A report from charity Starlight explores how play can help reduce the trauma many children experience from treatment and medical procedures.
Play in Hospital 2023 says more than half of children fear visiting the doctor or a hospital.
1 in 10 adults say their childhood experiences of healthcare have negatively impacted their mental health.
Despite this, information from 140 NHS trusts and health boards in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland reveals ‘woeful’ gaps in play provision.
Less than 2 in 10 trusts and health boards have policies and procedures for play and 7 in 10 settings have no budget for play resources.
Benefits of play in healthcare include:
The report was launched to mark Play in Hospital Week which runs until 15 October.
Find out more about the week and download the report from the Starlight website here.
A scoping review looking at health literacy techniques used by speech and language therapists (SLTs) has called for further research.
The review highlights a lack of clear guidance on the subject for healthcare professionals.
It says more research is needed to identify and help disseminate reliable and effective techniques.
The authors note health literacy barriers are a particular challenge for most people needing care from SLTs.
The full study is available via the Wiley Online Library here.
A new report calls for action over a lack of mental health care for Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities.
The report was commissioned by the NHS Race and Health Observatory (RHO).
It says suicide rates for this group are up to 7 times higher than all other communities and there is widespread fear and mistrust of services.
Recommendations for improvement include:
Read more and download the report from the NHS RHO website here.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has published a collection of evidence on breast cancer risk to support healthcare professionals and the public.
It says possible changes to breast cancer screening mean women need to understand their breast cancer risk now more than ever.
The UK’s National Screening Committee is considering introducing risk-based screening for breast cancer.
The NIHR collection includes sections on:
PIF’s guidance on communicating benefits, risks and uncertainties is included in the collection.
Access the full collection via the NIHR website here.
A report explores the experiences of social prescribing among people with learning disabilities and autistic people.
It found social prescribing has the potential to reduce health inequalities.
It includes suggestions to make sure social prescribing works for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. For social prescribers, these include:
Download the full report via the National Development Team for Inclusion website here.
A briefing paper from the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) aims to support charities and community organisations to evaluate their social prescribing.
The paper highlights the importance of evaluation for effective programmes.
It points to several useful evaluation toolkits and identifies potential solutions to the challenges of effective evaluation.
Find out more and download the briefing from the NASP website here.
The Scottish Perinatal Network (SPN) has published guidance on the use of inclusive language in maternity services.
It says its language will reflect that most pregnant people identify as women. This means its most used terms will be ‘woman’ and ‘women'.
The guidance highlights the difficulty of meeting the unique language preferences of every individual in resources meant for groups of people.
It signposts additional resources from other professional organisations, including the Healthcare Improvement Scotland Inclusive Language Guide.
Read more on the SPN website here.
A new podcast from US website Health Literacy Out Loud (HLOL) examines the value of encouraging health literacy best practice across organisations.
Health educator Greg O’Neill talks about how he developed a team to champion health literacy best practice across his organisation.
Listen to the HLOL podcast here.
A new blog from digital inclusion charity AbilityNet offers top tips to make podcasts more accessible.
The blog covers 5 key areas:
Read the full blog on the AbilityNet website here.
In this blog for the NHS Health Research Authority (HRA), Neelam Patel discusses the importance of diversity in research.
She shares how a visit to an NHS Health Check van outside her new gym highlighted her own increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
The HRA is working with the MHRA to develop guidance to support increased diversity in research participation.
Read the full blog on the HRA website here.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is hosting a survey to highlight the challenges facing the voluntary sector this winter.
It hopes to quantify the issue to help people outside the sector understand it better.
Take the survey on the NCVO’s Microsoft forms site here.
The Welsh government is urging people over 30 to have regular sight tests at their local optician.
The Help Us Help You campaign says routine sight tests are the best way to make sure eyes are healthy.
They could lead to successful treatment for unknown, sight-threatening conditions before people recognise any changes in their sight.
Read more about the campaign via the Welsh Government website here.