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The research goals were to obtain an understanding of who the users of e‐books in the NHS are, what they are using e‐books for, and when and how they use them. This article presents the methodology used and the findings from the research. It also explores the outputs and next steps from the research, both for the individual countries and collectively. The Five Nations group, (library leads in England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) commissioned research into healthcare staff use and non‐use of e‐books to understand the behaviours, needs and expectations of healthcare staff and to identify shared challenges around e‐books to inform policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In the United Kingdom, fractures of the cervical dens process in older and/or frail patients are usually managed nonsurgically in a hard collar. However, hard collars can lead to complications and this management approach is now being questioned, with growing interest in maximising patients' short‐term quality‐of‐life. It is vital that patients' perspectives are considered; yet, there is a dearth of literature examining the aspect. To help inform wider decision‐making about use of collar/no collar management of dens fractures in older/frail people, we explored older/frail people's experience of the two management approaches and how they affected their perceived quality‐of‐life. Methods: We interviewed older and/or frail adults with a recent dens fracture (aged ≥65 years or with a clinical frailty score of ≥5) or their caregiver. Participants were recruited from both arms of a clinical trial comparing management using a hard collar for 12 weeks (SM) with early removal of the collar (ERC) and were interviewed following randomisation and again, 12–16 weeks later. Data were analysed using a framework approach. Results: Both participant groups (SM/ERC) reported substantial, negative quality‐of‐life (QoL) experiences, with the fall itself and lack of access to care services and information being frequent major contributory factors. Many negative experiences cut across both participant groups, including pain, fatigue, diminished autonomy and reduced involvement in personally meaningful activities. However, we identified some subtle, yet discernible, ways in which using SM/ERC reinforced or alleviated (negative) QoL impacts, with the perceived benefits/burdens to using SM/ERC varying between different individuals. Conclusion: Study findings can be used to support informed decision‐making about SM/ERC management of dens fractures in older/frail patients. Patient or Public Contribution: Public and patient involvement contributors were involved in the study design, development of interview topic guides and interpretation of study findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims Regulation of electronic cigarettes has moved to the top of the addiction policy agenda, as demonstrated by the recent focus across the United Kingdom on introducing age-of-sale restrictions. However, the views of those affected by such regulation remain largely unexplored. This paper presents the first detailed qualitative exploration of adolescents' perceptions of existing, and opinions about potential e-cigarette regulation. Methods Sixteen focus groups, including a total of 83 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 years, were conducted in deprived, mixed and affluent urban areas in Scotland and England between November 2014 and February 2015. Transcripts were imported into Nivivo 10, coded thematically and analysed. Results Participants critically considered existing evidence and competing interests in regulatory debates and demonstrated sophisticated understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of regulation. They overwhelmingly supported strong e-cigarette regulation and endorsed restrictions on sales to minors, marketing and e-cigarette use in public places. Concern about potential health harms of e-cigarette use and marketing increasing the acceptability of vaping and smoking led these adolescents to support regulation. Conclusions In focus group discussions, a sample of UK adolescents exposed to particular communications about e-cigarettes supported strict regulation of e-cigarettes, including banning sales to minors and use in indoor public areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The COVID‐19 pandemic had an unprecedented effect on those living and working in care‐homes for older people, as residents were particularly vulnerable to contracting the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, associated with high morbidity and mortality. Often undervalued, care‐home nurses (RNs) are leaders, managing complex care while working in isolation from their professional peers. The pandemic made this more apparent, when care and treatments for COVID‐19 were initially unknown, isolation increased due to withdrawal of many professional health services, accompanied by staff shortages. Objective: To explore RNs' experiences of working in older people's care‐homes during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Design: Qualitative interview study. Setting: Care‐homes for older people in England and Scotland, UK. Methods: Recruitment via direct contact with care‐homes, social media, and links provided by national partners, then purposive sampling for age, gender, type of care‐home, and location. Data collected through one‐to‐one online interviews using topic guide developed collaboratively with care‐home nurses, focusing on how COVID‐19 impacted on nurses' resilience and mental wellbeing. Data analyzed thematically using Tronto's ethics of care framework to guide development of interpretative themes. Results: Eighteen nurses (16 female; 16 adult, and two mental health nurses) were interviewed March–June 2021; majority aged 46–55 years; mean time registered with Nursing and Midwifery Council: 19 years; 17 had nursed residents with COVID‐19. RNs' experiences resonated with Tronto's five tenets of ethical care: attentiveness, responsibility, competence, responsiveness, and solidarity. All nurses described being attentive to needs of others, but were less attentive to their own needs, which came at personal cost. RNs were aware of their professional and leadership responsibilities, being as responsive as they could be to resident needs, processing and sharing rapidly changing guidance and implementing appropriate infection control measures, but felt that relatives and regulatory bodies were not always appreciative. RNs developed enhanced clinical skills, increasing their professional standing, but reported having to compromise care, leading to moral distress. Broadly, participants reported a sense of solidarity across care‐home staff and working together to cope with the crisis. Conclusion: Care‐home nurses felt unprepared for managing the COVID‐19 pandemic, many experienced moral distress. Supporting care‐home nurses to recover from the pandemic is essential to maintain a healthy, stable workforce and needs to be specific to care‐home RNs, recognizing their unique pandemic experiences. Support for RNs will likely benefit other care‐home workers either directly through wider roll‐out, or indirectly through improved wellbeing of nurse leaders. Clinical relevance: The COVID‐19 pandemic, an international public health emergency, created many challenges for Registered Nurses (RNs) working in long‐term care facilities for older people, as residents were particularly vulnerable to the impact of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus. Care‐home RNs faced challenges distinct from their hospital‐based nursing peers and non‐nursing social care colleagues due to their isolation, leadership roles, professional legal obligations, and ethical responsibilities, leading to psychological distress on the one hand, but also a newly found confidence in their existing and newly developed skills, and increased recognition by the wider health community of their specialisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing breastfeeding rates would improve maternal and child health, but multiple barriers to breastfeeding persist. Breast pump provision has been used as an incentive for breastfeeding, although effectiveness is unclear. Women's use of breast pumps is increasing and a high proportion of mothers express breastmilk. No research has yet reported women's and health professionals' perspectives on breast pumps as an incentive for breastfeeding. In the Benefits of Incentives for Breastfeeding and Smoking cessation in pregnancy (BIBS) study, mixed methods research explored women's and professionals' views of breast pumps as an incentive for breastfeeding. A survey of health professionals across Scotland and North West England measured agreement with ‘a breast pump costing around £40 provided for free on the NHS’ as an incentive strategy. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted in two UK regions with a total of 68 participants (pregnant women, new mothers, and their significant others and health professionals) and thematic analysis undertaken. The survey of 497 health professionals found net agreement of 67.8% (337/497) with the breast pump incentive strategy, with no predictors of agreement shown by a multiple ordered logistic regression model. Qualitative research found interrelated themes of the ‘appeal and value of breast pumps’, ‘sharing the load’, ‘perceived benefits’, ‘perceived risks’ and issues related to ‘timing’. Qualitative participants expressed mixed views on the acceptability of breast pumps as an incentive for breastfeeding. Understanding the mechanisms of action for pump type, timing and additional support required for effectiveness is required to underpin trials of breast pump provision as an incentive for improving breastfeeding outcomes. © 2016 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]