Teaching Safeguarding through Books: A Content Analysis of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Books.

Research attests that when children are given essential knowledge about Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) prevention, such as the maintenance of boundaries and personal space, the correct anatomical names for genitals, and information on how to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate touching, children are less likely to experience sexual abuse and more likely to disclose abuse they have already encountered. CSA prevention books aim to teach children safety skills, helping to inform them on how to assess a situation and what to do if they are made to feel uncomfortable. This research analyzes 44 CSA prevention books to ascertain whether they are in line with academic recommendations as to what knowledge children should be taught in order to protect them, as much as possible, from sexual abuse. While most of the books do follow advice derived from the academic literature, only 7 books contained 70% or more of the information research determined to be essential. Despite the documented importance of teaching children anatomically correct names for genitals, this was missing in 91% of books analyzed. It is recommended, therefore, in order to ensure sufficient coverage of essential information, that multiple CSA prevention books are obtained for, and read with, children.

Impact of secondary care financial incentives on the quality of physical healthcare for people with psychosis: a longitudinal controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Concerns have repeatedly been expressed about the quality of physical healthcare that people with psychosis receive. AIMS: To examine whether the introduction of a financial incentive for secondary care services led to improvements in the quality of physical healthcare for people with psychosis. METHOD: Longitudinal data were collected over an 8-year period on the quality of physical healthcare that people with psychosis received from 56 trusts in England before and after the introduction of the financial incentive. Control data were also collected from six health boards in Wales where a financial incentive was not introduced. We calculated the proportion of patients whose clinical records indicated that they had been screened for seven key aspects of physical health and whether they were offered interventions for problems identified during screening. RESULTS: Data from 17 947 people collected prior to (2011 and 2013) and following (2017) the introduction of the financial incentive in 2014 showed that the proportion of patients who received high-quality physical healthcare in England rose from 12.85% to 31.65% (difference 18.80, 95% CI 17.37-20.21). The proportion of patients who received high-quality physical healthcare in Wales during this period rose from 8.40% to 13.96% (difference 5.56, 95% CI 1.33-10.10). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that financial incentives for secondary care mental health services are associated with marked improvements in the quality of care that patients receive. Further research is needed to examine their impact on aspects of care that are not incentivised.