An article examined how stigma and social exclusion affected the health and well-being of people in England supposedly living in the 'rural idyll'.
Source: Francine Watkins and Ann Jacoby, 'Is the rural idyll bad for your health? Stigma and exclusion in the English countryside', Health and Place, Volume 13 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Dec
A study examined alcohol consumption in two contrasting geographical areas (one urban, one rural), including attitudes to and use of alcohol across various social groupings, by age, gender, social class, and faith. Drinking cultures were not uniform across the country, but were embedded within wider historical, socio-economic, and cultural contexts. More recognition was needed of how national alcohol strategies might be interpreted differently or have a different impact on specific locales.
Source: Gill Valentine, Sarah Holloway, Mark Jayne and Charlotte Knell, Drinking Places: Where people drink and why, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings
Date: 2007-Dec
Statistics on work-related ill-health and workplace injury in Great Britain were published for 2006-07. The incidence rate of self-reported work-related ill-health from the Labour Force Survey rose suddenly between 2005-06 and 2006-07, raising doubts over whether the public service agreement target to reduce it would be met.
Source: Health and Safety Statistics 2006/07, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release | HSC press release | TUC press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2007-Nov
An article reported a study which found that a 'large majority' of children aged 11 were insufficiently active, according to existing recommended levels for health.
Source: Chris Riddoch et al., 'Objective measurement of levels and patterns of physical activity', Archives of Disease in Childhood, Volume 92 Number 11
Links: Abstract | Bristol University press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report examined the environmental causes of disease.
Source: Identifying the Environmental Causes of Disease: How should we decide what to believe and when to take action?, Academy of Medical Sciences (020 7969 5288)
Date: 2007-Nov
A study found that 80 per cent of women were doing too little exercise to benefit their health. The situation was worst for low-income and black and minority ethnic women. 23 per cent of women said that school PE lessons had put them off sport.
Source: It's Time: Future forecasts for women's participation in sport and exercise, Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (020 7273 1740)
Links: Report | WSF press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report said that around three-quarters of injecting drug users had been homeless at some point. In addition, those who had been homeless had higher levels of injecting risk and associated infections, primarily through the sharing of needles and low standards of hygiene.
Source: Fortune Ncube, Shooting Up: Infections among injecting drug users in the UK, Health Protection Agency (020 7339 1300)
Links: Report | HPA press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report highlighted the harm due to alcohol experienced across all of the regions of England. More than one-quarter of adults living in some of the wealthiest towns were drinking enough alcohol every week to damage their health.
Source: Lynn Deacon, Sara Hughes, Karen Tocque and Mark Bellis (eds.), Indications of Public Health in the English Regions 8: Alcohol, North West Public Health Observatory/Centre for Public Health/Liverpool John Moores University (0151 231 4515)
Links: Report | APHO press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Oct
A report examined business attitudes, intentions, and performance in relation to health and safety in the workplace. It considered how health and safety issues interacted with key strategic decisions in other core business areas.
Source: Marc Cowling and Stephen Bevan, Work and Enterprise Panel 2: Business survey, Research Report RR589, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Oct
A report based on a survey of small firms examined the 'burden' of health and safety legislation and compliance. 72 per cent of small firms believed that the administrative requirements of health and safety legislation were more bureaucratic than they had been five years previously.
Source: Whatever Happened to Common Sense?, Federation of Small Businesses (01253 336000)
Links: Report | FSB press release
Date: 2007-Oct
A statistical bulletin considered the extent of illicit drug use among people aged 16-59 in England and Wales in 2006-07, and trends in drug use, based on data from the British Crime Survey. Overall use of any drug was at its lowest level since the BCS started measurement in 1996. This was mainly due to declines in the use of cannabis (the most prevalent drug used) since 2003-04.
Source: Rachel Murphy and Stephen Roe, Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2006/07 British Crime Survey, Statistical Bulletin 18/07, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Bulletin | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Oct
An article reported a systematic review of the effects of privatizing industries and utilities on the health (including injuries) of employees and the public. The most robust study found increases in the measures of stress-related ill-health among employees after a privatization intervention involving company downsizing. No robust evidence was found to link privatization with increased injury rates for employees or customers.
Source: Matt Egan, Mark Petticrew, David Ogilvie, Val Hamilton and Frances Drever, '"Profits before people"? A systematic review of the health and safety impacts of privatising public utilities and industries in developed countries', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 61 Number 10
Date: 2007-Oct
A government-commissioned report examined the causes of obesity, and mapped future trends. If existing trends continued, by 2050 about 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women, and 25 per cent of children in the United Kingdom would be obese. The associated chronic health problems were projected to cost society an additional £45.5 billion per year.
Source: Tackling Obesities: Future Choices, Foresight Programme/Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (020 7215 6736)
Links: Report | Summary | Hansard | DIUS press release | RCP press release | Consumer Association press release | Living Streets press release | NHF press release | PSLA press release | BBC report | FT report | Telegraph report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Oct
A report examined the economic and social impact of musculoskeletal disorders – by far the most prevalent cause of work-related illness. Most sufferers recovered more quickly by staying at work.
Source: Stephen Bevan, Eleanor Passmore and Michelle Mahdon, Fit for Work? Musculoskeletal disorders and labour market participation, Work Foundation (0870 165 6700)
Links: Report | Work Foundation press release
Date: 2007-Sep
A report examined the links between the growth in car travel and the parallel growth in obesity; and it calculated the contribution to climate change through carbon dioxide emissions as car travel had replaced walking.
Source: Adrian Davis, Carolina Valsecchi and Malcolm Fergusson, Unfit for Purpose: How car use fuels climate change and obesity, Institute for European Environmental Policy (020 7340 2669)
Links: Report | IEEP press release | EST press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Aug
A report said that a government drive to cut drinking among young people was being undermined by lenient advertising rules which exposed children daily to television adverts for alcohol.
Source: Not in Front of the Children: Child protection and advertising, Alcohol Concern (020 7928 7377)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Aug
A survey found that fewer teenagers in England aged 11 to 15 were drinking alcohol: but those who did drink were consuming more than ever. 21 per cent had had an alcoholic drink in the previous week, down from 26 per cent in 2001: but among those who had drunk in the previous seven days, the average consumption was 11.4 units, up from 10.4 units in 2000.
Source: Elizabeth Fuller (ed.), Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People in England in 2006, NHS Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Report | NatCen press release | Addaction press release | Alcohol Concern press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Aug
A report examined the impact of alcohol across the nine English regions using 36 different indicators of alcohol-related harm, health, and behaviour.
Source: Indications of Public Health in the English Regions 8: Alcohol, Association of Public Health Observatories (0191 3340398)
Links: Report | CPH press release
Date: 2007-Aug
A survey for the food standards watchdog found that the dietary pattern of people on low incomes was the same as that of the general population, although in some aspects it was slightly less healthy. No direct link was found between dietary patterns and income, food access, or cooking skills. The diet-related problems found to affect people on low incomes were in general much the same as those facing the population as a whole.
Source: Michael Nelson, Bob Erens, Beverly Bates, Susan Church and Tracy Boshier, Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey, Food Standards Agency (020 7276 8000)
Links: Report | FSA press release | NatCen press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Jul
A study found that many of the negative aspects of health and lifestyle in Glasgow and the surrounding area were due to levels of deprivation. However, there were also some aspects that were unexplained by deprivation: these included poorer mental health, bad diet, and excess alcohol consumption among men.
Source: Linsay Gray, Comparisons of Health-related Behaviours and Health Measures Between Glasgow and the Rest of Scotland, Glasgow Centre for Population Health (0141 221 9439)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Jul
An article examined the association between the percentage of green space in an area and levels of self-reported ill-health. Although, in general, a higher proportion of green space in an area was associated with better health, the association depended on the degree of urbanity and level of income deprivation in an area. One interpretation of this was that quality as well as quantity of green space might be significant in determining health benefits.
Source: Richard Mitchell and Frank Popham, 'Greenspace, urbanity and health: relationships in England', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 61 Number 8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jul
The provisional figure for the number of workers fatally injured in 2006-07 was 241, a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 workers. In 2005-06, the finalized figures were 217 and 0.72 respectively (the lowest annual figures on record).
Source: Statistics of Fatal Injuries 2006/07, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release | TUC press release | FT report | Guardian report | Personnel Today report
Date: 2007-Jul
A report said that transport and planning policies were creating places that discouraged physical activity, and contributed to heart disease and rising obesity rates.
Source: Nick Cavill (ed.), Building Health: Creating and enhancing places for healthy, active lives, National Heart Forum (020 7383 7638) and others
Links: Report | NHF press release
Date: 2007-Jul
A report provided results from a survey of self-reported work-related illness and workplace injury in 2005-06, to gain a national view based on individuals? perceptions.
Source: Self-reported Work-related Illness and Workplace Injuries in 2005/06: Results from the Labour Force Survey, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Jul
The number of new sexually transmitted infections diagnosed in genito-urinary medicine clinics rose by 2 per cent from 368,341 in 2005 to 376,508 in 2006.
Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2007, Health Protection Agency, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | HPA press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Jul
A seminar report (by an official advisory body) said that a cross-governmental national strategy was needed to tackle drugs, alcohol misuse, and risky sexual behaviour by young people. In order to ensure that the strategy met young people?s needs, young people themselves should have a central role in the strategy?s development.
Source: Sex, Drugs, Alcohol and Young People: A review of the impact drugs and alcohol have on young people?s sexual behaviour, Independent Advisory Group for Sexual Health and HIV (Sexual_Health_IAG@dh.gsi.gov.uk)
Links: Report | IAG press release | FPA press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jun
Researchers (drawing on the Millennium Cohort Study) found that almost 1 child in 4 was either overweight or obese at age 3.
Source: Kirstine Hansen and Heather Joshi (eds.), Millennium Cohort Study Second Survey: A User?s Guide to Initial Findings, Centre for Longitudinal Studies/University of London (020 7612 6875)
Links: Report | CLS Briefings | CLS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jun
A report said that the government?s drug policy in England and Wales was failing to tackle the rise in hepatitis and HIV infections, because of changing patterns of injecting drug use.
Source: At the Sharp End: A snapshot of 21st century injecting drug use, Turning Point (020 7702 1458)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-May
An article said that the increase in HIV diagnoses among gay men since 1997 seemed to reflect an increase in HIV testing rather than a rise in HIV incidence.
Source: Sarah Dougan et al., 'Does the recent increase in HIV diagnoses among men who have sex with men in the UK reflect a rise in HIV incidence or increased uptake of HIV testing?', Sexually Transmitted Infections, Volume 83 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-May
An article said that decisions about building casinos had not given enough weight to the potential health effects of gambling.
Source: John Middleton and Farid Latif, 'Gambling with the nation's health', British Medical Journal, 21 April 2007
Links: Abstract | BMJ press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Apr
A report said that 364,000 people needed treatment in accident and emergency departments in England and Wales in 2006 after being assaulted - 6,000 fewer than the previous year, and following a relaxation of pub opening hours in November 2005.
Source: Vaseekaran Sivarajasingam, Simon Moore and Jonathan Shepherd, Violence in England and Wales 2006: An Accident and Emergency Perspective, Violence Research Group/Cardiff University (02920 742442)
Links: Report | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2007-Apr
A systematic review examined research relevant to accidental injury, risk-taking behaviour, and the social circumstances of young people - covering topics as diverse as drugs, alcohol, transport, and sport. Although there was a large literature on a 'culture of risk-taking' among young people, the evidence to support the view that this translated into significant numbers of injuries was limited.
Source: James Thomas et al., Accidental Injury, Risk-taking Behaviour and the Social Circumstances in Which Young People (Aged 12-24) Live: A Systematic Review, EPPI-Centre/Social Science Research Unit/Institute of Education/University of London (020 7612 6050)
Links: Report | Summary | IOE press release
Date: 2007-Apr
A survey found that the number of teenagers drinking alcohol and taking drugs in England was falling. 21 per cent of children aged 11-15 had had an alcoholic drink in the previous week (in 2006), down from 26 per cent in 2001; 17 per cent had taken drugs once a month or more in 2006, down from 19 per cent in 2005.
Source: Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England in 2006, NHS Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Report | NHS press release | DH press release | Drugscope press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Mar
An article reported an evaluation of a fuel poverty programme in Northern Ireland. Energy efficiency intervention could lead to improvements in health and wellbeing, increased comfort levels in the home, and a reduction in the use of health services. Some households, however, remained in fuel poverty after having full central heating installed, reflecting the significant contribution of low income on the production of fuel poverty.
Source: Niamh Shortt and Jorun Rugk?sa, '"The walls were so damp and cold": fuel poverty and ill health in Northern Ireland - results from a housing intervention', Health and Place, Volume 13 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Mar
A report called for a strategy on urban environments and health. Obesity, air pollution, and traffic accidents were all worse in towns and cities, where 80 per cent of the population lived.
Source: The Urban Environment, Twenty-sixth Report, Cm 7009, Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | CPRE press release | BBC report | Regeneration & Renewal report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report examined the health needs of young women (aged 17) being held in the secure prison estate. It highlighted the extreme vulnerability of this group, who suffered the consequences of multiple forms of abuse, neglect, and social exclusion.
Source: Nicola Douglas and Emma Plugge, A Health Needs Assessment for Young Women in Young Offender Institutions, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales/Home Office (020 7271 3033)
Date: 2007-Feb
A report examined the literature on mental health issues at work and the interventions available to tackle them.
Source: Alice Sinclair and Siobh?n O'Regan, Mental Health and Work, Institute for Employment Studies (01273 686751)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Feb
An article examined the sexual health and behaviour of male prisoners. Sex, rape, and injecting drug use were a part of prison life: but screening for sexually transmitted infections did not routinely take place, and there were inconsistencies in the availability of condoms and other harm-reduction devices.
Source: Elaine Stewart, 'The sexual health and behaviour of male prisoners: the need for research', Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 46 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Feb
An article examined how different aspects of prison life affected the health of prisoners, arguing that health inequalities were enmeshed within the workings of the prison system itself.
Source: Nick de Viggiani, 'Unhealthy prisons: exploring structural determinants of prison health', Sociology of Health & Illness, Volume 29 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Feb
A report said that the number of people suffering from dementia would increase by 154 per cent, from 700,000 in 2007 to 1.735 million in 2051. Dementia cost the economy £17 billion a year.
Source: Martin Knapp et al., Dementia UK, Alzheimer's Society (020 7306 0606)
Links: Summary | Alzheimer's Society press release | LSE press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Community Care report | POST briefing
Date: 2007-Feb
A report by a committee of MPs said that efforts to tackle the obesity epidemic in children were confused, slow-paced, and hampered by ministers' attempts to stay friendly with the food industry.
Source: Tackling Child Obesity - First Steps, Eighth Report (Session 2006-07), HC 157, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | DH press release | Consumer Association press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jan
A European Court of Justice Advocate General gave his opinion that the European Commission was seeking to apply a Directive relating to health and safety of workers too zealously. The Commission had said that United Kingdom legislation failed to implement the Directive, because employers should have the duty to ensure the health and safety of their employees regardless of considerations of practicability. The Advocate General said that the Commission's approach 'was based on an inadequate analysis of the system in force in the United Kingdom for the purpose of assessing whether that system meets the requirements of the framework directive'.
Source: Opinion of Advocate General in Commission of the European Communities v United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, European Court of Justice (00 352 43031)
Links: Text of opinion | IOSH press release
Date: 2007-Jan
A report said that gambling should be a recognized addiction that required treatment on the National Health Service.
Source: Gambling Addiction and Its Treatment within the NHS: A guide for healthcare professionals, British Medical Association (020 7387 4499)
Links: Report | BMA press release | NHS press release | NCH press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jan
