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Background: Social housing tenants are at greater risk of engaging in unhealthy behaviours than the general population. Housing association employees are in an ideal position to contribute positively to their tenants' health. 'New Home, New You' (NHNY) is a joint venture between a social housing association, a city council and a community healthcare provider in the South West of England. It was designed with the aim of improving the health and well‐being of social housing tenants. Objectives: The aim of this retrospective evaluation was to establish whether social housing tenants were benefiting from this health‐related behavioural intervention in terms of their mental well‐being and health‐related behaviours. Methods: This was a mixed‐methods evaluation. The outcome evaluation was a secondary analysis of quantitative data collected during the NHNY project. The process of delivering and receiving the intervention was evaluated using qualitative, semi‐structured interviews with housing officers and tenants who had participated in the programme. The development of the intervention was evaluated through a focus group and additional semistructured interviews with key stakeholders. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Qualitative interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Six key stakeholders and a total of seven housing officers from several teams and seven tenants were interviewed. Of the 1016 tenants who were invited to participate in NHNY, 226 enroled in the programme. For participating tenants, the scope for health‐related behaviour change was greatest in relation to eating and smoking. Small positive statistically significant changes in mental health were found between the 6‐ and 12‐month mean score and between the baseline and the 12‐month score. Conclusions: The findings indicate that NHNY may have been beneficial for some participating tenants. Housing officers can have a significant role in promoting health messages and embedding behaviour change among their tenants. Although the programme was implemented as a service improvement rather than a controlled trial and focused on a particular intervention and geographical area, other housing associations may find this evaluation useful for considering whether to adopt some of the principles applied in NHNY in other settings. Patient or Public Contribution: A social housing tenant representative provided input on the methodology and methods used to evaluate NHNY, as well as the information sheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People who experience homelessness have higher dental treatment needs compared to the general population. However, their utilization of dental services and levels of treatment completion are low. Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise, a not‐for‐profit organization in the United Kingdom, established a community dental clinic to improve access to dental care for this population. Objectives: To evaluate the impact and acceptability of the community dental service for patients and examine the barriers and enablers to using and providing the service. Methods: The evaluation included a retrospective assessment of anonymous patient data and thematic analysis of semi‐structured interviews with patients, support staff and service providers. The interviews were thematically analysed. A cost analysis of the dental service was also conducted. Results: By 18 February 2020, 89 patients had attended the clinic. These included 62 males (70%) and 27 females (30%), aged 38.43 years on average (SD ± 11.07). Of these, 42 (47%) patients have completed their treatment, 23 (26%) are in active treatment and 24 (27%) left treatment. In total, 684 appointments (541.5 hours clinical time) were given. Of these, 82% (562) of appointments were attended (452.5 hours clinical time). The 22 interviews that were conducted identified flexibility, close collaboration with support services and health‐care team attitudes as key factors influencing service utilization and continuity of care. Conclusions: This study provides details of a highly acceptable and accessible dental care model for people experiencing homelessness, with recommendations at research, practice and commissioning levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity and caries are common conditions in childhood and can have significant implications on children's wellbeing. Evidence into their association remains conflicting. Furthermore, studies examining the ssociation between obesity and caries commonly focus on individual-level determinants. The present study aimed to examine the association between obesity and caries in young English children and to determine the impact of deprivation and area-level characteristics on the distribution of the two conditions.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among children in Plymouth city aged four-to-six years. Anthropometric measurements included weight and height (converted to Body Mass Index centiles and z-scores), and waist circumference. Caries was assessed by using the sum of the number of teeth that were decayed, missing or filled. A questionnaire was used to obtain information on children's demographic characteristics, oral hygiene, and dietary habits. The impact of deprivation on anthropometric variables and caries was determined using Linear and Poisson regression models, respectively. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association between different anthropometric measures and caries. Logistic regression models were also used to examine the impact of several demographic characteristics and health behaviours on the presence of obesity and caries.Results: The total sample included 347 children aged 5.10 ± 0.31 (mean ± SD). Deprivation had a significant impact on caries and BMI z-scores (p < 0.05). Neither BMI- nor waist circumference z-scores were shown to be significantly associated with dental caries. Among the neighbourhood characteristics examined, the percentage of people dependent on benefits was found to have a significant impact on caries rates (p < 0.05). Household's total annual income was inversely related to caries risk and parental educational level affected children's tooth brushing frequency.Conclusions: No associations between any measure of obesity and caries were found. However, deprivation affected both obesity and caries, thus highlighting the need to prioritise disadvantaged children in future prevention programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]