Terms of reference for Project Board: Review of AHP Support for Children with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Special Schools and Mainstream Education

This is the Terms of Reference for the Project Board of the review of Allied Health Professions (AHP) support for children/young people with statements of special educational needs.It outlines the:Purpose of the Project BoardResponsibilities of the Project BoardMembership of the Project Board

Nutritional guidelines and menu checklist for residential and nursing homes

Care home residents should receive a varied diet that meets their nutritional needs in appropriate surroundings.This booklet ensures residential and nursing home managers and care providers have access to guidelines that help them achieve the aims set out by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), ie.�empowerment of, and positive engagement with, residents in all aspects of their care, including nutrition.It also provides practical nutrition advice and menu guidance.

Nutritional standards for other food and drinks in schools: a guide for implementation

This publication details the nutritional standards for other food and drinks in schools that are adhered to by all grant-aided schools. It explains why the nutritional standards have been introduced�and offers practical advice on how to implement them.Nutritional standards for other food and drinks in schools: a guide for implementation is also available in Irish, on request.

Nutritional standards for school lunches: a guide for implementation

This publication details the nutritional standards for school lunches, to which all grant-aided schools must adhere. As well as explaining why the nutritional standards have been introduced, it offers practical advice on how to implement them.Nutritional standards for school lunches: a guide for implementation is also available in Irish, on request.

Phase 2 Parent/Carer Questionnaire: Review of Allied Health Professions��' (AHP) support for children/young people with a statement of special educational needs

We want to know what you think about the AHP services for your child. We will also seek views of AHPs and teachers who work with your children and we will use them all to inform our decisions. This phase of the review is focusing on current AHP services for children/young people with a statement of special educational needs enrolled in mainstream schools and learning support centres/units attached to a mainstream school.

Review of AHP Support for Children with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Special Schools and Mainstream Education: Phase 2 Engagement Plan

This engagement plan outlines the collaborative and partnership approach with key stakeholders in the second phase of the Review of AHP Support for Children with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Special Schools and Mainstream Education. It provides detail on how communication objectives will be met. It gives information on: Stakeholder Analysis for Phase Two of the Review Membership of the Project Board Membership of the Professional Stakeholder Reference Group

Phase 1 Delivering care "A framework for nursing and Midwifery Workforce planning to support person centred care in Northern Ireland"

Delivering Care - Nurse staffing in Northern Ireland is the outcome of a commission undertaken by the PHA Director of Nursing from the DHSSPS Chief Nursing Officer and approved by the Minister of Health in 2014.� The aim of the Delivering Care project is to support the provision of quality care which is safe and effective in hospital and community settings.

Summary Interim Report on Findings and Interim Themes from Phase 1 of the review of Allied Health Professions (AHP) support for children/young people with a statement of special educational needs (SEN)

Summary Interim Report on Findings and Interim Themes from Phase 1 of the review of Allied Health Professions (AHP) support for children/young people with a statement of special educational needs (SEN)This interim report is outlining the service principles agreed by the Project Board and the themes identified throughout engagement and information gathering.

The cost-effectiveness and public health benefit of nalmefene added to psychosocial support for the reduction of alcohol consumption in alcohol-dependent patients with high/very high drinking risk levels: a Markov model.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether nalmefene combined with psychosocial support is cost-effective compared with psychosocial support alone for reducing alcohol consumption in alcohol-dependent patients with high/very high drinking risk levels (DRLs) as defined by the WHO, and to evaluate the public health benefit of reducing harmful alcohol-attributable diseases, injuries and deaths. DESIGN: Decision modelling using Markov chains compared costs and effects over 5 years. SETTING: The analysis was from the perspective of the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales. PARTICIPANTS: The model considered the licensed population for nalmefene, specifically adults with both alcohol dependence and high/very high DRLs, who do not require immediate detoxification and who continue to have high/very high DRLs after initial assessment. DATA SOURCES: We modelled treatment effect using data from three clinical trials for nalmefene (ESENSE 1 (NCT00811720), ESENSE 2 (NCT00812461) and SENSE (NCT00811941)). Baseline characteristics of the model population, treatment resource utilisation and utilities were from these trials. We estimated the number of alcohol-attributable events occurring at different levels of alcohol consumption based on published epidemiological risk-relation studies. Health-related costs were from UK sources. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained and number of alcohol-attributable harmful events avoided. RESULTS: Nalmefene in combination with psychosocial support had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £5204 per QALY gained, and was therefore cost-effective at the £20,000 per QALY gained decision threshold. Sensitivity analyses showed that the conclusion was robust. Nalmefene plus psychosocial support led to the avoidance of 7179 alcohol-attributable diseases/injuries and 309 deaths per 100,000 patients compared to psychosocial support alone over the course of 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Nalmefene can be seen as a cost-effective treatment for alcohol dependence, with substantial public health benefits. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: This cost-effectiveness analysis was developed based on data from three randomised clinical trials: ESENSE 1 (NCT00811720), ESENSE 2 (NCT00812461) and SENSE (NCT00811941).

Re-mapping the molecular features of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 Brazilian sequences using a bioinformatics unit established in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, to give support to the viral epidemiology studies

The analysis of genetic data for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is essential to improve treatment and public health strategies as well as to select strains for vaccine programs. However, the analysis of large quantities of genetic data requires collaborative efforts in bioinformatics, computer biology, molecular biology, evolution, and medical science. The objective of this study was to review and improve the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 and HTLV-1 viruses isolated in Brazil using bioinformatic tools available in the Laboratório Avançado de Sáude Pública (Lasp) bioinformatics unit. The analysis of HIV-1 isolates confirmed a heterogeneous distribution of the viral genotypes circulating in the country. The Brazilian HIV-1 epidemic is characterized by the presence of multiple subtypes (B, F1, C) and B/F1 recombinant virus while, on the other hand, most of the HTLV-1 sequences were classified as Transcontinental subgroup of the Cosmopolitan subtype. Despite the high variation among HIV-1 subtypes, protein glycosylation and phosphorylation domains were conserved in the pol, gag, and env genes of the Brazilian HIV-1 strains suggesting constraints in the HIV-1 evolution process. As expected, the functional protein sites were highly conservative in the HTLV-1 env gene sequences. Furthermore, the presence of these functional sites in HIV-1 and HTLV-1 strains could help in the development of vaccines that pre-empt the viral escape process.

Nutritional status using the Mini Nutritional Assessment questionnaire and its relationship with bone quality in a population of institutionalized elderly women.

Malnutrition, a risk factor for osteoporotic fractures, is frequent in elderly people and, is underdiagnosed and undertreated. There are only few studies on the nutritional status of elderly people in Europe. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) is a non invasive and validated questionnaire to evaluate nutritional status in elderly people, classified in three groups: 1 degree score < 17: malnourished, 2 degrees score >17 and < 24: at risk of malnutrition, 3 degrees score >24: well-nourished, with a maximum of 30 points. Quantitative ultrasound of bone (QUS) is a method for assessing quality of bone which can be easily performed in nursing homes. Therefore, these two tests allowed to study the relationships between nutritional status and ultrasonic parameters of bone in 78 institutionalized women aged 86 +/- 6 years, living in 11 nursing homes around Lausanne (Switzerland). All were assessed by the MNA, had a measurement of the tricipital skin fold and of the grip strength. Functional status was evaluated by the scale "Activity of Daily Living" (ADL), and serum albumin level was measured when permitted. All had QUS of the calcaneus (with an Achilles, GE Lunar). The measured parameters are the Broadband Ultrasound Attenuation (BUA), attenuation of a band of ultrasonic frequencies through the medium, expressed in dB/MHz, and the Speed of Sound (SOS), speed of the ultrasounds through the medium, expressed in m/s. A third parameter, the stiffness index (SI), expressed as a percentage of the values obtained by the manufacturer in a young population and derived from BUA and SOS, was calculated automatically : SI = (0.67xBUA) + (0.28xSOS) - 420, expressed in percent compared to a young adult population (%YA). Fifteen percent of the women were undernourished and 58% were at risk of malnutrition. As expected, compared with the well-nourished minority, undernourished subjects had significant lower body mass index (BMI), tricipital skin fold (TSF), ADL score and albumin level (p < 0,01). The subjects "at risk of malnutrition" had significant lower BMI, ADL score (p < 0.01), tricipital skin fold and serum albumin (p < 0.05). Ultrasound parameters were low independently of the nutritional status. MNA score correlated significantly with tricipital skin fold (r = 0.508, p < 0.01), ADL (r = 0.538, p < 0.01) and albumin serum level (r = 0.409, p = 0.01). There was a trend for a correlation between the MNA and the ultrasound parameter BUA (r = 0.207, p = 0.07), whereas no correlation was found with SOS and SI. A multivariate analysis showed that tricipital skin fold and ADL explained 61% of the variance of the MNA. In conclusion, using simple and non invasive methods, this study showed that malnutrition and osteoporosis are frequent in institutionalized elderly persons in our country, and the ultrasound parameters are influenced by many others factors in addition to nutrition, especially at this age and in elderly residents of nursing homes.

Obesity prevention opinions of school stakeholders: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: In general, schools are an important setting to implement current recommendations for obesity prevention in children because the vast majority of children attend school. This study investigated the opinions of different school stakeholders on the feasibility and acceptability of current obesity prevention strategies that could be implemented in Swiss schools. METHODS: Research methods were comprised of a qualitative study which included school directors, physical education teachers, catering staff, school nurses and health educators, parents of young adolescents, and young adolescents interviewed (N = 40) categorized into 6 focus groups. Open-ended questions were used to determine the participants' opinion regarding current obesity prevention recommendations, and healthy eating and physical activity promotion strategies. RESULTS: All participants approved the implementation of nutritional standards for food and drinks sold in schools, but thought that increasing the attractiveness of healthy options was the best strategy to improve eating habits. Enjoying participation in physical activity classes or after-school activities was stressed. Participants suggested offering classes for all students with poor physical condition, independent of weight status. Stakeholders called for governmental support and global coordination of interventions balanced with providing schools with enough autonomy to adapt programs relevant to their individual circumstances. They recommended integrating all school stakeholders in obesity prevention initiatives, with special attention to students and local authorities. CONCLUSIONS: Participants agreed that schools are a crucial setting to implement childhood obesity prevention strategies. They called on school stakeholders to join efforts aiming to encourage healthy behaviors and to support and reinforce parents' efforts by spreading consistent and coherent health messages.

A Method and Tool to Support the Analysis and Enhance the Understanding of Peer-to-Peer Learning Experiences

In this paper we look at how a web-based social software can be used to make qualitative data analysis of online peer-to-peer learning experiences. Specifically, we propose to use Cohere, a web-based social sense-making tool, to observe, track, annotate and visualize discussion group activities in online courses. We define a specific methodology for data observation and structuring, and present results of the analysis of peer interactions conducted in discussion forum in a real case study of a P2PU course. Finally we discuss how network visualization and analysis can be used to gather a better understanding of the peer-to-peer learning experience. To do so, we provide preliminary insights on the social, dialogical and conceptual connections that have been generated within one online discussion group.

Open video tools to support the production of online collaborative audiovisual projects : how to promote collective creation in e-learning

This paper analyses the use of open video editing tools to support the creation and production of online collaborative audiovisual projects for higher education. It focuses on the possibilities offered by these tools to promote collective creation in virtual environments.