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The present research aimed to compare women's descriptions of chronic pelvic pain, when talking about their pain in narrative mode, with the descriptors used in a common pain assessment tool, the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ). Our intention was to see what we could learn about the relationship between words used in these kinds of assessment tools and meanings of pain experience evident in narratives. This New Zealand-based qualitative study used open-ended interviewing to generate women's experiential narratives of pelvic pain. Forty women of European descent were recruited via a randomly selected national prevalence survey on chronic pelvic pain: 33 had chronic pelvic pain that was not associated with dysmenorrhoea or dyspareunia (CPP); 38 had dysmenorrhoea; 29 had dyspareunia; 24 had all three. The study group was aged between 22 and 51 years. The differences that emerged between the words used by women and those used in the MPQ vocabulary are described. Two main findings emerged: a difference in the relative emphasis placed on sensory descriptors and the absence in women's narratives of affective words used in the MPQ. However, a predominance of an affective dimension of pain was evident in women's narratives, which is described. Given the narrative specificity of the experience of pelvic pain, we conclude that assessment tools using the words and phrases evident in narratives of pain would potentially be more useful, and that such a pain assessment tool would ideally be used in association with narrative techniques incorporated into the clinician's interview with women who present with chronic pelvic pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aims of this study were to measure the prevalence of polypharmacy and describe the prescribing of selected medications known for overuse in older people with polypharmacy in primary care., Methods: This was a multinational retrospective cohort study across six countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. We used anonymized longitudinal patient-level information from general practice databases hosted by IQVIA. Patients ≥65 years were included. Polypharmacy was defined as having 5-9 and ≥10 distinct drug classes (ATC Level 3) prescribed during a 6-month period. Selected medications were: opioids, antipsychotics, proton pump inhibitors (PPI), benzodiazepines (ATC Level 5). We included country experts on the healthcare context to interpret findings., Results: Age and gender distribution was similar across the six countries (mean age 75-76 years; 54-56% female). The prevalence of polypharmacy of 5-9 drugs was 22.8% (UK) to 58.3% (Germany); ≥10 drugs from 11.3% (UK) to 28.5% (Germany). In the polypharmacy population prescribed ≥5 drugs, opioid prescribing ranged from 11.5% (France) to 27.5% (Spain). Prescribing of PPI was highest with almost half of patients receiving a PPI, 42.3% (Germany) to 65.5% (Spain). Benzodiazepine prescribing showed a marked variation between countries, 2.7% (UK) to 34.9% (Spain). The healthcare context information explained possible underreporting for selected medications., Conclusions: We have found a high prevalence of polypharmacy with more than half of the older population being prescribed ≥5 drugs in four of the six countries. Whilst polypharmacy may be appropriate in many patients, worryingly high usage of PPIs and benzodiazepines supports current efforts to improve polypharmacy management across Europe., (© 2024 The Author(s). British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.)

The growing prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) needs to be carefully managed to relieve the symptoms and prevent complications. Complications of GERD can include erosive esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus and gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are typically first-line treatment for GERD alongside lifestyle changes in view of their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. However, there are concerns with adherence to dosing regimens and recommended lifestyle changes reducing their effectiveness. There are also concerns about potential complications from chronic high-dose PPIs. These include an increased risk of chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular events and infections. Recommendations to physicians include prescribing or dispensing the lowest dose of PPI for the shortest time, with ongoing patient monitoring. Activities among community pharmacists and others have resulted in increased dispensing of PPIs without a prescription, which can be a challenge. PPIs are among the most prescribed and dispensed medicines in view of their effectiveness in managing GERD. However, there are concerns with the doses prescribed and dispensed as well as adherence to lifestyle advice. These issues and challenges need to be addressed by health authorities to maximize the role and value of PPIs., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2022, Meyer et al.)

Purpose: To evaluate service access for women with epilepsy (WWE) during pregnancy; to determine seizure frequency and rates of adherence to anti-seizure medication (ASM)., Methods: Between June 2019-June 2020, pregnant WWE within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health-board were identified from the National Obstetric Register. A manual review of electronic patient records was undertaken to ensure diagnostic accuracy, as well as determine contact with epilepsy services and documented seizures. Medication dispensing records were obtained six months before and six months after midwifery booking and measures of ASM adherence calculated., Results: Between June 2019-June 2020, 4592 women were registered with a pregnancy. Eighty-five (1.9%) were identified as having active epilepsy (generalised- 40/85 (47.0%), focal- 35/85 (41.2%), unclassified- 10/85 (11.8%)). Preconceptually, 42/85 WWE (49.4%) had input from epilepsy services. Only 59/85 (69.4%) were reviewed during pregnancy (First trimester- 21/59 (35.6%), Second trimester- 25/59 (42.4%) and Third trimester- 13/59 (22.0%)). Seizure occurrence was documented in 37/85 WWE (43.5%) during the antenatal/postnatal period. 71/85 WWE (83.5%) were prescribed ASM. Poor adherence was noted in 50/85 (58.9%) and a documented seizure recorded in 26/50 (52.0%) of these women., Conclusion: Too many WWE do not receive input from epilepsy services during pregnancy, leaving some with poor ASM adherence and continued seizures. We aim to use "near-live" obstetric and dispensing data to facilitate early identification of WWE, promoting timely access to epilepsy specialists. This will also provide an opportunity to address concerns regarding ASM safety and allow medication dose changes to be considered., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: General practice in the United Kingdom is experiencing a workforce crisis. Greater multidisciplinary working, including more general practice pharmacists, is seen as part of the solution. However, it is unknown what impact and cost-consequences that pharmacists may have in freeing general practitioner (GP) capacity., Objective: To evaluate the cost-consequences of additional pharmacists in releasing GP capacity., Methods: This cost-consequences evaluation of a prospective observational cohort study in 15 urban practices involving 69 GPs in 1 locality serving a population of 82,000 people. GPs recorded the time they spent addressing key targeted prescribing activities during 5 distinct 2-week audit periods. Pharmacists performed these key prescribing activities to release GP capacity. An additional 225 h of pharmacists' time per week was committed to the locality. Standardized staff costings were used to estimate the financial impact. Prescribing indicator performance was assessed against the other 7 localities within the health board., Results: When compared with employing extra nonsalaried GPs this required an estimated additional investment of £16.73 (range £5.97-20.87) per h to free GP capacity. This achieved a sustainable 47% (73 h per week, F(4,56) = 16.05, P < 0.001) reduction in GP time spent on key prescribing activities; equating to 4.9 h (95% confidence interval 3.1-6.7) per practice per week. No significant step changes in locality safety and quality prescribing measures, and no negative effects on locality-level prescribing cost-efficiency work were observed., Conclusion: Appropriately resourced general practice pharmacy teams delivered prescribing cost-efficiencies as well as sustainably freeing GP capacity by performing key prescribing activities., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) of asthma bronchodilator inhalers is associated with increased morbidity and mortality., Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of feedback on the PIP of bronchodilator inhalers., Design and Setting: Pragmatic cluster randomised trial involving 235 of 244 (96.3%) GP practices in one Scottish health board., Method: Practices were randomly allocated (1:1 ratio) to individualised feedback (including visualised medication histories for each patient and action-oriented messages) on PIP of bronchodilator inhalers from prescription data; feedback reports were sent in July 2015, February 2016, and August 2016. Controls were sent feedback on an unrelated subject. The primary outcome was the change in the mean number of patients per practice with PIP of bronchodilator inhalers from the baseline period (August 2014-July 2015) until the post-feedback period (February 2016-January 2017), identified through a composite of five individual measures using prescription data., Results: In the analysis of the primary outcome, the mean number of patients with PIP of bronchodilator inhalers fell in the 118 practices that were sent feedback from 21.8 per practice to 17.7 per practice. Numbers fell marginally in the 115 control practices, from 20.5 per practice to 20.2 per practice, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups. There were 3.7 fewer patients per practice with PIP of bronchodilator inhalers in the intervention practices versus the control practices (95% confidence interval = -5.3 to -2.0)., Conclusion: Individualised feedback of PIP of asthma bronchodilators that included background information, visualised medication histories for each patient, and action-oriented messages was effective at reducing the number of patients exposed to excess or unsafe prescribing of bronchodilator inhalers., (© The Authors.)

Background: Diabetes mellitus rates and associated costs continue to rise across Europe enhancing health authority focus on its management. The risk of complications is enhanced by poor glycaemic control, with long-acting insulin analogues developed to reduce hypoglycaemia and improve patient convenience. There are concerns though with their considerably higher costs, but moderated by reductions in complications and associated costs. Biosimilars can help further reduce costs. However, to date, price reductions for biosimilar insulin glargine appear limited. In addition, the originator company has switched promotional efforts to more concentrated patented formulations to reduce the impact of biosimilars. There are also concerns with different devices between the manufacturers. As a result, there is a need to assess current utilisation rates for insulins, especially long-acting insulin analogues and biosimilars, and the rationale for patterns seen, among multiple European countries to provide future direction. Methodology . Health authority databases are examined to assess utilisation and expenditure patterns for insulins, including biosimilar insulin glargine. Explanations for patterns seen were provided by senior-level personnel., Results: Typically increasing use of long-acting insulin analogues across Europe including both Western and Central and Eastern European countries reflects perceived patient benefits despite higher prices. However, activities by the originator company to switch patients to more concentrated insulin glargine coupled with lowering prices towards biosimilars have limited biosimilar uptake, with biosimilars not currently launched in a minority of European countries. A number of activities were identified to address this. Enhancing the attractiveness of the biosimilar insulin market is essential to encourage other biosimilar manufacturers to enter the market as more long-acting insulin analogues lose their patents to benefit all key stakeholder groups., Conclusions: There are concerns with the availability and use of insulin glargine biosimilars among European countries despite lower costs. This can be addressed., Competing Interests: The authors have no relevant conflicts of interest to declare. However, a number of the coauthors work for health authorities or are advisers to them., (Copyright © 2021 Brian Godman et al.)

Background: Diabetes mellitus rates continue to rise, which coupled with increasing costs of associated complications has appreciably increased global expenditure in recent years. The risk of complications are enhanced by poor glycaemic control including hypoglycaemia. Long-acting insulin analogues were developed to reduce hypoglycaemia and improve adherence. Their considerably higher costs though have impacted their funding and use. Biosimilars can help reduce medicine costs. However, their introduction has been affected by a number of factors. These include the originator company dropping its price as well as promoting patented higher strength 300 IU/ml insulin glargine. There can also be concerns with different devices between the manufacturers. Objective: To assess current utilisation rates for insulins, especially long-acting insulin analogues, and the rationale for patterns seen, across multiple countries to inform strategies to enhance future utilisation of long-acting insulin analogue biosimilars to benefit all key stakeholders. Our approach: Multiple approaches including assessing the utilisation, expenditure and prices of insulins, including biosimilar insulin glargine, across multiple continents and countries. Results: There was considerable variation in the use of long-acting insulin analogues as a percentage of all insulins prescribed and dispensed across countries and continents. This ranged from limited use of long-acting insulin analogues among African countries compared to routine funding and use across Europe in view of their perceived benefits. Increasing use was also seen among Asian countries including Bangladesh and India for similar reasons. However, concerns with costs and value limited their use across Africa, Brazil and Pakistan. There was though limited use of biosimilar insulin glargine 100 IU/ml compared with other recent biosimilars especially among European countries and Korea. This was principally driven by small price differences in reality between the originator and biosimilars coupled with increasing use of the patented 300 IU/ml formulation. A number of activities were identified to enhance future biosimilar use. These included only reimbursing biosimilar long-acting insulin analogues, introducing prescribing targets and increasing competition among manufacturers including stimulating local production. Conclusions: There are concerns with the availability and use of insulin glargine biosimilars despite lower costs. This can be addressed by multiple activities., Competing Interests: MW and JR work for HTA Consulting and MH works for Square Toiletries Limited. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Godman, Haque, Leong, Allocati, Kumar, Islam, Charan, Akter, Kurdi, Vassalo, Bakar, Rahim, Sultana, Deeba, Khan, Alam, Jahan, Kamal, Hasin, Munzur-E-Murshid, Nahar, Haque, Dutta, Abhayanand, Kaur, Rwegerera, Nascimento, Dias Godói, Irfan, Amu, Matowa, Acolatse, Incoom, Sefah, Acharya, Opanga, Njeri, Kimonge, Kwon, Bae, Khuan, Abubakar, Sani, Khan, Hussain, Saleem, Malande, Piloya-Were, Gambogi, Hernandez Ortiz, Alutuli, Kalungia, Hoxha, Marković-Peković, Tubic, Petrova, Tachkov, Laius, Harsanyi, Inotai, Jakupi, Henkuzens, Garuoliene, Gulbinovič, Wladysiuk, Rutkowski, Mardare, Fürst, McTaggart, MacBride-Stewart, Pontes, Zara, Tagoe, Banzi, Wale and Jakovljevic.)

Topics for DTB review articles are selected by DTB's editorial board to provide concise overviews of medicines and other treatments to help patients get the best care. Articles include a summary of key points and a brief overview for patients. Articles may also have a series of multiple choice CME questions., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared. Refer to the online supplementary files to view the ICMJE form(s)., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Aim: To assess associations between statin intensity and adherence, persistence and discontinuation of statin therapy in Scotland., Method: Retrospective cohort study, using linked electronic health records covering a period from January 2009 to December 2016. The study cohort included adult patients (≥18 years) newly initiating statins within Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Scotland. Study outcomes comprised adherence, discontinuation and persistence to treatment, stratified by three exposure groups (high, moderate and low intensity). Discontinuation and persistence were calculated using the refill-gap and anniversary methods, respectively. Proportion of days covered (PDC) was used as a proxy for adherence. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate discontinuation, and associations between adherence/persistence and statin intensity were assessed using logistic regression., Results: A total of 73 716 patients with a mean age of 61.4 ± 12.6 years were included; the majority (88.3%) received moderate intensity statins. Discontinuation rates differed between intensity levels, with high-intensity patients less likely to discontinue treatment compared to those on moderate intensity (prior cardiovascular disease [CVD]: HR 0.43 [95% CI 0.34-0.55]; no prior CVD: 0.80 [0.74-0.86]). Persistence declined over time, and high-intensity patients had the highest persistence rates. Overall, 52.6% of patients were adherent to treatment (PDC ≥ 80%), but adherence was considerably higher among high-intensity patients (63.7%)., Conclusion: High-intensity statins were associated with better persistence and adherence to treatment, but overall long-term persistence and adherence remain a challenge, particularly among patients without prior CVD. This needs addressing., (© 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.)

Background : There is an increasing prevalence of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) worldwide, leading to increased inhaler use. However, there are concerns with inhaler compliance resulting in different patented inhalers and longer-acting formulations. As a result, inhalers are now among the highest expenditure items in ambulatory care in Scotland leading to multiple initiatives to keep within budget without compromising care. Method : This study assesses inhaler utilization and expenditure between 2001 and 2017 alongside health authority initiatives. Results : There was an increase by 137% in inhaler utilization between 2001 and 2017, and a two-fold increase in expenditure, driven by the increasing use of patented combination inhalers to address concerns. This is very different to the oral markets where expenditure on proton pump inhibitors, statins, and antihypertensives have fallen considerably recently despite increased volumes due to the increasing use of low-cost generics. However, inhaler expenditure has started to fall with an increasing use of lower cost combinations and initiatives to reduce the steroid burden alongside monitoring patient care. Conclusion : Challenges with using and changing inhalers has meant this market has not followed other high-volume drug classes following patent loss. This is starting to change, with the situation monitored to enhance efficient prescribing alongside continued good quality care.

Aim: Increasing use of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in Scotland, coupled with safety concerns with some SSRIs, and the increasing availability of generic SSRIs, have resulted in multiple initiatives to improve the quality and efficiency of their prescribing in Scotland. Our aim is to assess their influence to provide future direction. Materials & methods:  The prescription costs analysis database was used to document utilization and expenditure on SSRIs between 2001 and 2017 alongside documenting the initiatives. Results: Multiple interventions over the years increased international nonproprietary name prescribing up to 99.9% lowering overall costs. This, coupled with initiatives to limit escitalopram prescribing due to concerns with its value, resulted in a 73.7% reduction in SSRI expenditure between 2001 and 2017 despite a 2.34-fold increase in utilization. Safety warnings resulted in a significant reduction in the prescribing of paroxetine, citalopram and escitalopram alongside a significant increase in sertraline Conclusion: Multiple initiatives have increased the quality and efficiency of SSRI prescribing in Scotland providing direction to others.

This article reflects on the relations between health and natural landscapes. The study explores how the landscape context - its textual and sensory aesthetics - positively shapes experiences and perceptions of the landscape, for those people who seek out natural environments for health. While health promotion is designated along the lines of encouraging choice or improving access to natural environments, this article wants to show how physical activities are intertwined with atmospheres and affects emanating from the natural and human world. An in-depth case-study of trail running across two sites (New Zealand, United Kingdom) is used to analyse the interconnections between health landscapes. It finds that when participants say that landscape 'matters' for health, they are referring to: (1) aesthetics and feelings, (2) flexibility and adaptiveness and (3) exploration and adventure. Avoiding the conclusion that the landscape is merely a resource for health, the analysis confirms that it is the complex of spaces, social practices, along with their physical fleshy selves, minds and emotions, and the particular quality of the earth beneath them, that gives rise to positively perceived health, for both immediate and enduring benefit.

Background: Prescribing of lipid-lowering agents (LLAs) has increased worldwide including in Scotland with increasing prevalence of coronary heart disease, and higher dose statins have been advocated in recent years. There have also been initiatives to encourage prescribing of generic versus patented statins to save costs without compromising care. There is a need to document these initiatives and outcomes to provide future direction., Method: Assessment of utilization (items dispensed) and expenditure of key LLAs (mainly statins) between 2001 and 2015 in Scotland alongside initiatives., Results: Multiple interventions over the years have increased international nonproprietary name prescribing (99% for statins) and preferential prescribing of generic versus patented statins, and reduced inappropriate prescribing of ezetimibe. This resulted in a 50% reduction in expenditure of LLAs between 2001 and 2015 despite a 412% increase in utilization, increased prescribing of higher dose statins (71% in 2015) especially atorvastatin following generic availability, and reduced prescribing of ezetimibe (reduced by 72% between 2010 and 2015). As a result, the quality of prescribing has improved., Conclusion: Generic availability coupled with multiple measures has resulted in appreciable shifts in statin prescribing behavior and reduced ezetimibe prescribing, resulting in improvements in both the quality and efficiency of prescribing.

The United Kingdom National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) recommends that patients who require ≥3 courses of oral corticosteroids (OCS) for exacerbations in the past year or those on British Thoracic Society (BTS) Step 4/5 treatment must be referred to a specialist asthma service. The aim of the study was to identify the proportion of asthma patients in primary care that fulfil NRAD criteria for specialist referral and factors associated with frequent exacerbations. A total of 2639 adult asthma patients from 10 primary care practices in Glasgow, UK were retrospectively studied between 2014 and 2015. Frequent exacerbators and short-acting β 2 -agonist (SABA) over-users were identified if they received ≥2 confirmed OCS courses for asthma and ≥13 SABA inhalers in the past year, respectively. Community dispensing data were used to assess treatment adherence defined as taking ≥75% of prescribed inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose. The study population included 185 (7%) frequent exacerbators, 137 (5%) SABA over-users, and 319 (12%) patients on BTS Step 4/5 treatment. Among frequent exacerbators, 41% required BTS Step 4/5 treatment, 46% had suboptimal ICS adherence, 42% had not attended an asthma review in the past year and 42% had no previous input from a specialist asthma service. Older age, female gender, BTS Step 4/5, SABA over-use and co-existing COPD diagnosis increased the risk of frequent exacerbations independently. Fourteen per 100 asthma patients would fulfil the NRAD criteria for specialist referral. Better collaboration between primary and secondary care asthma services is needed to improve chronic asthma care.

Background: It is uncertain whether improvements in primary care high-risk prescribing seen in research trials can be realised in the real-world setting., Aim: To evaluate the impact of a 1-year system-wide phase IV prescribing safety improvement initiative, which included education, feedback, support to identify patients to review, and small financial incentives., Design and Setting: An interrupted time series analysis of targeted high-risk prescribing in all 56 general practices in NHS Forth Valley, Scotland, was performed. In 2013-2014, this focused on high-risk non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in older people and NSAIDs with oral anticoagulants; in 2014-2015, it focused on antipsychotics in older people., Method: The primary analysis used segmented regression analysis to estimate impact at the end of the intervention, and 12 months later. The secondary analysis used difference-in-difference methods to compare Forth Valley changes with those in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC)., Results: In the primary analysis, downward trends for all three NSAID measures that were existent before the intervention statistically significantly steepened following implementation of the intervention. At the end of the intervention period, 1221 fewer patients than expected were prescribed a high-risk NSAID. In contrast, antipsychotic prescribing in older people increased slowly over time, with no intervention-associated change. In the secondary analysis, reductions at the end of the intervention period in all three NSAID measures were statistically significantly greater in NHS Forth Valley than in NHS GGC, but only significantly greater for two of these measures 12 months after the intervention finished., Conclusion: There were substantial and sustained reductions in the high-risk prescribing of NSAIDs, although with some waning of effect 12 months after the intervention ceased. The same intervention had no effect on antipsychotic prescribing in older people., (© British Journal of General Practice 2017.)

Quality indicators are increasingly used as a tool to achieve safe and quality clinical care, cost-effective therapy, for professional learning, remuneration, accreditation and financial incentives. A substantial number focus on drug therapy but few address the introduction of new medicines even though this is a burning issue. The objective was to describe the issues and challenges in designing and implementing a transparent indicator framework and evaluation protocol for the introduction of new medicines and to provide guidance on how to apply quality indicators in the managed entry of new medicines. Quality indicators need to be developed early to assess whether new medicines are introduced appropriately. A number of key factors need to be addressed when developing, applying and evaluating indicators including dimensions of quality, suggested testing protocols, potential data sources, key implementation factors such as intended and unintended consequences, budget impact and cost-effectiveness, assuring the involvement of the medical professions, patients and the public, and reliable and easy-to-use computerized tools for data collection and management. Transparent approaches include the need for any quality indicators developed to handle conflict of interests to enhance their validity and acceptance. The suggested framework and indicator testing protocol may be useful in assessing the applicability of indicators for new medicines and may be adapted to healthcare settings worldwide. The suggestions build on existing literature to create a field testing methodology that can be used to produce country-specific quality indicators for new medicines as well as a cross international approach to facilitate access to new medicines., (© 2014 Nordic Association for the Publication of BCPT (former Nordic Pharmacological Society).)

Since the 1980s and 1990s doctors in the UK have reported a lack of time; this has been reproduced in the reorganisation of work through various contracts and regulatory mechanisms. I draw on interviews with 32 General Practitioners (GPs) in Wales about their everyday work, focusing on accounts about the limited nature of their time. I use Adams' analysis of the rationalisation of work time through the processes of commodification, compression, and colonisation, to explore tensions between traditional and new ways of doctoring. While it was possible to find evidence of traditional ways of managing time that shaped the activities of doctors and controlled those activities, the doctors were not passive participants in the rationalisation of work time. Rather they actively modified its processes using notions of professionalism that are aligned to traditional doctoring, and which offer new ways of doing and being a professional., (© 2012 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2012 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

This paper reports the findings of a literature review of the health, social care and housing needs of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults undertaken in 2006 for the Welsh Assembly Government. Peer-reviewed literature was identified through database searches of BNI, PubMed, CINAHL, DARE, ASSIA and PsychInfo. Follow-up searches were conducted using references to key papers and journals as well as specific authors who had published key papers. A total of 187 papers or chapters were retrieved, of which 66 were included in the study; major themes were identified and the findings synthesised using a meta-narrative approach. The main themes that emerged from the review were isolation, health behaviours, mental health and sexual health behaviours. The literature indicates that the health, social care and housing needs of LGBT older people is influenced by a number of forms of discrimination which may impact upon the provision of, access to and take up of health, social care and housing services. Understanding of the health, social care and housing needs of older LGBT people is limited and research in this area is scarce. The research which exists has been criticised for using small samples and for tending to exclude participants from less affluent backgrounds. The focus of research tends to be on gay men and lesbians; consequently, the needs of bisexual and transgender people remain largely unknown. Additionally, research which does exist tends to focus on a narrow range of health issues, often related to the health needs of younger LGBT people. Discrimination in various forms has a major impact on needs and experiences, leading to marginalisation of LGBT people both in the provision of health and social care services and neglect of these groups in public health research.

In this paper I identify the key differences and similarities between New Zealand and Australian Lesbian Studies. Until recently, Australian and New Zealand perspectives have been viewed separately. The possible reasons for these differences are discussed and local understandings about diversity that have played a role in the destabilization of Lesbian Studies are considered. I proceed to consider the influence of Queer Theory on teaching and research in Lesbian Studies.

Chronic pelvic pain in women is a key site through which explorations of the meanings of female gender and pain might further insights into the broader question of the embodied experience of women in relation to pain. A biocultural approach is used to present an analysis of interviews with 40 New Zealand women in which they reflect on 'how come' they have chronic pelvic pain. Women consistently employ a mechanistic rendition of medical discourse and understandings in their constructions of 'how come' they have pain, accompanied by a reiteration of 'not knowing' and a normalizing of their pelvic pain. We explore how this normalizing works within the narratives to establish women's pelvic pain as intrinsically gendered. Etiological meanings that are constructed in medical terms and yet are unable to be interpreted within a dualist frame of normality and pathology, we argue, permeate and shape gendered experience of chronic pain conditions.