The England edition
With the sources in view.
The story.
The source. The context.
Education, universities and research into health and public services.
10 stories
There has been a marked increase in the rates of home schooling in the UK since Covid. David Frayman and Ben Helme look into the causes behind this increase, and argue that a rise in mental health issues among young people could be behind this trend.
LSE British Politics and Policy · David Frayman and Ben Helme
Research leadership is often measured through proxies, papers, grants, PhD completions. Placing these measures in the context of the wider movement for research assessment reform, Christoph Trattner argues a narrative approach could create a clearer picture of what good academic leadership looks like in practice.
LSE Impact · Christoph Trattner
The National Health Service (NHS) faces environmental and financial pressures linked to the widespread use of single-use medical devices. Transitioning to reusable alternatives presents an opportunity to reduce waste, carbon emissions, and long-term costs while maintaining clinical outcomes. This study examined the readiness of NHS Trusts and Health Boards across England and Wales, United Kingdom, to adopt high-priority reusable…
PLOS Sustainability and Transformation · Carrie D. Llewellyn, Anya Robinson et al.
Every PhD is a doctorate, but not every doctorate is a PhD: what distinguishes them? Fadime Sahin outlines the key differences between doctorates in the UK higher education system.
LSE Impact · Fadime Sahin
British Armed Forces families raising neurodivergent children must coordinate health, education, welfare and informal support within a service context characterised by mobility and deployment. This study examined how families understood, accessed and sustained support, and how these processes shaped caregiving and family life. Twelve parents and caregivers of children aged 3–17 years with diagnosed or suspected neurodevelopmental…
PLOS One · Niko Kargas, Mirena Dimolareva et al.
Background: Effective community surveillance of respiratory diseases relies on the timely collection and analysis of high quality clinical and virology data. The aim was to develop interactive dashboards for general practice, public health, and researcher groups. This would improve the visualisation, utilisation, and quality of virology data from an English sentinel network, support disease trend monitoring, early outbreak response, and…
PLOS One · Cecilia Rago, Pushpa Kumarapeli et al.
Background: Within the UK, more than a million people cannot speak English well or at all. The lack of data on English proficiency means that the link between English proficiency and health status and care utilisation is not comprehensively quantified. Objective: Describe the association between English proficiency and patients’ health status and healthcare utilisation, and demonstrate that GP data can be useful in understanding the…
PLOS One · Sarah Yeoh, Mai Stafford
Background: Epidemic forecasting research often assesses ensembles and their component models using probabilistic scoring rules. Quantifying how individual models affect ensemble performance is challenging, particularly across multiple targets and spatial scales. Methods: We present Winter 2024–25 forecasts of Influenza and COVID-19 hospital admissions in England and conduct a retrospective simulation using the operational component…
PLOS Computational Biology · Jack Kennedy, William Ferguson et al.
Introduction: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is common and often results in aspiration. Thickeners are widely used to thicken liquids to slow the liquid bolus and prevent aspiration and aspiration pneumonia, despite multiple concerns about their use. To date, there is little data on prescribing/dispensing practices. This study aims to provide the first overview of thickener dispensing practices, serve as foundational material for parties…
PLOS One · Arlene McCurtin, Lindsey Collins et al.
Background: Maintaining healthcare workers’ (HCWs) mental health is vital to reduce staff absences and turnover, ultimately improving patient care. Most research focuses on clinical staff and single timepoints, overlooking non-clinical contributions. Aims: To examine mental health variations among all staff types over three years and identify those most at risk of poor mental health outcomes. Methods: Our prospective cohort study…
PLOS One · Danielle Lamb, Hannah Scott et al.