Things in the library 9th April...

 I hope you all had time for some sort of break over Easter and were able to enjoy the warm days that we had before we returned to winter. Please note the library will be closed on Wed 14th April in the morning until 13:00. This is for staff training - sorry for any inconvenience

Things to read... 

The last book which we read in the Reading Group proved popular 'Once upon a River by Setterfield and our next is Midnight Library by Matt Haig. The next meeting will be via Microsoft teams on 5th May at 18:30. Please contact the library if you would like the joining link.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

Things statistical... 

We are often asked if the trust provides statistical help for research projects  - we have some books of course and the Research Dept are trying to arrange some more structured help - particularly advice before a project is started. However we do now have SSPS software installed on one computer in the library so if you know what you are doing and how to use this then you are welcome to contact the library to book a session to use it. We cannot currently offer any training.

Things about children's brain development... 

Sharing the Science (now known as Sharing the Brain Story) is a programme that aims to help professionals and families understand child brain development and how it can be affected by early adversity. The programme uses six metaphors to explain key aspects of early child development, the impact of adversity, and the factors that can lead to abuse and neglect.

The NSPCC evaluated a programme pilot conducted in Glasgow to understand professionals’ experiences of attending a Sharing the Science workshop and using the Sharing the Science metaphors in practice. They also conducted focus groups with parents, carers and young people to explore their responses to the Sharing the Science metaphors. The report and more information on 'Building a shared understanding of child brain development between professionals and families' can be found via the link.

Online training using Clinical Skills Net...

Various mandatory and other SCH training is now hosted by Clinical Skills Net. The library introduced this to the Trust and so helps with registration of users. We are however inundated unnecessarily with requests for help which don't actually need to come to us and also old information is still be circulated in some departments causing confusion. The flowchart below will help - please use this in your areas of work for Clinical Staff needing to access CSN. Thank you for your help.

Things about youth involvement in chronic illness... 

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health,  have previously worked with young people in their podcasts, Commission, and cover art, but they recognise that they can do more. The message from  their young collaborators—that there should be “nothing about us without us”—is loud and clear. To ensure the work they do is meaningful and important to the next generation, they say they must include them as partners in research.

As a first step, they are creating a youth advisory panel as they relaunch their International Advisory Board. We are looking for five individuals aged 16–24 years from diverse backgrounds, who have lived experience of a chronic illness, a passion for health advocacy, or an interest in global child health and rights. The panel will contribute to the journal's content and advise on editorial priorities. They look forward to receiving applications before the 30th April. You may have current or former patients you know who would be interested in this opportunity.

Things to make... 

The news that HRH Prince Philip has passed away this morning came through whilst I was writing this blog. Although a divisive figure in some respects he was obviously a great support to HM Queen Elizabeth and gave many years service to the country. So with reference to his Greek roots I have chosen this recipe to make this week - a classic Moussaka.

Things in the library 5th July...

Me...

I am back after a two week break...sorry for the interruption to the blog service.

Things about bringing up children...
In this Policy Statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics provides guidance for pediatricians and other child health care providers on educating parents about positive and effective parenting strategies of discipline for children at each stage of development as well as references to educational materials. This statement supports the need for adults to avoid physical punishment and verbal abuse of children.

Things about chronic illness...

Psychological therapies appear to show promise in helping improve self-reported parenting behaviour of parents of children and adolescents with cancer, chronic pain, diabetes or traumatic brain injury. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and problem-solving therapy (PST) appear particularly valuable in supporting this. Psychological therapies also seemed beneficial in improving the mental health of parents who have children with cancer and chronic pain, but not in studies of children with diabetes. Parenting a child with a chronic illness can pose challenges to family life, causing emotional strain for both the parents and children concerned. Skills for adapting to this can help improve parenting behaviour and the mental health and well-being outcomes for families of children with chronic illness. This Cochrane systematic review analysed 44 trials of varying quality, which included over 4,600 parents. The results may help support healthcare practitioners working with families where children have chronic illness.

Things about refugee & immigrant children...
Immigrant and refugee children are at increased risk for physical, developmental, and behavioral health challenges. This article provides an overview of physical, developmental, and behavioral health considerations for immigrant and refugee children within an ecological framework that highlights family, community, and sociocultural influences. Experiences and exposures relevant to immigrant and refugee children are discussed. Clinical pearls are provided for topics of chronic disease, nutrition, infectious disease, developmental screening, and mental health assessment. Interdisciplinary and community partnerships are emphasized as a means to decrease barriers to care and facilitate family navigation of complex social, educational, and health care systems.

Things about children & social media...
Barnardo's have published a report Left to their own devices: Young people, social media and mental health .
They say:

At the moment, not enough is known about the impact of social media on the most vulnerable children in the UK.
Research
We’re calling on the Government to commission more research on the impact of social media to help establish a solid evidence base. This research should specifically include the experience of vulnerable children and young people.
Education
The Government should ensure that all children and young people are able to access education and guidance on social media use. Advice should also be available for professionals, parents and carers.
Mental health support
A proportion of future funding for the NHS (as detailed in the NHS 10 Year Plan) should be used to deliver mental health support in all schools.
Regulating the internet
The Government should make the internet safe for children, including the most vulnerable - by introducing duties on tech companies and specific guidance on dangers like cyber-bullying. 

Things about prevention...
The RCPCH has published a Prevention vision for child health with five crucial priorities.

• Tackling inequalities with greater focus on the most vulnerable children, young people and families
• Investment in the workforce, in particular in school nurses and health visitors
• Greater coordination of services, strategies, plans and programmes that are designed to prevent negative outcomes
• A moratorium on public health funding cuts
• A life course approach, recognising that good prevention starts before birth

Things about movement...

The National Institute for Health Research have published a themed review Moving Matters - Interventions To Increase Physical Activity This review focuses on National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded research evaluating interventions to increase physical activity for individuals and populations. This features over 50 published and ongoing studies. Evaluations range from programmes in schools and communities to changes in transport and the environment, which are designed to promote greater activity.

Reading Group...

The next book we are reading is 'The Librarian' by Salley Vickers and will be discussing this on Wed 7th August at 17:15 in the Illingworth library - drinks and nibbles provided as normal. Do feel free to join us for casual chat about what we are reading. At last our specialist subject!

Things to eat...

Salad season has finally arrived and we can stop eating warm comfort food. I do tend to make mine up from whatever is available (if the guinea pig hasn't eaten them first!) but this Paul Hollywood recipe for Spicy Squash Salad has some of my favourite foods in it so it's on my regular list of favourites.

Things in the library 26 Jan...

Things you might want to comment on...

 Sheffield's Clinical Commissioning Group are currently consulting on their plans for changing Urgent Care in Sheffield. This is likely to have an impact on every resident so do take time to read the proposals and respond - closing date 31 January. 

Things about life-limiting conditions...
A meta-synthesis of qualitative research exploring parents' psychosocial experiences during complex and traumatic life transitions related to caring for a child with a life-limiting (LLI) or life-threatening illness (LTI) was published in Journal of Pediatric Nursing this week.  A synthesis of the findings demonstrated that parents experience profound and pervasive uncertainty, leading to their own illness experience being described as a dual reality in which fighting for survival and recognising the threat of their child's death were daily challenges. Three key processes emerged: the devastation of living with uncertainty, the emergence of hope, and moving forward.  These findings can support a more comprehensive pediatric nursing plan of care that accounts for the intricacies of the parental experience and the importance of hope.

Things about child sexual exploitation...
Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and HM Inspectorate of Probation have updated inspection guidance on the multi-agency response to child sexual exploitation and missing children. The guidance points out that a further sample of inspections on this theme is planned for 2018, which aims to identify whether agencies have made further progress since the Joint targeted area inspections (JTAIs) in 2016. For 2018, the inspectorate has widened the scope of the investigation to include children associated with gangs or involved with gangs who are at risk of exploitation. This in response to an increasing awareness of the risks to children being exploited for criminal reasons by gangs, in particular the risk of involvement in ‘county lines’. Other updates include: the inspection now considers the role of schools; and references to Local Safeguarding Children Boards have been changed to local safeguarding arrangements.


Things about cross-border children...
Can you contribute? Research in Practice is seeking children’s social workers, local authority
solicitors and children’s guardians with experience of cross-border casework (including care proceedings where an international family placement is explored or instances where a family with a child at risk has fled abroad) to participate in a telephone focus group on behalf of Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB).




Things coming soon...
We are just sending off an order for some new books...if you are searching the library catalogue you may come across items that say 'On order'. If you want to see any of these when they arrive please login with your library ticket number and PIN (ask us if you don't have one) so that you can reserve the items. If there are any resources you would like us to buy for your subject area (books or e-books) then please let us know.

Something to eat...
This celeriac, onion and mustard tart sounds easy and different. Did you know that celeriac has been used in Europe since ancient times (it is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as selinon apparently).

Things in the library 19th Jan...

Things about 15 year-olds...

Public Health England have released further analysis about the wellbeing of 15 year-olds from the 'What about YOUth' survey in 2014. the key findings are;

• young people who engaged in behaviour which might harm their health such as drinking and smoking, having poor diet or exercising rarely, or who had negative feelings towards their body size reported lower wellbeing than those who did not 
• self-reported wellbeing varied depending on the relative affluence or deprivation of the family, with those whose families were in more affluent groups and living in the least deprived areas reporting higher average wellbeing 
• young people who stated that they had a disability, long-term illness or medical condition reported lower wellbeing than those who did not 
• young people who described their sexual orientation as gay, lesbian, bisexual or ‘other’ were more likely to have lower wellbeing than those who declared themselves heterosexual. On average these young people also reported lower life satisfaction and happiness, and higher anxiety

Things about obesity...

The Government has published its response to the House of Commons Health Select Committee report on Childhood obesity

Things about ADHD and substance use...

Frequent Substance Use (SU) for young adults with childhood ADHD is accompanied by greater initial exposure at a young age and slightly faster progression. Early SU prevention and screening is critical before escalation to intractable levels. This is the conclusion from a longitudinal study published recently in J Child Psychology & Psychiatry

Things about chronic illness...

An article in Journal of Pediatric Nursing considers the 'School Experiences of Siblings of Children with Chronic Illness' - a systematic literature review. It concludes that: 

Many siblings are socially resilient, yet overlooked, members of the family who may present with psychological, academic and peer related difficulties at school following diagnosis of a brother or sister with chronic illness.

Things to attend...

An evening seminar and drinks reception with Nick Robinson - March 8th 2018

A one off, not to be missed opportunity to hear British journalist, author and presenter of BBC’s Today Programme, Nick Robinson, share stories about his career as a broadcaster and his personal battle to regain his voice following lung cancer. Nick will be joined by his Speech and Language Therapist Julia Selby, an alumni of TUoS. Together they will provide a unique insight into how they worked to get his voice back in shape and ready to go ‘on air’ following months of illness and discuss the long term impact of voice therapy. There will be a drinks reception following the event with an opportunity to meet Nick and Julia. Tickets for the event are priced at £15 and proceeds will be donated to the Macmillan Cancer Support

and also...

The 20th Sir Arthur Hall Memorial Lecture: What will the NHS be facing on its 90th birthday?

by Professor Chris Whitty CBE FMedSi, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health 

This open event is in the Students' Union Building, The University of Sheffield, at 6pm on Thursday, 15 February 2018.

This year the NHS celebrates its 70th birthday. There have been significant changes in health and medicine in the UK over the last two decades, and in many areas of healthcare very substantial changes since the initial foundation of the NHS in 1948. These include major reductions in the impact of heart disease and stroke, large changes to infectious diseases and many improvements in the prevention and treatment of cancers. In some areas such as diabetes or antimicrobial resistance things are moving in the wrong direction. The demography of the UK has changed and is changing. Many of the trends have been remarkably stable so it is possible realistically to project forward 20 years in many areas of medicine and public health. This helps with planning research and policy. The 2018 Sir Arthur Hall lecture will consider where we have come from and where we are going over the next two decades in health and medicine.

Things hairy...

I am enjoying watching the Hairy Bikers latest series on TV and last week made the Sardinian lamb with fennel which was beautiful, tender and tasty.

Things in the library 27 Oct

Things about transporting babies...
Medical care for newborn infants is provided at different levels, ranging from well-baby nurseries to highly specialised intensive care units. There have been numerous studies on neonatal transport and most of them have been descriptive and, or, quality assessments that have had a predominantly strong focus on intensive care transport. In this article Hennequin et al describe their experience of transferring relatively well babies between hospitals using skin-to-skin care (STS) during transport.

Things about cyber attacks...
The report has been published today on the WannaCry cyber attack on the NHS back in may. Although we were not infected we certainly experienced disruption. The NHS has looked at the lessons that can be learnt and steps to prevent such disruption happening again include:

• develop a response plan setting out what the NHS should do in the event of a cyber attack and establish the roles and responsibilities of local and national NHS bodies and the Department;
• ensure organisations implement critical CareCERT alerts, including applying software patches and keeping anti-virus software up to date and identifying;
• ensure essential communications are getting through during an incident when systems are down; and
• ensure that organisations, boards and their staff are taking the cyber threat seriously, understand the direct risks to front-line services and are working proactively to maximise their resilience and minimise the impact on patient care.

Things about child development...

Deliberate practice is essential for acquiring a wide range of skills that have been central to humans’ adaptive success, yet little is known about when and how children develop this capability. This study examined 4- to 7-year-olds’ ability to selectively practice a skill that would be useful in the near future, as well as their broader understanding of the role of deliberate practice in skill acquisition. Six- and 7-year-olds demonstrated both an explicit understanding of deliberate practice and the capacity to practice without being prompted. Five-year-olds showed an understanding of deliberate practice and some capacity to practice, whereas 4-year-olds showed neither of these capabilities. 

Things about global developmental delay...

Global developmental delay (GDD) affects 1%-3% of the population of children under 5 years of age, making it one of the most common conditions presenting in paediatric clinics; causes are exogenous, genetic (non-metabolic) or genetic (metabolic). Recent advances in biotechnology and genetic testing mean that the investigations available to perform for children under 5 years are increasing and are more sensitive than previously. This change in availability and type of testing necessitates an update in the recommendations for investigating GDD. The study concludes that "We may need to update present recommendations in the UK for investigation of developmental delay. This would include microarray testing as first line and a more thorough approach to investigations for metabolic disorders that can be treated. Clinical assessment remains vital for guiding investigations."

Things about chronic disease...

Self-efficacy (SE) is a strong predictor of health outcomes in chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable SE scale for adolescents and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBDSES-A, a 13-item disease-specific scale to assess SE toward disease management, demonstrates good reliability and construct validity and could be a useful tool in understanding the role of SE in pediatric IBD self-management and outcomes.





Things about meningitis... 

A systematic review and meta-analysis to address the question “what is the impact of meningitis on IQ and development.” found moderate evidence that surviving bacterial meningitis has a deleterious impact on IQ and development but no evidence that viral meningitis had meaningful cognitive impacts. Survivors of bacterial meningitis should be routinely offered screening for cognitive deficits and developmental delay in addition to hearing loss.

Things about families and green spaces...
The Department of Landscape and IWUN project invites you to the first seminar of the 2017/18 'Health in Place' seminar series. In the first of this series of seminars, Dr Anna Cronin de Chavez (Born in Bradford Project) discusses a qualitative study of families with 0-3s use of green spaces in a multi-cultural, urban area. The seminar will take place:  Tuesday 14 November 2017 Time: 4 - 5pm  in ICCOS Conference room, University of Sheffield, S1 4DP.
This paper presents the findings of a study to explore the use of green spaces of 0-3 year olds alongside practical, physical, social, cultural and economic barriers and enablers of giving young children access to green spaces. Event is free but book your place here

Things to eat...
This Creamy squash linguine sounds lovely...though I might be biased as it features probably my favourite fresh herb...sage!

Things to discuss...
Reminder that it is reading group next Wednesday at 17.15 in the library...come and join us! We are discussing 'The Graveyard book' this week by Neil Gaiman

Things in the library 9 June...

Things about cystic fibrosis...
An article in European J Pediatrics was published this week on 'Factors associated with changes in health-related quality of life in children with cystic fibrosis during 1-year follow-up' the authors conclude:

"In the group as a whole, HRQoL improved significantly over time. However, changes over time were significantly influenced by age: below 12 years of age, HRQoL improved in most patients whereas a deterioration was observed in most children >12 years. Strategies how to preserve or ideally to improve HRQoL in adolescence should be developed"


Things about antibiotics...

The World Health Organisation has released the latest edition of its essential medicines list which is updated every two years. WHO has grouped antibiotics into three groups—access, watch, and reserve—indicating which can be used for common infections and which should only be used in rare circumstances.

• WHO recommends that antibiotics in the access group, which includes amoxicillin, be available at all times to treat common conditions.
• The watch group includes antibiotics that are recommended as first or second choice treatments for a small number of infections. In this group are ciprofloxacin to treat cystitis and upper respiratory tract infections which, WHO says, should be dramatically reduced to avoid further development of resistance.
• The third group, reserve, includes antibiotics that should be considered last resort options and used only when all other drugs have failed, such as for life threatening infections from multidrug resistant bacteria. The antibiotics colistin and some cephalosporins should only be used when all other treatments have failed in a bid to combat anti-microbial resistance

Things about chronic illness...
Serious chronic illness can have a detrimental effect on school attendance, participation and engagement, leaving affected students at risk of failing to meet their developmental potential. An improved understanding of factors that help to explain or mitigate this risk can help educators and health professionals deliver the most effective support. This meta-review 'Understanding the school experiences of children and adolescents with serious chronic illness: a systematic meta-review.' critiqued the available evidence examining the link between six chronic illnesses (asthma, cancer, chronic kidney diseases, heart diseases, cystic fibrosis and gastrointestinal diseases) and children's and adolescents' school experiences and outcomes, as well as investigating the medical, school, psychosocial and sociodemographic factors that are linked to poorer or better school outcomes.

Things to read...
If you didn't manage to make it to our  Reading Group this week now is the time to start reading the next book 'Elizabeth is Missing' for our meeting on Wed 5th July at 17:15.  Our last book 'Black Diamonds' scored 67% from the group.
'Elizabeth is missing', reads the note in Maud's pocket in her own handwriting. Lately, Maud's been getting forgetful. She keeps buying peach slices when she has a cupboard full, forgets to drink the cups of tea she's made and writes notes to remind herself of things. But Maud is determined to discover what has happened to her friend, Elizabeth, and what it has to do with the unsolved disappearance of her sister Sukey, years back, just after the war.'

Things to see...
At the Graves Gallery, above the Central Library in Sheffield  (next to the Lyceum), they have an exhibition entitled 'An Earthly Paradise: Gardens in Art' which explores the diverse ways artists have represented these uniquely personal spaces in their work.
The exhibition sees the return of a major work to the city, Stanley Spencer’s Zacharias and Elizabeth (1913-14). The painting, co-owned with Tate, goes on display alongside highlights from Sheffield’s visual art and Ruskin collections, including paintings and works on paper by Paul Cézanne, James Tissot, Evelyn Dunbar and more. The exhibition is on until 12th August and is open Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 4pm  (Wednesdays 1pm – 6pm), entry free.

Things to hear...
At the City Hall on Friday 30th June there is a concert 'The Music of James Bond with The Hallé' , the greatest themes and songs of 007 ...listen to the sounds that gave musical voice to the films in catchy title sequences and haunting songs performed by vocalists Alison Jiear and Matthew Ford with the Hallé orchestra.

Things to taste...
With the elderflowers coming into bloom I think we are going to attempt an elderflower gin this weekend at home! If I have enough flowers left I might try these fritters too.