Published Mon, 2012-06-25 10:25; updated 34 weeks ago.
Health Information News June 2012
This newsletter is intended for staff who provide health information to the public across the West Midlands to keep informed of latest news and resources available in the Health Information field. These newsletters will now be archived on the NHS local website under the section for EQUIP newsletters - http://nhslocal.nhs.uk/news/newsletters/equip-newsletters If you would like to submit a news item – email sarah.greening@westmidlands.nhs.uk
I am now Twittering as @equipNHS – I intend to post a lot of these sorts of news items and events on an (almost) daily basis – so ‘follow’ @equipNHS.
Focus on….
DH Information Strategy says "Information is an essential service in its own right" - The launch of the Department of Health's long awaited Information Strategy; The power of information: putting all of us in control of the health and care information we need. The strategy sets a ten-year framework for transforming information for health and care and focuses on information in its broadest sense, including the support people need to navigate and understand the information available. One of the key ambitions of the Strategy is that information should be "regarded as a health and care service in its own right for us all – with appropriate support in using information available for those who need it, so that information benefits everyone and helps reduce inequalities." Mark Duman, PiF's Chair has broadly welcomed the Strategy, however, he highlights concerns about the current lack of integration of this 'essential service' within the NHS. Read more
PiF response to the Department of Health Information Strategy - In the light of the publications of the Department of Health's Information Strategy - The power of information Putting all of us in control of the health and care information we need - PiF has drafted a response to some of the main points. The document focuses on the parts of the strategy that relate to the provision of information to patients and the public and discusses how these might be implemented, where there is cause for concern, and where more detail about making information the essential services is should be is needed. Read more
No decision about me, without me - Further consultation on proposals to secure shared decision-making - The Department of Health has opened a new consultation, Liberating the NHS: No decision about me, without me, which sets out detailed proposals to provide more choice all along the healthcare pathway, enabling patients and their representatives to share in decisions about their care in clinical areas such as mental health services, maternity care, long-term conditions and community services. It follows on from the earlier Liberating the NHS: Greater choice and control consultation, which asked a number of open questions about how the commitments to give patients more say as set out in the White Paper could be implemented. The DH is seeking views on these proposals. The consultation period runs until 20 July 2012. http://consultations.dh.gov.uk/choice/choice-future-proposals
News
Report: Alive and clicking: information that benefits all - This paper from the NHS Confederation explores the potential for using and sharing information in the NHS. It looks at the costs and benefits of informing and communicating with patients through web and social media platforms versus the costs of not doing so effectively. Managing information is an essential part of delivering good healthcare but historically difficult to get right. While the NHS drowns in information and spends more and more to gather it, it has struggled to use it to good effect for patients, often shying away from being transparent about how services are run and responding openly when things go wrong. http://www.nhsconfed.org/Publications/discussion-paper/Pages/Alive-clicking.aspx
National Obesity Observatory data provides a single point of contact for wide-ranging authoritative information on data, evaluation and evidence related to weight status and its determinants. NOO works closely with a wide range of organisations and provides support to policy makers and practitioners involved in obesity and related issues. For more information please click on the relevant links or visit www.noo.org.uk or call 01865 334900.
Right Care shared decision making update - The Right Care programme is focused on increasing value – value for patients and value for commissioners. The programme is targeted at clinicians, commissioners and patients and has five workstreams including one on Shared Decision Making. 36 Patient Decision Aids (PDAs) are being created during 2012, designed to help patients understand and consider the pros and cons of possible treatment options and to encourage communication between them and their healthcare professionals. The programme also has a focus on integrating SDM so it becomes an integral part of the patient and clinician pathway and in changing in the current patient-clinician dynamic, so that clinicians work with patients to encourage and respond to their greater involvement and patients take a stronger interest in being involved. http://www.pifonline.org.uk/right-care-shared-decision-making-update/
Evaluation of the Health Foundation's Co-creating Health improvement programme - This report from the Health Foundation gives the findings from an independent evaluation of phase 1 of their Co-creating Health self-management support improvement programme.The first phase of Co-Creating Health began in 2007. It was a three year initiative in eight sites across the UK that aimed to demonstrate the impact, on clinicians and patients alike, of integrating self-management support into routine care for people with long-term conditions. The evaluation of the programme provides valuable insights into what worked and the further challenges health systems need to address to support people to develop confidence in managing their long-term conditions themselves. http://www.health.org.uk/publications/co-creating-health-evaluation-phase-1
How online access to health information affects peoples' medical knowledge - Sixty-seven percent of consumers believe that online access to medical data has made them better informed as patients, according to a survey conducted in the US. Poll findings also show that a majority of people are not only turning to the Internet to find answers to their medical questions, but they trust the information they find and are using it successfully to self-diagnose. People cite a number of reasons for why they rely on the Internet to diagnose or treat an illness, including being better informed before their doctor visit and finding online information easier to access. http://www.wolterskluwerhealth.com/News/Documents/White%20Papers/Self-Diagnois%20Poll.pdf
Research: What do Web-Use Skill Differences Imply for Online Health Information Searches? - Online health information is of variable and often low scientific quality. In particular, elderly less-educated populations are said to struggle in accessing quality online information (digital divide). Little is known about how their online behavior differs from that of younger, more-educated, and more-frequent Web users, and how the older population may be supported in accessing good-quality online health information. Results showed that health information seekers doubted the quality of information retrieved online; among poorly skilled seekers, this was mainly because they doubted their skills to navigate vast amounts of information; skilled Web users effectively filtered information according to search intentions and data sources; less-skilled users were easily distracted by unrelated information; skilled Web users searched to inform themselves; less-skilled users searched to confirm their health-related opinions such as “vaccinations are harmful.” http://www.jmir.org/2012/3/e87/
Research: Using crowdsourcing technology for testing multilingual public health promotion materials - Creating effective health promotion materials requires careful message design and feedback from target populations. This is particularly true when the audience is as hard to reach as limited English proficiency groups. Traditional methods of soliciting feedback, such as focus groups, are expensive and time consuming. The objective of the research was to describe a pilot study investigating the use of crowdsourcing technology as a method to gather rapid and relevant feedback on the design of health promotion messages for oral health. The researchers concluded that their results indicate that crowdsourcing can be an effective method for recruiting and gaining feedback from English-speaking and Spanish-speaking people. Compared with traditional methods, crowdsourcing has the potential to reach more diverse populations than convenience sampling, while substantially reducing the time and cost of gathering participant feedback. Read more
Bespoke dementia information packs launched to reassure people with dementia - To mark Dementia Awareness Week, the Minister for Health and Social Services in Wales, Lesley Griffiths has launched new information packs for those with a diagnosis of dementia. Designed by the Alzheimer’s Society and funded by the Welsh Government, the packs, a UK first, provide information on the likely impacts of dementia and contain core information on national and local services. The packs will complement other Welsh Government funded activity designed to raise awareness: the bilingual Wales Dementia Helpline offers emotional support and advice on a 24/7 365 days a year basis, and the Welsh Government Book Prescription Wales Scheme has been expanded to include books on dementia. Read more
‘Youth friendly’ messages in medicines information for kids - Medicines for treating ADHD will now include information written with youngsters and teens in mind, following work by researchers at the University of Leeds and the MHRA. This is the first time that a dedicated ‘youth friendly’ section has been added to the patient information leaflet provided with any medicine taken by under-18s. The new section is designed to help children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) understand more about the medicines they take and how to take them safely. It is also helping young people feel included in discussions about their treatment. http://www.pifonline.org.uk/youth-friendly-messages-in-medicines-information-for-kids/
Coughing could be a sign of lung cancer - DH has launched a new campaign to raise awareness of the symptoms of lung cancer and urges people to go to their GP if they have had a cough for more than three weeks. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in England, with 33,000 new cases every year. It kills more men and women than any other form of cancer. Lung cancer affects people of all ages but is most common in those who are over 50. Although it is more common in smokers, around one in eight people with lung cancer has never smoked. The risk of lung cancer gets worse as you get older, but finding it early improves the chances of successful treatment. Further details of the campaign can be found via NHS Choices. There is also a BBC News report and a Cancer Research UK press release on the issue. The Resource Centre has copies of the A3 posters and limited copies of the A5 leaflets to support the campaign. In a related development, BMJ Learning and NICE have produced a learning module.
Consultation on Front of pack nutrition labeling - DH has published ‘Consultation on Front of pack nutrition labelling’. This consultation seeks views on government proposals to maintain and extend the use of front-of-pack labelling across the widest possible range of food and drinks products, and to achieve the greatest possible consistency in the content and presentation of front-of-pack nutrition labelling, in a form that is clearest and most useful to consumers. Additional material is also available as is an accompanying Letter. There is also a press release from the Food Standards Agency and a BBC News report. The consultation runs until 06 August 2012.
Digital service launched for new parents - DH has announced a digital service for new parents. The NHS Information Service for Parents will give new parents information and advice they can trust covering a wide range of issues related to staying healthy in pregnancy, preparing for birth and looking after their baby. By signing up to the service, parents-to-be and new parents will receive regular emails and text messages containing relevant and timely NHS approved advice as their pregnancy develops and as their child grows. Links to videos showing midwives demonstrating practical advice such as bathing your baby, and parents discussing issues that affected them and how they supported each other, will also be sent at appropriate times. In a separate but related development free parenting classes are also being made available for all parents of children aged 5 years and under in 3 trial areas: Middlesbrough, High Peak in Derbyshire, and Camden in London. There is also a BBC News report and an announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Macmillan and Ramblers join forces to get people walking - DH has issued the following press release ‘Macmillan and the Ramblers join forces to get people walking’. Public Health Minister Anne Milton recently announced that more people will be encouraged to get on their feet and get walking thanks to a new partnership between two leading charities. Macmillan Cancer Support and the Ramblers have taken over the reins of the national Walking for Health scheme from Natural England, that has already seen 75,000 people across England walk the equivalent of 400 times around the world.
Heatwave Plan 2012 - DH has published ‘Heatwave Plan for England 2012’. The Plan and accompanying guidance is intended to raise public and professional awareness on how to prepare in case of severe hot weather and potential heatwaves this summer. It has been developed in partnership with the Health Protection Agency, and is supported by the Met Office. It sets out the risks to health of exposure from severe heat, and the steps people can take to protect their own health, and reduce the risks of illness and death in the most vulnerable people. This year there is a specific focus on large scale public events and to provide advice during Ramadan, which this year falls over the summer period. A wide range of related material is also available, including a Dear Colleague letter.
Ten communities to tackle binge and underage drinking unveiled - The Department for Communities and Local Government has issued the following press release ‘Ten communities to tackle binge and underage drinking unveiled’. The 10 communities that will lead work to tackle binge and underage drinking have been announced by the Government Champion for Active Safer Communities. The successful bidders will share a £1 million fund that will put decision making and resources right in the hands of local people to help them eradicate the effects of alcohol abuse that blights their lives, Baroness Newlove said. Over the next two years these innovative grassroots projects, backed by local authorities, police and retailers, are expected to deliver real results to end the fallout of problem drinking. Other communities will hopefully be inspired to follow their lead.
Healthy places: councils leading on public health - The localism think tank the New Local Government Network has published ‘Healthy places: councils leading on public health’. This report draws on a survey of over 50 councils and interviews with 28 senior officials involved in setting up the new health and wellbeing boards. From the governance arrangements in two tier areas to the importance of public engagement, the report touches on some of the emerging challenges in the new system and illustrates the various approaches taken by local authorities to tackle them. It argues that in order to be effective, health and wellbeing boards need to have strengthened powers and a wider scope
The Power of Information - DH has published ‘The power of information: putting all of us in control of the health and care information we need’. This information strategy sets out a ten-year framework for transforming information for the NHS, public health and social care. The focus of the strategy is on improving access to information, including a commitment that people will be able to access their GP records online by 2015. Other ambitions are for test results to be available electronically and that people will be able to book or re-arrange their medical appointments online. A one-page visual guide is also available, as are individual chapters as well as an easy read version. There is also a BBC News report and responses from the NHS Commissioning Board, NHS Confederation, Nuffield Trust, British Medical Association, Royal College of Nursing and the King’s Fund. There is also a related policy digest from the NHS Confederation. A summary of other responses is also available via Pulse magazine. Veena Raleigh, Senior Fellow in Health Policy at the King’s Fund has also created a related blog.
Proposed CCG configuration and member practices published - The NHS Commissioning Board Authority has published the proposed configuration and member practices for 212 proposed CCGs for the first time. The paper confirms that there are now proposed CCGs covering the whole of England and includes the detailed geographic areas for each for the first time, plus the planning assumptions about the member practices in each proposed CCG. This means that everyone living in England will be covered by a CCG from April 2013. http://www.commissioningboard.nhs.uk/2012/05/24/ccg-configuration
Local:
University Hospitals Birmingham launch new patient records portal - myhealth@QEHB is a patient records portal developed by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB). It allows patients in long-term care to remotely access much of their clinical information held at the hospital, including their letters and laboratory results. Patients can submit information direct to their consultant, allowing them to instantly see the updates and respond where necessary. Patients can store and share files pertaining to their health on the system, view and add their own appointments at and away from the hospital, interact with each other within the portal and create their own support networks. http://www.uhb.nhs.uk/myhealth-at-QEHB.htm
Events
Tuesday 26th June, 2012 at 9am - Improving Health Information in 2012 and Beyond
28 Portland Place, London W1B 1LY - This free event is designed for attendees to hear more about the recently launched Information Strategy and the changing health and care landscape in 2012 and beyond. In addition, there will be practical advice on producing health and care information in this changing landscape as well as the opportunity to discuss these and other subjects with your peers and the speakers. For more information and to register go to www.theinformationstandard.org/whats-new/events/26june
27th June 2012 Free Information Standard Workshops - The Information Standard is a scheme designed to improve health and social care information available to the patient & public. The Information Standard is a scheme supported by The Department of Health to help patient and public identify trustworthy and reliable sources of health and social care information through an easily recognisable quality mark. The scheme is designed for producers of health and social care information to improve their processes and provide a structure framework to produce health and social care information that will be clear, concise, accurate, up-to-date, impartial & trustworthy information. If you are interested in The Information Standard and would like to know more please sign up to attend one of our one-day training courses which is free of charge. Even if your interest in The Information Standard is at an early stage attending one of these sessions will help learn more about the scheme and understand the steps to becoming certified. If you wish to book a place at one of these training days please click here. Places are limited so please book before you miss out. Can't make any of these dates? click here and let us know so that we can schedule more dates in your region
2nd-8th July – Health Information Week – a West Midlands campaign to raise awareness of good quality health information resources for the public. http://nhslocal.nhs.uk/workforce/equip-information/health-information-week . There are loads of events organised for the week – see the diary here: http://nhslocal.nhs.uk/story/events-health-information-week-2nd-8th-july-2012 Contact sarah.greening@westmidlands.nhs.uk for more information.
4th July Health and Wellbeing event in Warwick. Contact: deborah.smith3@uhcw.nhs.uk
11th July - Free Learn and Share Event - After working with public libraries for several years, we are holding our first ever learn and share event on 11th July at the Building Centre, Store Street London WC1E 7BT. The event is free and open to all Macmillan professionals and anyone that works in a public library. The aim of the event is to share the knowledge and experience of the projects and initiatives that have taken place in public libraries to improve cancer information in order to develop further the partnership between health information services and libraries. have attached the event programme and a booking form. Please return the completed form by the 22 June - amaynard@macmillan.org.uk
Friday 31st August 2012 Medical Wiki Workshop in Coventry 09:30 - 16:30 at Clinical Sciences Building, University Hospital, Clifford Bridge Road, Coventry CV2 2DX. Millions of people look up medical information on Wikipedia, but how reliable and trustworthy is it? Here's your chance to get involved and contribute to improving the quality and evidence base of Wikipedia's medical content. This Medical Wiki Workshop Day is in collaboration with Wikimedia UK , Wikimedia Canada and the Global Education Program, focusing on editing and improving the medical content on Wikipedia. We will be looking at finding and critically appraising the best clinical evidence, including a presentation by Jon Brassey of TRIP Database, followed by plenty of hands-on practice in Wikipedia editing. This free workshop will be of benefit to clinicians, researchers, library & information professionals, medical, nursing & allied health students. Register here: http://coventrywiki.eventbrite.co.uk/
EQUIP has a wider list of events that is regularly updated -http://www.equip.nhs.uk/Events/EventList.aspx You can also add your own events to EQUIP using the online form - http://www.equip.nhs.uk/submit/SubmitEvent.aspx
Other online newsletters in the West Midlands:
West Midlands Public Health Observatory Public Health Talk quarterly e-newsletter - http://www.wmpho.org.uk/publications/phtalk.aspx
Telford & Wrekin PCT Community Health & Enterprise Centre (CHEC) have a newsletter available at http://www.telford.nhs.uk/Your-Health/The-Health-Shop/ in the docs folder.
Voluntary Action Coventry Newsletter - http://www.vacoventry.org.uk/news
Health News can found on the NHS Birmingham East and North website at http://benpct.nhs.uk/health-news
Reading Agency (is National but interesting newsletter about public libraries etc) - http://www.readingagency.org.uk/sign-up/
Other links to health-related news -
http://www.nice.org.uk/newsroom/pressreleases/press_releases.jsp | |
http://www.library.nhs.uk/default.aspx |
|
Email this page