancer diagnosis, could impact clinical appraisal and the experience of the consultation. This study explores this issue using data collected within the context of the ERICA trial.

The effectiveness and usability of online, group-based interventions for people with severe obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Long wait times, limited resources, and a lack of local options mean that many people with severe obesity cannot access treatment. Face-to-face group-based interventions have been found effective and can treat multiple people simultaneously, but are limited by service capacity. Digital group interventions could reduce wait times, but research on their effectiveness is limited.

A UK national cross-sectional survey of stroke support groups: exploring the role of social identification and group processes in reducing loneliness.

Background: Loneliness is a common experience following stroke. Stroke support groups may protect against loneliness, but little is known about how these groups exert their influence. This research drew upon current theorising on the role of groups for health and explored i) social identification as a potential mechanism for overcoming loneliness, and ii) psychological group resources (support, control, self-esteem), and functional group processes (clear goals, group autonomy, member continuity) which might structure social identification.

Development of a group-based behaviour change intervention for people with severe obesity informed by the social identity approach to health.

Introduction: Interventions to support behaviour change in people living with chronic health conditions increasingly use patient groups as the mode of delivery, but these are often designed without consideration of the group processes that can shape intervention outcomes. This article outlines a new approach to designing group-based behaviour change interventions that prioritizes recipients' shared social identity as group members in facilitating the adoption of established behaviour change techniques (BCTs). The approach is illustrated through an example drawn from research focused on people living with severe obesity.

Which components of behavioral weight management programs are essential for weight loss in people living with obesity? A rapid review of systematic reviews.

The optimal treatment and organization of care for people with obesity is one of the greatest challenges facing today's health services. While surgery and pharmacotherapy offer effective treatment options for some people with obesity, behavioral interventions are important to support long-term behavioral change. However, little is known about the most effective components of behavioral interventions, and this is especially the case for people with complex or severe obesity (i.

Social connections and social identity as a basis for learning and support: Experiences of medical students with minoritised and non-minoritised ethnic identities.

Background: Social connections between medical students provide a key basis for learning and support. These connections, and associated social identity, may be patterned by ethnicity, and students often perform similarly academically to those they connect with. The mechanisms that underpin the formation of these connections and the role that they play are not fully understood.

A Qualitative Exploration of Patient and Staff Experiences of the Receipt and Delivery of Specialist Weight Management Services in the UK.

Background: Addressing the increasing prevalence of obesity is a global public health priority. Severe obesity (body mass index > 40) reduces life expectancy, due to its association with people developing complications (e.g.

Healthy Parent Carers: Acceptability and practicability of online delivery and learning through implementation by delivery partner organisations.

Background: Parent carers of disabled children are at increased risk of physical and mental health problems. The Healthy Parent Carers (HPC) programme is a manualised peer-led group-based programme that aims to promote parent carer health and wellbeing. Previously, the programme had been delivered in person, with recruitment and delivery managed in a research context.

A group-based behavioural intervention for weight management (PROGROUP) versus usual care in adults with severe obesity: a feasibility randomised controlled trial protocol.

Background: Approximately 15 million people in the UK live with obesity, around 5 million of whom have severe obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥35kg/m). Having severe obesity markedly compromises health, well-being and quality of life, and substantially reduces life expectancy. These adverse outcomes are prevented or ameliorated by weight loss, for which sustained behavioural change is the cornerstone of treatment.

How do electronic risk assessment tools affect the communication and understanding of diagnostic uncertainty in the primary care consultation? A systematic review and thematic synthesis.

Objectives: To conduct a systematic review and synthesise qualitative research of electronic risk assessment tools (eRATs) in primary care, examining how they affect the communication and understanding of diagnostic risk and uncertainty. eRATs are computer-based algorithms designed to help clinicians avoid missing important diagnoses, pick up possible symptoms early and facilitate shared decision-making.

Design: Systematic search, using predefined criteria of the published literature and synthesis of the qualitative data, using Thematic Synthesis.

Shared social identity and perceived social support among stroke groups during the COVID-19 pandemic: Relationship with psychosocial health.

Community-based peer support groups for stroke survivors are common in the United Kingdom and aim to support rehabilitation. This study of 260 stroke survivors across 118 groups nationally used an online survey format, completed on average 3 months into the pandemic. Analysis of both quantitative and open-ended responses provided insights into how stroke group members maintained contact during the COVID-19 pandemic and how the group processes of shared social identity and perceived social support related to psychosocial outcomes (self-esteem, well-being and loneliness).

Healthy Parent Carers: feasibility randomised controlled trial of a peer-led group-based health promotion intervention for parent carers of disabled children.

Background: Parent carers of children with special educational needs or disability are at higher risk of poor mental and physical health. The need for a tailored, peer-led group programme was raised by parent carers, who co-developed the Healthy Parent Carers programme with researchers. This study aimed to test the feasibility of programme delivery in community settings, and the feasibility and acceptability of a randomised controlled trial design.

The Effectiveness and Usability of Online, Group-Based Interventions for People With Severe Obesity: Protocol for a Systematic Review.

Background: Globally, obesity is a growing crisis. Despite obesity being preventable, over a quarter of the UK adult population is currently considered clinically obese (typically body mass index ≥35 kg/m). Access to treatment for people with severe obesity is limited by long wait times and local availability.

Measurement of Shared Social Identity in Singing Groups for People With Aphasia.

Community groups are commonly used as a mode of delivery of interventions for promoting health and well-being. Research has demonstrated that developing a sense of shared social identity with other group members is a key mechanism through which the health benefits of group membership are realized. However, there is little understanding of how shared social identity emerges within these therapeutic settings.

Singing for people with aphasia (SPA): results of a pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial of a group singing intervention investigating acceptability and feasibility.

Objectives: Pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) for the singing groups for people with aphasia (SPA) intervention to assess: (1) the acceptability and feasibility of participant recruitment, randomisation and allocation concealment; (2) retention rates; (3) variance of continuous outcome measures; (4) outcome measure completion and participant burden; (5) fidelity of intervention delivery; (6) SPA intervention costs; (7) acceptability and feasibility of trial and intervention to participants and others involved.

Design: A two-group, assessor-blinded, randomised controlled external pilot trial with parallel mixed methods process evaluation and economic evaluation.

Setting: Three community-based cohorts in the South-West of England.

Making connections: Social identification with new treatment groups for lifestyle management of severe obesity.

Groups are regularly used to deliver healthcare services, including the management of obesity, and there is growing evidence that patients' experiences of such groups fundamentally shape treatment effects. This study investigated factors related to patients' shared social identity formed within the context of a treatment group for the management of severe obesity. A cross-sectional survey was administered to patients registered with a UK medical obesity service and enrolled on a group-based education and support programme.

Healthy Parent Carers peer-led group-based health promotion intervention for parent carers of disabled children: protocol for a feasibility study using a parallel group randomised controlled trial design.

Background: Parent carers of disabled children are at increased risk of mental and physical health problems. They often experience challenges to maintaining good health which have implications for their well-being and their ability to care for their children. In response to these needs, researchers and parent carers developed the Healthy Parent Carers (HPC) programme.

A pathway to establish a publicly funded home birth program in Australia.

Background: Home births provide women a birth choice where they may feel more comfortable and confident in their ability to give birth.

Problem: Most women in Victoria do not have publicly funded access to appropriately trained health professionals if they choose to give birth at home.

Methods: This paper describes the process of setting up a publicly funded home birth service and provide details of description of the set up and governance.

Social identification-building interventions to improve health: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

There is growing evidence that social identity processes play an important role in a range of health outcomes. However, we know little about the nature and effectiveness of interventions that build social identification with the aim of promoting health. In the present research, we systematically review and meta-analyze interventions that build social identification to enhance health and wellbeing.

Alcohol consumption among university students in the night-time economy in the UK: A three-wave longitudinal study.

Background: Excessive alcohol consumption is commonly reported in university/college students, and contributes to emerging peer-group relations.

Purpose: This study aimed to provide up-to-date longitudinal data on students' alcohol consumption patterns, and predictors of this, across a single academic year.

Methods: A 3-wave study was conducted at a university in the UK.

'We're all in the same boat': A qualitative study on how groups work in a diabetes prevention and management programme.

Objectives: Although many health interventions are delivered in groups, it is unclear how group context can be best used to promote health-related behaviour change and what change processes are most helpful to participants. This study explored participants' experiences of attending type 2 diabetes prevention and management programme, and their perceptions of how group participation influenced changes in diet and physical activity.

Design: Qualitative.

Eating well in care homes: Testing the feasibility of a staff training programme aimed at improving social interaction and choice at mealtimes.

Background: The health and well-being of care home residents are influenced by their experience of mealtimes, which provide an opportunity for residents to socialise and exercise control over their lives, as well as providing essential sustenance. Care home staff are pivotal to this experience, responsible for the provision of meals and eating assistance, but also for establishing a positive mealtime culture valued by residents. Despite this, mealtimes can be task-focussed, as the pressure on staff to perform multiple duties in limited time, or a lack of knowledge and awareness, means that resident needs and preferences risk being neglected.