Planning for healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Southeast of England: a system dynamics modelling approach.

Objectives: To develop, test, validate and implement a system dynamics model to simulate the pandemic progress and the impact of various interventions on viral spread, healthcare utilisation and demand in secondary care.

Design: We adopted the system dynamics model incorporating susceptible, exposed, infection and recovery framework to simulate the progress of the pandemic and how the interventions for the COVID-19 response influence the outcomes with a focus on secondary care.

Setting: This study was carried out covering all the local health systems in Southeast of England with a catchment population of six million with a specific focus on Kent and Medway system.

Social Integration and Sleep Quality during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prospective Evidence from a Study of Retired Older Adults.

Background: Growing evidence has documented the adverse impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on sleep quality among older adults. Given the negative consequences of poor sleep, it is critical to identify factors that provide older adults with resilience against worsening sleep quality. Social integration may represent one such resilience factor.

Embedding OR modelling as decision support in health capacity planning: insights from an evaluation.

Literature reviews over five decades have reported the paucity of examples of OR methods being routinely used to support decision-making in health and social care. This paper presents insights from an independent evaluation of a project intended to overcome some of the barriers to implementation by establishing a "community of practice" in Kent (England). The project itself was undertaken by practitioners, and had two main aims: providing training in system dynamics modelling to analysts, and making senior managers aware of the benefits of modelling.

Google is goodish: An information literacy course designed to teach users why Google may not always be the best place to search for evidence.

This article describes a course that was developed in response to health sector and local authority workers being reliant on Google and using it for their information needs regardless of whether it was the best place to search. The methodology for developing and structuring the course is explored, including details of the content included. The author concludes by asserting that teaching users about the effective use of Google is an important part of user education.

Can we improve coaches' injury prevention views and implementation practices in the community female Gaelic sport of camogie?

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of a nationwide coach education workshop on the attitudes towards, willingness and perceived ability of camogie coaches to implement a Camogie Injury Prevention Programme (CIPP) and their implementation of this programme 4 weeks after the workshop.

Methods: Coaches (n=98) from all four provinces in Ireland were recruited and completed a questionnaire prior to and immediately following a developed workshop on the CIPP. Four weeks later 40 of the 98 coaches completed a follow-up questionnaire.