Things in the Library 13th May

Things about mental health...

This week is World Mental Health Awareness Week, and the theme is loneliness. The connection goes both ways - poor mental health leads to loneliness and loneliness leads to poor mental health. It can mean the world to check in on a friend or colleague if you suspect they may be feeling lonely. Mental Health UK have created a Connect for Mental Health Board to encourage building meaningful connections with friends, acquaintances, family or colleagues for this week and beyond.

The Health Foundation have published a blog discussing contextual factors in young people's mental health. How increasing cost of living, missing school due to Covid 19, and having unemployed parents can have great impact on the mental health of children and young people, who may feel like they don't want to add a further burden to their families by being open about their struggles. 

    "Focusing on the NHS side of young people’s mental health tells only part of the story. Mental health     problems do not come into existence only at the point of referral to NHS services. The young people     behind these statistics are part of wider society, workers or in education, and part of families, often        families under strain."

Things about DynaMed...

Last week library staff had a training session on how to use DynaMed, which is a point of care tool that we have recently subscribed to. We were really impressed with how simple it is to use, and the depth of information provided. You can subscribe to alerts in your speciality, use the calculators, and search for drug interactions. Each topic has a succinct overview plus detailed information on diagnosis, management, complications, prevention and guidelines. You can easily log in with Open Athens. Let us know if you'd like to be shown how to use DynaMed!

Things to read...

You still have time to read this month's reading group book, The Colour Purple by Alice Walker. It's an absolute classic about an African American girl growing up in the South in the early 1900s, and there is certainly lots to discuss. It's still available to borrow from the library, as is the rest of our leisure reading collection.

Things about paediatric sepsis...

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health are running a one-day course on how to manage paediatric sepsis. By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the early signs of sepsis 
• Appraise parents’ assessment of their children
• Explain which is the most appropriate antibiotic to choose 
• Discuss current issues in fluid resuscitation 
• Estimate which inotrope to use, when and how much
• Compare differences in children with complex health conditions
• Differentiate between orders of immunodeficiency 
• Analyse appropriate management strategies in these cases. 
• Practise and assess your knowledge and skills through sepsis simulation scenarios.

Things about strength training...

The New Scientist has reported that only one in twenty adults in England are exercising their muscles enough. Strength exercises such as lifting weights and body weight exercises are really important for improving strength in muscles, which can help mobility as you age. The UK’s weekly health guidelines, which recommend 150 minutes of moderate activity a week – including two bouts of strength training.

Things about child safety...

NSPCC Learning has published a report as part of the Together for Childhood project which aims to make local communities safer for children by helping local partners and families come together to prevent child abuse. The report discusses the evaluation approaches used to look at the effectiveness of Together for Childhood. For the Transformative Evaluation, 37 stories from community members and partners about the biggest changes they have experienced during their involvement with Together for Childhood, were collected. A selection of these stories have been shared in the report which reveals changes such as improved knowledge and awareness around preventing abuse. The report finds that the variety of changes cited in the stories demonstrates the added value of joining up different services, professionals and communities.

Things to make...

This week I'll be making one of my favourite spring recipes, baked ricotta with asparagus and jersey royals (though I have to admit I cut back on the salt in this recipe!). Love a jersey royal!