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This study investigated the prevalence of neurodevelopmental needs among children in primary schools in Scotland. Two groups were identified: autistic learners and a larger group of learners who had neurodevelopmental differences. These differences encompassed any need for additional support in various domains, including communication, interaction, emotional regulation, coordination, movement, and cognition. A two-phase process was employed, drawing on data from a cross-sectional study followed by a secondary analysis of a population census. In the first phase, a random sample of 688 children with additional support needs from 22 schools participated. Demographics, support characteristics, and neurodevelopmental needs were identified. Results revealed that 76.89% of children with additional support needs exhibited a need type consistent with a neurodevelopmental difference. In the second phase, data from the Scottish Government Annual Pupil Census, covering all state-provided primary school children between 2018 and 2022, were analyzed. Modeling was conducted using data from the first phase to estimate prevalence of neurodevelopmental differences. Data on autism were directly extracted from the census. Analysis revealed an increase in the prevalence of neurodevelopmental differences and autism. The prevalence of autism rose by 31.98%, with 2.60% of primary school children identified as autistic in 2022. Similarly, the prevalence of neurodevelopmental differences increased by 10.57%, with 16.22% of primary school children exhibiting such differences in 2022. Across 32 localities, regional variations in prevalence were observed. These findings show the substantial number of neurodivergent children within Scottish primary schools and emphasize the need for a neurodevelopmentally informed approach to inclusive education., (© 2023 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: care homes collect extensive data about their residents, and their care, in multiple ways, for multiple purposes. We aimed to (i) identify what data are routinely collected and (ii) collate care home managers' views and experiences of collecting, using and sharing data., Methods: we examined data collected in six care homes across Lothian, Scotland. We extracted the meta-data, cross-referenced definitions and assessed the degree of harmonisation between care homes and with data sets currently in use in Scotland and internationally. We interviewed care home managers about their views and experiences of collecting, using and sharing data., Results: we identified 15 core data items used routinely, with significant heterogeneity in tools and assessments used, and very limited harmonisation. Two overarching themes were identified of importance to the development of a care home data platform: (i) the rationale for collecting data, including to (a) support person-centred care, (b) share information, (c) manage workforce and budget and (d) provide evidence to statutory bodies and (ii) the reality of collecting data, including data accuracy, and understanding data in context., Discussion: considerable information is collected by care home staff, in varied formats, with heterogeneity of scope and definition, for range of reasons. We discuss the issues that should be considered to ensure that individual resident-level form the strong foundations for any data platform for care homes, which must also include, robust infrastructure and clear interoperability, with appropriate governance. It must be co-produced by academics, policy makers and sector representatives, with residents, their families and care staff., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Adults with neurodevelopmental disorders frequently present to, but fit uneasily into, adult mental health services. We offer definitions of important terms related to neurodevelopmental disorders through unifying research data, medical and other viewpoints. This may improve understanding, clinical practice and development of neurodevelopmental disorder pathways within adult mental health services.

The care home sector has great potential to benefit from technological innovations and to be at the forefront of developing novel digital solutions to improve the experiences of care home residents, their families, and the staff caring for them. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed variability in digital capabilities and longstanding data challenges within the care home sector. Paradoxically, however, it also increased the use of digital tools and services to support residents and staff. There are, however, a number of barriers to sustained and widespread adoption of digital solutions by care homes. Here, the focus is on foundation-level barriers and the groundwork required to overcome them. Using data from three Scottish-based studies, foundation-level barriers to the adoption of digital tools and services faced by care homes are discussed. These main barriers are the need for robust basic internet connectivity; capabilities for digital data collection; access to data to inform and drive digital solutions; the need for trust in the use of resident data by commercial companies; and the danger that poorly coordinated strategies undermine efforts to build a care home data platform and the digital solutions it can support. Sustained and widespread adoption of digital solutions by care homes will require these foundation-level barriers to be addressed. Strong and stable data and digital foundations supported by sector-specific scaffolding are major prerequisites to the widespread adoption of digital solutions by care homes.

Street-level bureaucracy is an increasingly useful way to understand how strategic policy is implemented in day-to-day practice. This approach has uncovered the ways that individual health and social care practitioners work within institutional constraints to influence policy implementation at the micro-level. Nonetheless, despite the diversity of settings where these street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) work, little attention has been focused on the impact of place on policy delivery. This paper draws on empirical research to examine the ways that delivering government domestic abuse policy in the intimate space of the family home shapes the delivery of strategic policy in the everyday. Drawing on qualitative research with Health Visitors (HVs) in the UK in 2016, the study findings illuminate the ways that the material, socio-spatial and idealised boundaries of the family home shape the implementation of policy. Key themes in the HV's narratives emerged as they described themselves as both a danger and in danger in the family home. In challenging the ontological security of the home (Giddens 1990) - privacy, security and control are key concepts here - HVs described how they shape their actions to achieve policy outcomes while simultaneously managing threats to the home, to professional identity and to self., (© 2019 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.)

To achieve WHO hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination targets by 2030, mathematical models suggest there needs to be significant scale-up of treatment among people who inject drugs (PWID). We tested whether people who actively inject drugs can be recruited and treated successfully through a community needle and syringe programme (NSP), and assessed rates of re-infection. 105 HCV RNA positive participants were enrolled prospectively. Participants were recruited from the largest NSP in Dundee over 42 months. 94/105 individuals commenced treatment. Genotype 1 (G1) individuals (n = 37) were treated with peg-interferon+ribavirin+Simepravir/Telaprevir. Genotype 2/3 (G2/3) (n = 57) received peg-interferon+ribavirin. Weekly study visits took place within the NSP. Mean age of participants was 34.0 years (SD 6.9), 71.3% (61/94) were male. One in five (20/94) participants were homeless. 68.1% (64/94) were on OST (opiate substitution therapy) at enrolment; participants injected median 6.5 times/wk. In terms of clinical outcomes, >80% treatment adherence was 71.3% (67/94). There was no difference in SVR-12 rates by genotype: 81.0% (30/37) for G1 and 82.5% (47/55) for G2/3. At 18 months post-treatment, 15/77 participants were reinfected, followed up over 69.8 person-years, yielding a re-infection rate of 21.5/100 person-years (95% CI 13.00-35.65). This trial demonstrates that HCV treatment can be delivered successfully to the target population of treatment as prevention strategies. We report higher rates of re-infection than existing estimates among PWID. Scale-up of HCV treatment should be pursued alongside a comprehensive programme of harm reduction interventions to help minimize re-infection and reduce HCV transmission., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: In 2012, approximately 14 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed. As a result of advances in treatment, screening and prevention programmes the number of people surviving cancer globally is also increasing. The growing understanding of the diversity and scale of the need for support, compounded by the increasing prevalence of cancer survivors has fuelled the development and evaluation of a range of services and models to meet them. A key intervention is the holistic needs assessment and care planning, however there is little homogeneity in its actual delivery to cancer survivors. To fill this evidence gap there is a need to understand any effect implementation variables have on patient experiences, measurable outcomes and resource use. We are exploring this through a realist evaluation of holistic needs assessment and care planning., Methods: This longitudinal, mixed method realist evaluation has been approached in 4 phases. Phases 1 and 2 have been completed (2014-2017) and a summary of this work is presented. We then provide a detailed protocol for Phases 3 and 4 (2017 onwards). Phase 1: Establishment of programme theory for HNA and care planning; Phase 2: Exploration and documentation of local programme theories; Phase 3: Theory testing and refinement and Phase 4 - Theory validation and dissemination. Phase 3 draws on a range of data derived from 6 study sites. Methods include analysis of patient characteristics and concerns identified, qualitative interviews /fieldwork with local project staff, national stakeholders, professionals using the needs assessment tool and patients, a three-year longitudinal online survey of wider programme stakeholders and a review and synthesis of local project evaluations and patient care plans., Discussion: This intervention is a key component globally of cancer survivorship care. The results of this realist evaluation can be used to optimise the delivery and development of HNA and care planning for people affected by cancer. To our knowledge this is the first study of this type. By utilising the discipline of Realistic Evaluation this mixed methods study will elicit findings with greater potential for generalisability and transferability within Scotland, the UK and beyond.

Background: First-line treatments for unexplained infertility traditionally include clomifene citrate (CC) or unstimulated intrauterine insemination (IUI). A recently published randomized controlled trial considered the effectiveness of CC and IUI in patients with unexplained infertility and found that neither treatment offered a superior live birth rate when compared with expectant management (EM). This paper reports the economic evaluation conducted alongside this trial in order to assess whether health care providers are gaining value for money in this clinical area., Methods: Five hundred and eighty women across five Scottish hospitals were randomized to either EM, CC or IUI for 6 months. The primary outcome measure was live births. Resource-use data were collected during the trial and costs were calculated from a UK National Health Service (NHS) perspective. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated, expressed as cost per live birth, in order to compare the cost-effectiveness of CC and IUI with that of EM to treat unexplained infertility., Results: Live birth rates in the three randomized groups were: EM = 32/193 (17%), CC = 26/194 (13%) and IUI = 43/193 (22%). The mean (standard deviation) costs per treatment cycle were £0 for EM, £83 (£17) for CC and £98 (£31) for IUI. The mean treatment costs per patient for EM, CC and IUI were £12 (£117), £350 (£220) and £331 (£222), respectively. The cost per live birth for EM, CC and IUI was £72 (95% confidence interval £0-£206), £2611 (£1870-£4166) and £1487 (£1116-£2155), respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for IUI versus EM was £5604 (-£12204 to £2227), with CC dominated by IUI., Conclusions: Despite being more expensive, existing treatments such as empirical CC and unstimulated IUI do not offer superior live birth rates compared with EM of unexplained infertility. They are unlikely to be a cost-effective use of limited NHS resources. The study's main limitation is that it did not consider the psychological effects on couples. ISRCT Number: 71762042.

Legislation to control abstraction of water in Scotland is limited and for purposes such as irrigation there are no restrictions in place over most of the country. This situation is set to change with implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. As a first step towards the development of appropriate policy for irrigation control there is a need to assess the current scale of irrigation practices in Scotland. This paper presents a modelling approach that has been used to quantify spatially the volume of water abstractions across the country for irrigation of potato crops under typical climatic conditions. A water balance model was developed to calculate soil moisture deficits and identify the potential need for irrigation. The results were then combined with spatial data on potato cropping and integrated to the sub-catchment scale to identify the river systems most at risk from over-abstraction. The results highlight that the areas that have greatest need for irrigation of potatoes are all concentrated in the central east-coast area of Scotland. The difference between irrigation demand in wet and dry years is very significant, although spatial patterns of the distribution are similar.