The perceived effects of singing on the health and well-being of wives and partners of members of the British Armed Forces: a cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVES: A survey to explore the extent to which a choir programme associated with the British Armed Forces provides benefits of wives and partners and families of military personnel. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. METHOD: Online self-completion questionnaires to survey 464 choir members and 173 committee members who were also participants in the choirs. RESULTS: Large majorities of participants report personal and social benefits from their engagement in choirs, as well as benefits for their health and well-being. Challenges facing choirs were also identified associated with performance demands and inter-personal relationships within choirs. CONCLUSIONS: Group singing generates a range of personal, social and health benefits for wives and partners of armed services personnel. The study reveals some challenges arising in all-female choirs in military settings and suggests potential areas for further research.

Think of your art-eries: arts participation, behavioural cardiovascular risk factors and mental well-being in deprived communities in London.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association of participation in arts and cultural activities with health behaviours and mental well-being in low-income populations in London. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional, community-based observational study. METHODS: Data were taken from the cross-sectional baseline survey of the Well London cluster randomized trial, conducted during 2008 in 40 of the most deprived census lower super output areas in London (selected using the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation). Multiple imputation was used to account for missing data in the Well London survey. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used to examine the association between participation in arts and cultural activities and physical activity (meeting target of five sessions of at least 30 min of moderate-intensity physical activity per week), healthy eating (meeting target of at least five portions of fruit or vegetables per day) and mental well-being (Hope Scale score; feeling anxious or depressed). RESULTS: This study found that levels of arts and cultural engagement in low-income groups in London are >75%, but this is well below the national average for England. Individuals who were more socially disadvantaged (unemployed, living in rented social housing, low educational attainment, low disposable income) were less likely to participate in arts or cultural activities. Arts participation was strongly associated with healthy eating, physical activity and positive mental well-being, with no evidence of confounding by socio-economic or sociodemographic factors. Neither positive mental well-being nor social capital appeared to mediate the relationship between arts participation and health behaviours. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that arts and cultural activities are independently associated with health behaviours and mental well-being. Further qualitative and prospective intervention studies are needed to elucidate the nature of the relationship between health behaviours, mental well-being and arts participation. If arts activities are to be recommended for health improvement, social inequalities in access to arts and cultural activities must be addressed in order to prevent further reinforcement of health inequalities.

Alcohol, young people and the media: a study of radio output in six radio stations in England.

BACKGROUND: This research investigated the representation of alcohol in radio output. The study was prompted by concerns that media output might be part of a developing culture of excessive drinking among young people. METHODS: Alcohol comments were examined across six radio stations in England. 1200 h of weekend output was screened and the sampling frame included periods when references to alcohol would be expected, such as the Christmas period. Statistical analysis identified the volume and proportion of comments, whereas qualitative analysis explored these in more depth, focusing on the themes and discourses surrounding alcohol talk. RESULTS: Of 703 alcohol comments identified, 244 involved presenters. The volume of comments about alcohol varied between stations, being lower on BBC than on commercial stations and being influenced by music genre. Seventy-three percent of comments initiated by presenters, compared with 45% of comments from all sources, encouraged drinking. The majority of comments by presenters support drinking in relation to partying and socializing. Alcohol comments seem to create identity for programmes and forge connections between presenters and audiences, although some presenters achieve this without mentioning drinking. The assumption that alcohol is necessary to have a good time is seldom directly challenged. CONCLUSIONS: While it may be unsurprising that much of this content reflected themes of weekend drinking and partying, the study suggests that alcohol comments play a particular role in marketing and branding of radio output. Comments about alcohol are shaped by broadcasting conventions that make it difficult to challenge discourses surrounding excessive drinking. Further research is needed on the influence that radio output may have on drinking behaviour among young people.

Attitudes towards second hand smoke amongst a highly exposed workforce: survey of London casino workers.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine knowledge, attitudes and experiences of London casino workers regarding exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) in the workplace. DESIGN: Postal survey of 1568 London casino workers in 25 casinos who were members of the TGWU or GMB Trade Unions. MAIN RESULTS: Of the workers, 559 responded to the survey (36% response), 22% of whom were current smokers. Of the respondents, 71% report being nearly always exposed to heavy levels of SHS at work, and most (65%) want all working areas in their casino to be smoke-free. The majority (78%) are bothered by SHS at work, while 91% have wanted to move away from where they are working because of it. Fifty-seven per cent believe their health has suffered as a result of SHS. Of the workers who smoke at work, 59% believe that they would try to quit smoking if no one was allowed to smoke in the casino. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of responders are bothered by SHS, and many are concerned about the health impacts. Most want all working areas in their casino to be smoke-free. Despite difficulties in generalizing from this limited sample, these findings add weight to the argument that the legislation on smoking in public places in England should encompass all workplaces, without exemption.

Divided care and the Third Way: user involvement in statutory and voluntary sector cancer services.

In health care, as in much of the public sphere, the voluntary sector is playing an increasingly large role in the funding, provision and delivery of services and nowhere is this more apparent than in cancer care. Simultaneously the growth of privatisation, marketisation and consumerism has engendered a rise in the promotion of 'user involvement' in health care. These changes in the organisation and delivery of health care, in part inspired by the 'Third Way' and the promotion of public and citizen participation, are particularly apparent in the British National Health Service. This paper presents initial findings from a three-year study of user involvement in cancer services. Using both case study and survey data, we explore the variation in the definition, aims, usefulness and mechanisms for involving users in the evaluation and development of cancer services across three Health Authorities in South West England. The findings have important implications for understanding shifts in power, autonomy and responsibility between patients, carers, clinicians and health service managers. The absence of any common definition of user involvement or its purpose underlines the limited trust between the different actors in the system and highlights the potentially negative impact of a Third Way health service.

User involvement in UK cancer services: bridging the policy gap.

Recent UK government initiatives aim to increase user involvement in the National Health Service (NHS) in two ways: by encouraging service users to take an active role in making decisions about their own care; and by establishing opportunities for wider public participation in service development. The purpose of this study was to examine how UK cancer service users understand and relate to the concept of user involvement. The data were collected through in-depth interviews, which were analysed for content according to the principles of grounded theory. The results highlight the role of information and communication in effective user involvement. Perhaps more importantly, this study suggests that the concept of user involvement is unclear to many cancer service users. This paper argues the need for increased awareness and understanding of what user involvement is and how it can work.