Disabled children are more likely to be born into disadvantage, new research suggests

Research is being carried out by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), the National Children’s Bureau, and the Council for Disable Children.  More information is available on the CLS website.

Kings Fund report on volunteering in health and social care

If you’re interested in the role and value of volunteers in health and social care have a look at the report published by the Kings Fund. A link to the pdf is available at http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/volunteering-health-and-care

Improving the health of the nation infographics

The King’s Fund has produced a set of slides which highlight “some of the most striking statistics in public health, health inequalities and mental health and how these are changing over time” [taken from the website].  These can be downloaded from the King’s Fund website at http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/time-to-think-differently/audio-video/improving-health-nation-infographics

New boost to help Britain’s most vulnerable young adults and the homeless

The Cabinet Office has announced plans to pump cash into a radical approach to support teenagers who are at risk of going into care.  Two Social Impact Bonds will be introduced to raise funding for supportive projects.  More information can be found on the Cabinet Office website at http://tinyurl.com/cpw82kx .

Evidence and practice review of support for victims and outcome measurement

This research for the Ministry of Justice “reviewed current practice and existing evidence on victims’ support needs, outcome measurement and quality assurance in the victim support sector.

A literature review of current research, interviews with experts in the field, case studies of victim support service providers and a findings workshop provided the results for the review. The research found that the needs of victims are complex, dynamic and wide ranging, and the support service sector is diverse. Current practice in measuring outcomes that providers aim to achieve for victims and approaches to quality assurance within the sector varied considerably; this has implications for outcome-focused commissioning.” [taken from the website]. Read the full report on the Ministry of Justice website.

Poverty and Social Exclusion website

This is a collaborative project which  “reports research into poverty and social exclusion, both in the UK and internationally. It gives facts and figures on a wide range of aspects of material and social deprivation and looks at the impact poverty has on people’s lives, prospects and well-being. It provides evidence as to the underlying causes of poverty and the key events in people’s lives that can leave them vulnerable to poverty. It tracks and assesses the impact of current policies on the poor” [taken from the website].  The UK input is funded by the ESRC.  The website is available at http://www.poverty.ac.uk/

NICE to expand its role to drive standards in social care

From April 2013 NICE is to expand its role to include social care. Quality standard topics to be addressed include autism in adults and childen, mental well-being of older people in residential care, child maltreatment, and the transition between children and adult services.  Read more on the Department for Health website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/09/nice-social-care/

Two new databases

Two new databases have been added to NTU Library’s collection.

PsycTESTS (one of EBSCO’s psychology databases) contains psychological tests and measures, including thousands of actual test instruments and test items that are available for immediate download and use in research and teaching. 

JISC MediaHub is a multimedia platform offering digital image, video and audio collections tailored for educational use. The platform offers access to free-at-the-point-of-use images, video and audio content licensed for educational and research.

Both databases are accessible on and off campus, through Library OneSearch.

Special health authority

Health Education England has been established as a special health authority from today (28 June 2012).   It is to take on education and training functions when strategic health authorities are abolished on 1st April 2013. Further information can be read on the Department of Health website.

Get in on the Act: Health and Social Care Act 2012

The Local Government Association has published a document summarising the Act and outlines the key points, as well as highlighting aspects which it considers are missing.  This report can be viewed on the Association’s website.  The full Act is in the LexisLibrary database, available through Library OneSearch.