Leaving No One Behind: Interventions and Outcomes of the COVID-19 Vaccine Maximising Uptake Programme.

The devastating impact of COVID-19 on individuals and communities has accelerated the development of vaccines and the deployment of ambitious vaccination programmes to reduce the risks of infection, infection transmission and symptom severity. However, many people delay or refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19, for many complex reasons. Vaccination programmes that are tailored to address individual and communities' COVID-19 concerns can improve vaccine uptake rates and help achieve the required herd-immunity threshold. The Maximising Uptake Programme has led to the vaccination of 7979 people from February-August 2021 in the South West of England, UK, who are at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and/or may not access the COVID-19 vaccines through mass vaccination centres and general practices. These include: people experiencing homelessness; non-English-speaking people; people from minority ethnic groups; refugees and asylum seekers; Gypsy, Roma, Travelers and boat people; and those who are less able to access vaccination centres, such as people with learning difficulties, serious mental illness, drug and alcohol dependence, people with physical and sensory impairment, and people with dementia. Outreach work coupled with a targeted communication and engagement campaign, co-designed with community leaders and influencers, have led to significant engagement and COVID-19 vaccine uptake among the target populations.

The Importance of Dog Ownership: Implications for Long-Term Weight Reduction After Gastric Banding.

Gastric banding (GB) is considered an option to support weight loss for individuals who are unable to lose weight through diet and exercise alone. Exercise is an important element of maintaining gradual weight loss following GB. Dog walking may be one method to encourage exercise and contribute to continued weight loss. Over a 5-year period, 24 individuals aged between 31 and 58 years (21 female; 12 dog-owners) were weighed at 7 time points. Intention to treat MANOVA analysis showed both groups lost a significant amount of weight, F(6, 17) = 15.7, P = .001, ηp2 = .85, but no difference was observed between dog owners and non-dog owners, F(6, 17) = 0.66, P = .68, ηp2 = .19, although from 24 months postbanding, data indicated dog owners appear to weigh less than non-dog owners. Further longitudinal research is warranted beyond 5 year post-GB; and encouraging exercise through dog walking may be a useful adjunct to increasing activity and promoting weight loss following GB.

Under and over 50: exploring long-term weight-loss outcomes following laparoscopic adjustable gastric band by age and body mass index group.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) surgery is used to enable individuals to lose weight. However, the long-term weight loss outcomes for individuals with a body mass index (BMI)≥50 kg/m2 and/or age≥50 years at time of banding remains debated. To date, data reported is largely from populations outside the United Kingdom. OBJECTIVES: To explore long-term weight loss outcomes based on individuals' pre-LAGB age and BMI. SETTING: Data were collected from individuals in the United Kingdom attending a national health service weight loss surgery service. METHOD: Data pertaining to weight were collected in a prospective 5-year study in the United Kingdom. Individuals were grouped according to preoperative age and BMI before analysis. RESULTS: Data from 53 individuals were analyzed. Individuals age≤49 years weighed 142.7±17.4 kg preoperatively, whereas individuals age≥50 years weighed 137.6±19.4 kg. Over the 5 years post-LAGB, significant weight loss was achieved by the whole sample. Additionally, there was an interaction between weight loss and age/BMI group. The sample had a significant percent total weight loss and percent excess weight loss between 6 months and 5 years post-LAGB. However, only individuals age≥50 years with a BMI≥50 kg/m2 preoperatively had continual weight loss over the 5 years. CONCLUSION: Individuals lost weight following LAGB; however, only individuals with a BMI≥50 kg/m2 and age≥50 years before banding appeared to continue to lose weight as time since banding increased, compared with the other groups.

A cross-sectional investigation of public attitudes toward dementia in Bristol and South Gloucestershire using the approaches to dementia questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: To date, surveys of attitudes toward dementia have largely been conducted using unvalidated materials or have focused on healthcare professionals supporting people affected by dementia. The aim of this study was to carry out a survey of public attitudes toward people affected by dementia in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. METHODS: A survey was carried out using a modified version of the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ). Data from people living outside the area, and people who were working with people affected by dementia were omitted from the analysis. Responses from the remaining 794 ADQ questionnaires were weighted to correct for under-represented age, gender, and ethnic groups. RESULTS: Younger people held more positive attitudes toward dementia than older people. Individuals who identified themselves as White held more positive attitudes than non-White individuals. Individuals with personal experience of dementia held more positive attitudes than those with no experience of dementia. When considering age differences, gender played a role, with younger men having more positive scores than other groups. CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the first surveys of public attitudes to dementia to use a validated questionnaire such as the ADQ. The study provides a baseline of attitudes toward dementia for the Bristol and South Gloucestershire areas, against which we will be able to compare changes over time. This is important due to the emphasis in public health campaigns on improving attitudes toward dementia.

Potential gender and age differences in the performance of five condom-related behaviours in the United Kingdom.

Safer sex is important and comprises of a series of five condom-related behaviours: accessing, carrying, negotiating, using and disposing. This study explored potential gender and age differences in these condom-related behaviours. Data suggests gender differences exist for accessing, carrying and disposing behaviours. An age difference was seen in accessing behaviour. Therefore future safer sex interventions should acknowledge the potential gender and age differences in these condom-related behaviours.