A cross-government strategy was published that was designed to break the link between poor health and youth crime. The strategy focused on early intervention to address health problems, in order to ensure that the underlying causes of poor behaviour were tackled before problems became serious or entrenched. It was also designed to ensure that young people already in the criminal justice system had their health problems dealt with more effectively.
Source: Healthy Children, Safer Communities: A strategy to promote the health and well-being of children and young people in contact with the youth justice system, Department of Health
Links: Strategy | Hansard | DH press release | YJB press release | SCMH press release | Children & Young People Now report | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Dec
A new book examined the health costs of poor housing. It analyzed the risks derived from key hazards, and the costs to the National Health Service of tackling them. It developed a cost-benefit model for analyzing the costs of unsafe and unhealthy housing. The total health cost of poor housing in England was estimated at over £600 million per year.
Source: Maggie Davidson, Mike Roys, Simon Nicol, David Ormandy and Peter Ambrose, The Real Cost of Poor Housing, BRE Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2009-Dec
Two linked research reviews examined how young people acquire their knowledge, attitudes, expectations, and intentions about alcohol; and what interventions worked best to prevent excessive use of alcohol.
Source: Richard Velleman, Alcohol Prevention Programmes, Joseph Rowntree Foundation | Richard Velleman, Influences on How Children and Young People Learn About and Behave Towards Alcohol, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (01904 629241)
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Findings
Date: 2009-Nov
A report said that drinking alcohol at home was a bigger problem for society than 'binge' drinking. It called for higher pricing on alcohol, increased taxes, and greater controls on large supermarkets.
Source: John Foster, Donald Read, Sakthidharan Karunanithi and Victoria Woodward, Why Do People Drink at Home? An exploration of the perceptions of adult home consumption practice, Alcohol Education Research Council
Links: Report | Greenwich University press release
Date: 2009-Nov
There were an estimated 36,700 excess winter deaths in England and Wales in 2008-09 – an increase of 49 per cent on the previous year, and the highest number since 1999-2000.
Source: Excess Winter Mortality in England and Wales: 2008/09 (Provisional) and 2007/08 (Final), Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report | ONS press release | NEA press release | ERA press release | Community Care report
Date: 2009-Nov
The health and safety at work inspectorate published an annual report for 2008-09 presenting statistics on work-related ill-health, workplace fatalities and injuries, and health and safety enforcement in Great Britain. There had been a 'significant reduction' in the numbers of people killed, injured, or suffering work-related ill-health.
Source: Health and Safety Statistics 2008/09, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2009-Nov
An article examined the association between maternal employment and childhood obesity. Children whose mothers worked part-time or full-time were more likely to primarily drink sweetened beverages between meals (compared with other beverages), use the television/computer at least 2 hours daily (compared with 0-2), or be driven to school (compared with walk/cycle) than children whose mothers had never been employed.
Source: Summer Sherburne Hawkins, Tim Cole and Catherine Law, 'Examining the relationship between maternal employment and health behaviours in 5-year-old British children', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 63 Number 12
Links: Abstract | UCL press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Nov
An article examined the relationship between public health and fear of crime. Although fear of crime might express a whole set of social and political anxieties, there was a 'core' to worry about crime that was implicated in real cycles of decreased health and perceived vulnerability to victimization.
Source: Jonathan Jackson and Mai Stafford, 'Public health and fear of crime: a prospective cohort study', British Journal of Criminology, Volume 49 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Nov
New forecasts for 2020 suggested that the rate of obesity among boys in England would be 13 per cent (instead of 20 per cent, as previously predicted). The predicted obesity rate among girls had fallen from 14 per cent to 10 per cent.
Source: Martin Brown, Tom Byatt, Tim Marsh and Klim McPherson, Obesity Trends for Children Aged 2-11: Analysis from the Health Survey for England 1993-2007, National Heart Forum (020 7383 7638)
Links: Report | Summary | NHF press release
Date: 2009-Nov
A study examined the price ordinary families were paying by caring for family members with drug problems – resulting in financial hardship, loss of employment, breakdown of family relationships, and psychological stress. At least 1.5 million adults caring for relatives with drug problems were bearing a 'hidden burden' valued at at least £1.8 billion.
Source: Alex Copello, Lorna Templeton and Jane Powell, Adult Family Members and Carers of Dependent Drug Users: Prevalence, social cost, resource savings and treatment responses, UK Drug Policy Commission (web publication only)
Links: Report | Briefing | UKDPC press release | PRTC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Nov
An article examined the association between socio-economic position and physical disability at older ages, using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Socio-economic circumstances affected the prevalence and scale of physical disability even at older ages. In particular, wealth appeared more important as a socio-economic factor for physical disability than social class or education. Socio-economic gradients in physical disability were greater for men than for women and for those in the younger age groups.
Source: Edlira Gjonca, Faiza Tabassum and Elizabeth Breeze, 'Socioeconomic differences in physical disability at older age', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Volume 63 Number 11
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Nov
A report said that there had been a 'dramatic' fall in heroin use among young adults in England, heralding a 'generational shift' in patterns of drug dependence. The number of young adults presenting as heroin and crack addicts fell by almost one-third over the four years to 2008-09.
Source: Annual Report 2008-09, National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (020 7972 2214)
Links: Annual Report | Turning Point press release | DrugScope press release | EATA press release | BBC report
Date: 2009-Oct
An article estimated that the number of deaths attributable to smoking in 2005 was 109,164 (19 per cent of all deaths, 27 per cent deaths in men, and 11 per cent of deaths in women). Smoking was directly responsible for 12 per cent of disability-adjusted life years lost in 2002 (15.4 per cent in men; 8.5 per cent in women). The direct cost to the National Health Service was £5.2 billion in 2005-06 – much higher than previous estimates.
Source: Steven Allender, Ravikumar Balakrishnan, Peter Scarborough, Premila Webster and Mike Rayner, 'The burden of smoking-related ill health in the UK', Tobacco Control, Volume 18 Number 4
Links: Abstract | Oxford University press release | Telegraph report | BBC report
Date: 2009-Aug
An article said that the use of the 5-year 'wear-off' period in many studies of mortality and unemployment might be an ineffective and unnecessary technique for mitigating the effects of health-related selection.
Source: Tom Clemens, Paul Boyle and Frank Popham, 'Unemployment, mortality and the problem of health-related selection: evidence from the Scottish and England & Wales (ONS) Longitudinal Studies', Health Statistics Quarterly 43, Autumn 2009, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article
Date: 2009-Aug
A survey monitored smoking, drinking, and drug use among secondary school pupils aged 11-15 in England in 2008. The prevalence of drug use had declined since 2001. In 2008, 22 per cent of pupils said they had used drugs at some time, 15 per cent had taken drugs in the previous year, and 8 per cent had taken drugs in the previous month. In 2001, the corresponding proportions had been 29 per cent, 20 per cent, and 12 per cent.
Source: Elizabeth Fuller (ed.), Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People in England 2008, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | Summary | DrugScope press release | Drug Education Forum press release | NatCen press release | Pulse report
Date: 2009-Jul
A survey of people in England and Wales aged 16-59 found that around 1 in 3 (36.8 per cent) had used illicit drugs at some time, 1 in 10 (10.1 per cent) had used drugs in the previous year, and around 1 in 20 (5.9 per cent) had done so in the previous month.
Source: Jacqueline Hoare, Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2008/09 British Crime Survey, Statistical Bulletin 12/09, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Bulletin | DrugScope press release | Conservative Party press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-Jul
The health and safety at work inspectorate published its annual report for 2008-09.
Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2008/09, HC 580, Health and Safety Executive, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs welcomed the new strategy of the health and safety inspectorate, particularly its focus on working with others. But it said that the quality and coverage of ill-health data remained too low and incomplete; and it called on the inspectorate to explain the significant drop in the number of prosecutions it had initiated between 2003-04 and 2007-08.
Source: Workplace Health and Safety: Follow-up report, Fourth Report (Session 2008-09), HC 635, House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | TUC press release
Date: 2009-Jul
Provisional data showed that 180 workers were killed between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009 – a rate of 0.6 per 100,000 employees – down from 233 in 2007-08, and 17 per cent lower than the previous lowest total of 217, recorded in 2005-06.
Source: Statistics on Fatal Injuries in the Workplace 2008/09, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Report | HSE press release | BSC press release | TUC press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2009-Jun
The health and safety at work inspectorate published a revised strategy. It said that there was a need to find new ways of engaging workforces in all workplaces of all shapes and sizes, via properly involved unionized safety representatives
Source: The Health and Safety of Great Britain: Be part of the solution, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165)
Links: Strategy | HSE press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2009-Jun
A report examined the impact of drug use across the nine English regions using 46 different indicators related to individual, community, and population implications of drug use. The lifetime rate of cocaine use had increased overall, and substantially in most English regions, between 2002-03 and 2007-08 (with the exception of London).
Source: Indications of Public Health in the English Regions 10: Drug Use, Association of Public Health Observatories (0191 3340398)
Links: Report | APHO press release | DrugScope press release
Date: 2009-Jun
A report said that one-third of men and one-sixth of women in England were drinking at a level that put them at risk of physical or psychological harm.
Source: Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2009, NHS Information Centre (0845 300 6016)
Links: Report | RCP press release | RCN press release | Conservative Party press release | Guardian report
Date: 2009-May
A study examined trends in alcohol consumption over the previous 20-30 years. Average units of alcohol consumed by men and women in Great Britain had increased since 1992. For women over 25 this increase had been marked. However, consumption by men aged 16-24 had fallen since 2000. Since 1998, there had been a general increase in drinking over recommended weekly limits, especially for women.
Source: Lesley Smith and David Foxcroft, Drinking in the UK: An exploration of trends, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (01904 629241)
Links: Report | JRF press release | Findings | Alcohol Policy UK press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report (1) | Telegraph report (2)
Date: 2009-May
A report examined the impact of alcohol on health in Wales. 1,000 people died each year from causes attributed to alcohol, with alcohol being a factor in more than 4 per cent of male deaths.
Source: Andrea Gartner with Hugo Cosh, Rhys Gibbon and Nathan Lester, A Profile of Alcohol and Health in Wales, Wales Centre for Health (029 2022 7744)
Links: Report | Alcohol Policy UK press release | BBC report
Date: 2009-Apr
A report examined how demographic and economic trends, together with the changing nature of work and the evolution of disease, would affect the health of the workforce over the next 20 years. The number of workers with diabetes or respiratory diseases would increase by at least 8 per cent to 5.5 million; and the rate of mental illness in the workforce would rise by 5 per cent to affect 4.2 million workers.
Source: Helen Vaughan-Jones and Leela Barham, Healthy Work: Challenges and opportunities to 2030, Bupa (020 7656 2382)
Links: Report | Bupa press release | OHA press release
Date: 2009-Mar
An article said that there appeared to be an association between exposure to alcohol advertising or promotional activity and subsequent alcohol consumption in young people.
Source: Lesley Smith and David Foxcroft, 'The effect of alcohol advertising, marketing and portrayal on drinking behaviour in young people: systematic review of prospective cohort studies', BMC Public Health, Volume 9
Links: Abstract | Oxford Brookes press release
Date: 2009-Feb
An article said that youth work approaches that responded to adolescent drug and alcohol use were not working. It called for a shift in policy and practice to embrace 'detached', street-based youth work as a method to reduce the harm and marginalization that drug and alcohol use continued to cause.
Source: Adam Fletcher and Chris Bonell, 'Detaching youth work to reduce drug and alcohol-related harm', Public Policy Research, Volume 15 Issue 4
Links: Abstract | LSHTM press release
Date: 2009-Feb
A report said that the numbers of young people in substance-misuse treatment in England rose in 2007-08 – reflecting increased access to drug-treatment services, rather than an increase in prevalence. 4 out of 5 of all the young people recorded receiving specialist help were being treated for problems with cannabis or alcohol.
Source: Getting to Grips with Substance Misuse Among Young People: The data for 2007/08, National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (020 7972 2214)
Links: Report | NTA press release | DrugScope press release | BBC report
Date: 2009-Jan
New statistics showed that the trend in the rate of alcohol-related deaths was levelling out following rapid increases since the early 1990s. There were 8,724 alcohol-related deaths in 2007 – lower than in 2006, but more than double the 4,144 recorded in 1991.
Source: Press release 27 January 2009, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: ONS press release | RCP press release | Alcohol Policy UK press release | Conservative Party press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2009-Jan
A literature review examined the evidence on the harms and benefits of alcohol consumption for children and young people. Despite the methodological weakness of research in this field, there was a large body of evidence that reported consistent links between alcohol use and a range of adverse effects.
Source: Dorothy Newbury-Birch et al., Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Young People: A systematic review of published reviews, Research Report RR067, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2009-Jan
