Things in the library 27th Nov...

Things about balance... 

Young children growing up today have access to more screen-based experiences than any generation before them. Whether through smart televisions, on-demand streaming video, YouTube or mobile touchscreens, a remarkable amount of infant- and toddler-directed content vies for young children's attention. A quick YouTube search for ‘educational video toddler’ brings up a list of animated videos with nursery rhymes and songs, many with millions and millions of views, but none with evidence of educational value. Although research on background television documented its ability to interrupt parent–child verbal exchange  and play, little is known about how modern media activities influence children's everyday experiences, particularly the important serve-and-return interactions  that occur around play, reading and daily outings. In this issue of Acta Paediatrica, ‘Screen Use Relates to Decreased Offline Enrichment Activities’ explores the displacement hypothesis: the idea that child the more time children spend with screen-based activities, the less time they engage in pretend play, health-related behaviours (eg, physical activity and sleep) or social interactions with caregivers or peers. In the modern digital environment, there are many reasons—ranging from tokens and rewards for prolonged gameplay  to the satisfying design of toy unboxing videos—why children would grow to prefer screen-based activities to more health-promoting (albeit boring) ones. 

Things online... 

Safeguarding Children in the Digital Age. Online conference: 1pm-3pm, 11th-14th January 2021

Digital technology continues to evolve at an extraordinary rate, providing children and young people with countless opportunities for learning, development and socialisation. It also presents ever increasing threats to their wellbeing and safety which have intensified during the Covid pandemic. Safeguarding young people today requires all practitioners, parents and carers to be up to speed with how to safeguard online. The 4th national conference on Safeguarding Children in the Digital Age, which takes place online, will provide essential learning for the entire children’s workforce. They are bringing together leading online safety experts and safeguarding professionals to equip you with the understanding, skills and confidence to ensure children and young people stay safe in the digital age. 

The online conference takes place over four consecutive days with a series of two-hour, CPD-certified live sessions from Monday 11th to Thursday 14th January 2021 between 1pm and 3pm.

Things exciting...

It is our Reading Group Virtual Christmas party this week on Wednesday 2nd December - bring your own mulled wine. We are discussing The Silver Sword but also choosing our reading for the next year from the excellent suggestions put forward by our group. if you want to be part of this please email the library to ask for the link or to be put on the mailing list.

...and don't forget

We have a great selection of leisure reading you can borrow so make sure you stock up before Christmas!

Things about baby food... 

A cross-sectional survey of all infant food products available to buy in the UK online and in-store collected in 2019. Nutritional content and product descriptions were recorded and compared with an existing 2013 database. Fewer foods are now marketed to infants aged 4 months, but there has been no overall reduction in the sweetness of products and the increase in snack foods and the sweetness of savoury foods is a concern.

Things to take note of...  

Some changes in our opening hours coming up. We will be closed for staff training some or all of  Monday 7th Dec (precise details next week and in the library bulletin). We will also be closed for Christmas from 21st December (this day we will be doing our annual stocktake) until we re-open on 4th January.

Things Hygge...  

I have really missed being able to go to the university restaurant for their Hygge season this year but as we are seemingly destined to spend more time at home over the winter it is something to embrace. Meik Wiking, the author of The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets To Happy Living, says “The true essence of hygge is the pursuit of everyday happiness and it’s basically like a hug, just without the physical touch,”  A few things to make your life more Hygge..candles, cosy blankets, hot chocolate, a good book, a board game instead of screentime, mindfulness  and perhaps a warming stew cooking in the slowcooker. I notice that Sandi Toksvig is starting a new series on BBC Radio 4 about Hygge starting on 2nd Dec at 18:30.

So something to cook...

This traditional Danish meal was a very popular amongst poor Danish farmers for the simple reason that it is cheap, quick to make and very satisfying. For non-Danes, it provides a glimpse into a very traditional type of Danish meal Burning Love - (Brændende Kærlighed)

Things in the library 10 July...

Things to do please... 

If you are coming into the library please abide by our protocols...I keep having to remind people to wear their masks. 😕

• Wear your mask - only remove to eat and drink
• Gel your hands on entry
• Take a wipe to clean workspace before you start work - mouse keypad etc
• Maintain 2m social distance
• Gel hands on exit

Things about civilisation...

Anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal. So a broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts. We are at our best when we serve others.

Things about attachment... 

Research in Practice has published a paper and accompanying short film in which NSPCC practitioners talk about the use of strengths-based video-feedback techniques to build parent-child attunement. Appropriately trained professionals can help parents develop their attunement to their baby by showing clips that capture moments of positive interaction and supporting them to build on these moments.

Things about infographics...

Knowledge gaps exist regarding how to best educate audiences about concussion. Knowledge translation (KT) plays a critical role in how information is shared. In the field of concussion, infographics are becoming a popular KT strategy for synthesising and sharing information. Study objectives recently published in Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine were to explore how infographics enhance concussion knowledge, infographic use and preferences across various stakeholders, and to determine their utility as a KT strategy. Six infographics were created to provide concussion information in a user-friendly and accessible format. Enhancement opportunities included incorporating graphics that appeal to different audiences and sharing the lived experiences of individuals who have a concussion. This study demonstrates the potential impact of infographics as a KT strategy that meets the knowledge needs of many audience.

Things about autism...

A study in JAMA Pediatrics asks  'Are screen media exposure and social and demographic factors associated with the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or ASD–like symptoms on the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers at 2 years of age?' Their conclusion was:

"This cohort study found greater screen exposure and less caregiver-child play early in life to be associated with later ASD-like symptoms. Further research is needed to evaluate experiential factors for potential risk or protective effects in ASD."

Book your librarian...

Don't forget that we can still provide one-to-one training remotely. Please access the booking form here.

Things to eat... 

We have been enjoying apricots recently...if you want to make something a bit more special this Apricot frangipane tart looks lovely.

Things in the library 17th January...

Things about healthcare systems...

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services published a position paper 'A health care system that works for all children' last year (ADCS is the national leadership association in England for statutory directors of children's services and their senior teams). In their executive summary they state:

"ADCS members believe that now, more than ever, there is a real need for a national commitment to ensure that the NHS of the future has children at it’s heart and children’s health and wellbeing services are given parity with those of older people."

Things about CAMHS...

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has published its Annual Report on access to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). The study examines access to specialist services, waiting times for treatment, and provision for the most vulnerable children in England. The research is based on new data obtained using freedom of information (FOI) requests to mental health providers and local authorities over the course of a year. This data is not published by the NHS. The majority of lifelong mental health problems develop early on, during childhood or adolescence. The wider economic costs of mental ill health in England are vast, estimated at £105bn each year.

Things in the news today...
Sepsis
Global, regional, and national sepsis incidence and mortality, 1990–2017: analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study is the article on which the headlines are commenting. The interpretation of the results from the authors is:

"Despite declining age-standardised incidence and mortality, sepsis remains a major cause of health loss worldwide and has an especially high health-related burden in sub-Saharan Africa."

Social Media
Along with exploring the impact of screen time generally, this paper 'Technology use and the mental health of children and young people' from the Royal College of Psychiatrists also explores the impact of different types of screen use: negative content; how vulnerable groups may be affected such as those with mental health problems and very young
children; potential for bullying and safeguarding issues; as well as the potential for addiction. In addition, guidance is provided for children and young people, parents and carers, clinicians and teachers.

Things about patient feedback...

The National Institute for Health Research published a themed review this week on Improving Care by Using Patient Feedback. There are many different reasons for looking at patient experience feedback data. Data is most often used for performance assessment and benchmarking in line with regulatory body requirements,  making comparisons with other healthcare providers or to assess progress over time. Staff are sometimes unaware of the feedback, or when they are, they struggle to make sense of it in a way that can lead to improvements. They are not always aware of unsolicited feedback, such as that received online and when they are, they are often uncertain how to  respond. 

• Staff need the time, skills and resources to make changes in practice. In many organisations, feedback about patient experience is managed in different departments from those that lead quality improvement. Whilst most organisations have a standardised method for quality improvement, there is less clarity and consistency in relation to using patient experience data.
• Staff act on informal feedback in ways that are not always recognised as improvement. Where change does happen, it tends to be on transactional tasks rather than relationships and the way patients feel. 
• The research featured in this review shows that these challenges can be overcome and provides recommendations and links to practical resources for services and staff.

Things to take part in...
The next Randomised Coffee Trial will be taking place in the SCH Trust in February. Sign-up now via this link . If you previously asked to be included in all future RCTs there is no need to sign up again. If you are new to the Trust - our RCTs run two or three times a year, you sign up and are randomly matched to someone else and you arrange to meet at a mutually convenient time for 30-40 mins to chat about anything you like. It is a good way of meeting new colleagues, taking time out and widening networks. The positive responses we get show how much it is enjoyed. Last time we had a few people who signed up but then didn't make contact with their matchee..please be courteous and inform the library and the other person if you cannot meet so that we can try to re-match the other person.

Things to make...
If you want a nice brunch dish there are some good suggestions here based on baked eggs.

Things in the library 2 August...

Things about pre-term infants...

A Cochrane Review has been looking at whether exposure to the smell or taste (or both) of milk administered with tube feedings can accelerate progress to full sucking feeds without adverse effects in preterm infants. the authors conclude that evidence from two trials suggests that exposure to the smell and taste of milk with tube feedings has no clear effect on time taken to reach full sucking feeds, but it may decrease length of hospitalisation. However, these results are uncertain due to the very low quality of the evidence. There is also limited evidence about the impact on other important clinical outcomes and on safety. Future research
should examine the effect of exposure to the smell and taste of milk with tube feedings on clinical outcomes during hospitalisation, such as attainment of full enteral and sucking feeds, safety, feed tolerance, incidence of infection, and infant growth. Additionally, future research should be sufficiently powered to evaluate the effect of the intervention in infants of different gestational ages, on each sex separately, and on the optimal frequency and duration of exposure.

Things about child trafficking...
The Home Office has published its final evaluation report of the Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) service in early adopter sites from February 2017 to January 2019. The early adopter sites were Greater Manchester, Hampshire and Wales. Findings include: caseloads for ICTGs were higher than envisaged, particularly in Wales; 54% of children referred to the service were aged 16 or 17; and criminal exploitation was the most common form of primary exploitation for those referred to the service. The report concludes that the ICTG service has three areas of added value: building trust with children; providing advocacy; and providing specialist knowledge to professionals. The Home Office has also published interim guidance for ICTGs in early adopter sites.

Young people and their communities...
The Office for National Statistics has published an article Are young people detached from their neighbourhoods?  This article explores young people’s connections with their communities and how it compares with the engagement of older adults.  It is based on data from the Community Life Survey onneighbourhood belonging and community engagement . Young people are less likely to say they belong to their neighbourhood than the rest of the population, but the gap has closed over time. Young people remain as likely to trust their neighbours as in 2013 to 2014, while levels of trust among older adults have fallen slightly. Around 37% of 16- to 24-year-olds have contacted a local official, signed a petition or attended a rally in the last 12 months, up from 32% in 2013 to 2014.

Image by Peggy und Marco 

Lachmann-Anker

from Pixabay 

Things about screen time...
In JAMA there is an investigation as to whether there is an Association of Screen Time and Depression in Adolescence they found that use of social media and television in adolescents may enhance symptoms of depression and should therefore be taken into account when developing preventive methods and advising parents.





Things about Hajj...
Public Health England is reminding Hajj pilgrims to be aware of the risk of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the Middle East. The risk of infection to UK residents travelling to the Middle East remains very low and PHE, NaTHNaC and the World Health Organization do not currently advise any travel restrictions to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in relation to MERS-CoV.  However they urge pilgrims returning from Hajj and Umrah to look out for these symptoms and if individuals experience these symptoms within 14 days of leaving the Middle East, they should call their GP immediately or NHS 111 and mention their travel history.

• fever
• coughing
• shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

They strongly advise travellers to avoid contact with camels and consumption of camel products in the Middle East and to practise good hand hygiene.

Things about child health technology...
The UK's first child health technology conference will be held in Sheffield 20/21 May 2020. Professor Paul Dimitri says: "Child Health Technology 2020 (CHT2020) will bring together healthcare professionals, industry, engineers, designers, academics, and patient representatives around one of the most exciting and fast moving fields in healthcare today." Registration for this conference is now open.

Things to eat...

I thought this Watermelon & spinach super salad  a surprising combination of foods when I made it earlier this week but it was really lovely...and very quick and easy.

Things in the library 3 May...

Things to spring clean...

(c)Mahua Sarkar from Pixabay

If you use the Healthcare Databases Advanced Search (HDAS)  you need to be aware that HDAS has built up a large amount of saved data, which has a potential impact on performance. Please review your saved search strategies and saved results and delete any that you don’t need any more, or export those that you do.  You can export saved results in a variety of formats to save outside HDAS eg Word, Excel, RIS.

From 1st August, HDAS will automatically delete any saved results that are more than 2 years old but your saved search strategies will still be available.
If you want to know how to use HDAS for literature searching we offer a one hour individual or small group training sessions - book here!

Things about young carers...
New research from Barnardo's says BAME young carers in England are missing out on their childhoods because of the additional responsibilities and stresses they have to deal with. Barnardo’s research, based on interviews with BAME young carers and practitioners found:

• Many young south Asian carers were far too often being relied upon as interpreters, relaying technical and deeply personal medical information between patients and doctors, which can lead to misdiagnosis and increased anxiety within families.
• The concept of a young carer is unfamiliar to many BAME communities as helping your family and extended family is often expected.
• Often BAME families do not want agencies involved as there is a deep mistrust of social services, or authorities and they are fearful of their families being split up.
• There is stigma within many BAME communities in acknowledging mental health and disability issues and in seeking support.

Barnardo’s key recommendations in the Caring Alone report include:

• All patients who don’t speak English should have access to a translator. Children and young people should never be expected to translate for a relative.
• The NHS should work with communities to tackle stigma around within BAME communities to reduce the stigma of mental illness, special needs and disability and improve access to services.
• NHS services should employ community outreach workers to improve understanding and relationships in BAME communities

Things about exercise and sleep...

The World Health Organisation has published guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age. The full report is available here

Things digital...

Child health information will be available to health professionals and parents at the point of care, thanks to a new live national service which has been launched by the NHS. Parents and health professionals can securely receive information digitally and use it to inform decisions on care and treatment, using the National Events Management Service, which securely publishes information on key health interventions for children.

The service shows which preventative interventions a child has received; improving the speed of diagnosis and treatment by giving health visitors and parents access to the same information sources at the same time.

The service has initially launched in North East London in partnership with North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) and their health visiting and child health services. The IT system suppliers supporting the trust – System C2 (CarePlus), Servelec3 (Rio) and Sitekit4 (eRedbook) – have all collaborated with NHS Digital to connect their systems to the new service.

It implements a near real-time message exchange sending birth notifications, change of address and change of GP practice details. Data is also forwarded to a digital red book offered to mothers as an alternative to the current paper red book.

Commenting on the first week's live running, David Pike, Programme Manager at NELFT, said “The results so far have been very encouraging. Within the first couple of days we achieved a 20% increase in the timeliness of new birth notifications from out of area maternity units, enabling our health visitors to see new families sooner."

“We also received 2000 address changes on the first day, which means we're picking up children new to NELFT services much quicker; ensuring those children moving out of area are rapidly notified to their new service provider. Based on these early improvements, we expect to be targeting health resources much more accurately in the coming year.”

Things about sexual abuse...

The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse has published a report and video about medical examinations for child sexual abuse. Findings from the report, which is based on a review of available literature, includes: most children are not referred for medical examination, some professionals have concerns about harm through examination and most children reflect on the medical examination as a positive experience. A video, which has been produced alongside the research, aims to help professionals and practitioners involved in advising, referring and supporting children and families to make decisions and explain the processes involved in medical examinations.

Things to read ...

Our next reading group book is Mythos by Stephen Fry ..so an ideal choice if you want to brush up your knowledge of Greek myths and legends. The discussion meeting (with drinks and nibbles) will be in the Illingworth Library on Wednesday June 5th at 17:15 - you will be made very welcome.

Things to eat...

I'm just back from Avignon and rediscovered the delights of nougat whist there. This dessert of Iced nougat & raspberry terrine looks lovely for a special occasion...in small quantities!

Reminder we will be closed on Bank Holiday Monday

Things in the library 8th February...

Things about breakfast ...or is it dessert...
There has long been a debate between me and my adult son about breakfast and whether it is an essential part of the day or whether that is a myth put out by cereal companies who funded much of the research. This recent systematic review and meta-analysis in the BMJ looked at the 'Effect of breakfast on weight and energy intake: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials'. They conclude that

"the addition of breakfast might not be a good strategy for weight loss, regardless of established breakfast habit. Caution is needed when recommending breakfast for weight loss in adults, as it could have the opposite effect. Further randomised controlled trials of high quality are needed to examine the role of breakfast eating in the approach to weight management."

There is also an interesting opinion piece on this topic here.

Things about pain...

This opinion article about pain in the New York Times written by  a paediatrician certainly reminds me of being brought up by a mother who was also a paediatrician (who incidentally worked with Prof Illingworth here at SCH) - the swing between 'there is nothing wrong with you' to 'that could be really serious lets rush to hospital' was a feature of my childhood!

Things about child mental health...

To mark Children’s Mental Health Week (4-10 February), the Education Secretary Damian Hinds announced that up to 370 schools in England will take part in a series of trials testing different approaches to supporting young people’s mental health. Children will benefit from mindfulness exercises, relaxation techniques and breathing exercises to help them regulate their emotions, alongside pupil sessions with mental health experts. The study will run until 2021 and aims to give schools new, robust evidence about what works best for their students’ mental health and wellbeing.

Things about care leavers...
The Department for Education (DfE) in England has announced three pilot schemes in Bristol, Lewisham and Sheffield to improve the education and training of young people leaving care, to help them make the transition into independent life. Sheffield City Council Councillor Jackie Drayton, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families said:

"We want to ensure that our Care Leavers get every help and support they can to access education, training or employment. I’m pleased that Project Apollo will enable the Council’s Leaving Care Service to work with Sheffield Futures to give our care leavers every opportunity to achieve their full potential and progress successfully in the future."

More things about screen-time...
 There has been much in the news this week about recommended screen-time for children. Here you can read the full report and comments from the Chief Medical Officer (who has just announced she will be leaving the role later in the year). 

More things about mental health...
This report  Beyond the Green Paper: The Role of Practice Based Evidence from an All-Party Parliamentary Group seeks to influence the views of Parliament and the performance of  Government to better address issues relating to the Children’s Mental Health




Things from Reading Group...
Our last book (The Choice by Edith Eger) was one of our highest scoring books yet and so is thoroughly recommended. Our next book is very different and much lighter The Murder of My Aunt by Richard Hull. We meet on the first Wednesday of the month and it is very informal so do come and join us if you would like to...we had 11 people this week a mixture of SCH and University. Note to Estates...we may soon need a bigger library!

Things about coffee...
Our current Randomised Coffee Trial is underway with people meeting up across the trust...if you meant to join in with this one and didn't get around to it there is still time so drop the library an email.

Things to eat...
Cauliflower is such a wonderful vegetable both as an accompaniment and a main ingredient. I love the sound of this Baked aloo gobi with flatbreads and the colour is so warm and enticing on a wild wet windy day.

Things in the library 4th Jan...

Happy New Year to you all

Things to attend...

Our excellent Critical Appraisal course is running again on Thurs 31st Jan from 9:00 - 13:00. No prior knowledge of the subject is required and you will learn the basics of how to critically read an article and judge its value in a small group. If you are interested please sign up for this training via the SCH intranet as soon as possible.

Things about screentime...

A study of the effects of screentime on children and young people (CYP) is in the news today. The systematic review it comes from concludes:

"There is considerable evidence that higher levels of screentime is associated with a variety of health harms for CYP, with evidence strongest for adiposity, unhealthy diet, depressive symptoms and quality of life. Evidence for impact on other health outcomes is largely weak or absent. We found no consistent evidence of health benefits from screentime. While evidence for a threshold to guide policy on CYP screentime exposure was very limited, there is weak evidence that small amounts of daily screen use is not harmful and may have some benefits.

These data broadly support policy action to limit screen use by CYP because of evidence of health harms across a broad range of domains of physical and mental health. We did not identify a threshold for safe screen use, although we note there was weak evidence for a threshold of 2 hours daily screentime for the associations with depressive symptoms and with HRQOL. We did not identify evidence supporting differential thresholds for younger children or adolescents.

Any potential limits on screentime must be considered in the light of a lack of understanding of the impact of the content or contexts of digital screen use. Given the rapid increase in screen use by CYP internationally over the past decade, particularly for new content areas such as social media, further research is urgently needed to understand the impact of the contexts and content of screen use on CYP health and well-being, particularly in relationship to mobile digital devices."

and also... 

The RCPCH issued guidance today on the health effects of screentime for children. The guide provides a summary of existing research on the health effects of screen time on children and young people. It outlines recommendations for health professionals and families on screen time use. Their primary recommendation is:

 "that families should negotiate screen time limits with their children based upon the needs of an individual child, the ways in which screens are used and the degree to which use of screens appears to displace (or not) physical and social activities and sleep. We would also adopt the expert recommendation that screens are avoided for an hour before the planned bedtime."

Things about refugees...
The World Health Organisation has recently published technical guidance on the health of refugee and migrant children. Policy considerations include an intersectoral approach to promote good health and well-being, particularly mental health, in migrant children that target risk factors at the individual, family and community levels. Particular emphasis is placed on how national/local governments have an important role in fostering or hindering living conditions for refugee and migrant children in the areas of housing, health care services and education.

Things about cancer...
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Policy produced a report in December 'Cancer in Children, Teens and Young Adults'. This report deliberately focuses on a sample of patients who were a high-risk group who died or who had an unexpected admission to intensive care. The rationale being that this is where care-planning, service provision and communication should excel. Any remediable factors in care for this group would benefit all children, teenagers and young adults receiving SACT( systemic anti-cancer therapy). The report can be downloaded from this page.

Things to read...

Our Reading group is next week (normally the first Wednesday of the month) I have enjoyed both our Christmas read choices and they are available to borrow from the library if you wish to read them. The meeting next week is at 17:15, drinks and nibbles provided and if one of your New Year resolutions was to read more do come and join us...it doesn't matter if you haven't read the book! Both books feature an American Northern Cardinal bird on the cover (despite one of the stories being set in Ukraine).

Things about Christmas trees...

If you didn't get chance to book a collection for your real Christmas Tree in aid of SCH charity then you can take it along to University of Sheffield Information Commons car park tomorrow  Sat 5th Jan from 8am to 3pm where it will be chipped and used on the campus as a mulch during the year.




Things to make...
Not to eat this week...we have all done a lot of eating recently...but some creative ideas for recycling your Christmas cards rather than putting them in your (probably) overfull blue bin.


Things coming soon...
After the success of our recent Randomised Coffee Trial will will be organising another one soon...