Typology of employers offering line manager training for mental health

BACKGROUND

Mental ill health has a high economic impact on society and employers. National and international policy advocates line manager (LM) training in mental health as a key intervention, but little is known about employer training provisions.

AIMS

To explore the prevalence and characteristics of organizations that offer LM training in mental health.

METHODS

Secondary analysis of existing longitudinal anonymised organizational-level survey data derived from computer-assisted telephone interview surveys collected in four waves (2020:1900 firms, 2021:1551, 2022:1904, 2023:1902) in England, before, during and after a global pandemic.

RESULTS

The proportion of organizations offering LM training in mental health increased pre- to post-pandemic (2020:50%, 2023:59%) but 41% do not currently provide it. Logistic regression confirmed that LM training is more likely to be offered by large-sized enterprises, organizations with a larger proportion of employees who are younger (aged 25-49), female, disabled and from ethnic minority communities. Sector patterns were inconsistent, but in 2023, organizations from the 'Hospitality' and 'Business Services' sectors were more likely to provide LM training than other sectors.

CONCLUSIONS

Continued efforts are needed to increase the proportion of employers offering LM training in mental health, particularly small- to medium-sized enterprises, and organizations with predominantly male, White and/or older workforces.

Exploring the impacts of neighborhood disadvantage on Medicare beneficiaries' early COVID-19 vaccine uptake

A variety of factors influenced the American public's experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic and initial availability and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. To examine variation in early COVID-19 vaccine uptake based on neighborhood disadvantage along with individual sociodemographic and health characteristics, we used Spring 2021 data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of the Medicare population conducted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Bivariate analyses showed that beneficiaries in disadvantaged neighborhoods were less likely to have received at least one vaccine dose than those in less disadvantaged neighborhoods (49.7%, SE = 1.6 versus 66.6%, SE = 1.0, p < 0.0001). After accounting for individual characteristics, the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and vaccine uptake was not statistically significant. However, interaction effects of neighborhood disadvantage by urbanicity showed a more complex picture, where those in disadvantaged urban areas had the lowest odds of vaccine uptake (p < 0.01). The relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and vaccination is multifaceted, requiring further research to inform future vaccination efforts targeting the most vulnerable beneficiaries.

Strategies to Support LGBTQ+ Students in High Schools: What Did We Learn in Chicago Public Schools?

In 2013, the Chicago Public Schools district received funding from the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement a series of strategies aimed to reduce HIV, STIs (sexually transmitted diseases), and related risk behaviors among students. One such set of strategies included "safe and supportive environments" (SSE), aimed to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and other LGBTQ+ students. SSE strategies included professional development and technical assistance provided to K-12 school staff (teachers, administrators, social workers, etc.) to implement the following practices: support for transgender and gender nonconforming students in accordance with district guidelines, use of LGBTQ+ inclusive curricula, posting of signs and symbols of support, and creation of Genders and Sexualities Alliance student clubs. To monitor progress and performance, both quantitative and qualitative process measure data were collected. Quantitative data consisted of key metrics such as number of staff trained and surveillance data collected through school health profiles in collaboration with the CDC. Qualitative data were gathered to understand barriers and facilitators to implementation of SSE practices via interviews with 55 school staff members and four focus groups with 31 high school students. Results indicated an increased uptake of all SSE activities across the 5-year funding period. Findings also reveal additional needed supports, such as increased availability and offering of professional development for all staff, support for staff in engaging parents, and ensuring the LGBTQ+ inclusive sexual health education curriculum is experienced as such by students. Current work to address these needs is described.

Plant communities, wetlands and landscapes of the Parque Nacional de Banhine, Moçambique

The Parque Nacional de Banhine (Banhine National Park) was proclaimed during 1972. It covers 600 000 ha in Moçambique to the east of the Limpopo River. Until recently, this park, originally and popularly known as the ‘Serengeti of Moçambique’, was characterised by neglect and illegal hunting that caused the demise of most of its large wildlife. New initiatives aimed at rehabilitating the park have been launched within the scope of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. A vegetation map was required as input to its management plan. The major objectives of the study were firstly to understand the environmental determinants of the vegetation, secondly to identify and describe individual plant communities in terms of species composition and structure and thirdly to delineate landscapes in terms of their plant community and wetland make-up, environmental determinants and distribution. A combination of fieldwork and analysis of LANDSAT satellite imagery was used. A total of 115 sample plots were surveyed. Another 222 sample points were briefly assessed from the air to establish the extent of the different landscapes. The ordination results clearly indicate the overriding importance of moisture availability in determining vegetation composition in the Parque Nacional de Banhine. Eleven distinct plant communities were recognised. They are described in terms of their structure, composition and distribution. These plant communities have strong affinities to a number of communities found in the Limpopo National Park to the west. The sandveld community is relatively the most species-rich of all communities. Different combinations of these plant communities can be grouped in five major landscapes, namely the Wetland, Grassland, Mopane, Sandveld and Androstachys landscape. These different landscapes hold six different wetland types as defined by the RAMSAR classification. The landscapes with their individual plant communities and wetland types represent a unique combination of habitats that have great intrinsic conservation value. These habitats are key to the long-term maintenance and survival of a diverse avifauna, including the original ostrich population, as well as wattled cranes.

A genomewide scan for loci predisposing to type 2 diabetes in a U.K. population (the Diabetes UK Warren 2 Repository): analysis of 573 pedigrees provides independent replication of a susceptibility locus on chromosome 1q

Improved molecular understanding of the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes is essential if current therapeutic and preventative options are to be extended. To identify diabetes-susceptibility genes, we have completed a primary (418-marker, 9-cM) autosomal-genome scan of 743 sib pairs (573 pedigrees) with type 2 diabetes who are from the Diabetes UK Warren 2 repository. Nonparametric linkage analysis of the entire data set identified seven regions showing evidence for linkage, with allele-sharing LOD scores > or =1.18 (P< or =.01). The strongest evidence was seen on chromosomes 8p21-22 (near D8S258 [LOD score 2.55]) and 10q23.3 (near D10S1765 [LOD score 1.99]), both coinciding with regions identified in previous scans in European subjects. This was also true of two lesser regions identified, on chromosomes 5q13 (D5S647 [LOD score 1.22] and 5q32 (D5S436 [LOD score 1.22]). Loci on 7p15.3 (LOD score 1.31) and 8q24.2 (LOD score 1.41) are novel. The final region showing evidence for linkage, on chromosome 1q24-25 (near D1S218 [LOD score 1.50]), colocalizes with evidence for linkage to diabetes found in Utah, French, and Pima families and in the GK rat. After dense-map genotyping (mean marker spacing 4.4 cM), evidence for linkage to this region increased to a LOD score of 1.98. Conditional analyses revealed nominally significant interactions between this locus and the regions on chromosomes 10q23.3 (P=.01) and 5q32 (P=.02). These data, derived from one of the largest genome scans undertaken in this condition, confirm that individual susceptibility-gene effects for type 2 diabetes are likely to be modest in size. Taken with genome scans in other populations, they provide both replication of previous evidence indicating the presence of a diabetes-susceptibility locus on chromosome 1q24-25 and support for the existence of additional loci on chromosomes 5, 8, and 10. These data should accelerate positional cloning efforts in these regions of interest.

Ligneous conjunctivitis: a local manifestation of a systemic disorder?

Ligneous conjunctivitis is a descriptive term. It refers to the "woody" consistency of the pseudomembrane that usually forms on the palpebral conjunctiva of those affected. It is rare and probably only one manifestation of a multiorgan, pseudomembranous disease. (1-4) We report a case of ligneous conjunctivitis in which investigation revealed a plasminogen deficiency in the heterozygous range (previously reported only in association with a homozygous plasminogen deficiency). We suggest a strategy for investigating known and new cases of ligneous conjunctivitis and/or pseudomembranous disease.