Research and publications
| Pages | 48-51 |
| Published date | 01 June 2006 |
| Date | 01 June 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200600019 |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Research and publications
UPDATE
48 journal of public mental health
vol 5 • issue 2
Evidence synthesis
Popay J (ed) (2006)
Moving beyond effectiveness in evidence synthesis:
methodological issues in the synthesis of diverse
sources of evidence.
London: National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence.
http://www.publichealth.nice.org.uk
This fascinating collection brings together papers
originally presented in 2003 at an international
seminar on systematic reviews of qualitative
evidence. Their publication allows a much wider
readership to explore the difficulties that attend the
synthesis of diverse kinds of evidence. Some
contributions focus on the specifics of review
methods: Cottingham and colleagues describe how
the Campbell Collaboration is developing protocols
to assess what works in education, crime and justice,
and social welfare; Harden describes some of the
methods that she and her colleagues at the Evidence
for Policy and Practice Information and Co-
ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre) at the University
of London have been developing to include
qualitative and non-experimental studies within
systematic reviews. Other chapters, such as that by
Pawson and Bellamy on realist synthesis, explore the
underlying principles and frameworks that are
required when making judgements about social
interventions and initiatives. All authors
demonstrate great subtlety in their engagements
with qualitative research, and provide a range of
powerful methods and arguments showing how and
why a greater proportion of the available research
literature should be used in syntheses of evidence.
Older people
ODPM (2006)
ASureStartto later life: ending inequalities for older
people. A Social Exclusion Unit final report.
London: ODPM.
http://www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk/
downloaddoc.asp?id=797
This well-argued report from the Office of the Deputy
Prime Minister (now renamed the Department for
Communities and Local Government) is grounded in
the conviction that ‘the approach of Sure Start in
galvanising communities and reshaping children’s
services can work just as well for older people,
including the most excluded’. Many of its
underpinning principles will be familiar to those
working in public mental health – for example, the
enormous influence that meaningful relationships
and roles and opportunities to participate and to learn
have on quality of life. The report is structured along
the axes of the individual, social relations, the home,
the local area and wider society, and is sensitive both
to the different forms of exclusion characterising each
sphere and to those most at risk of particular forms of
exclusion. The overarching arguments – that early
intervention in later life can prevent inequalities in
advanced age, and that promotion of well-being
needs to be at the centre of all interventions – are
strengthened by the recognition that services that
promote well-being and independence extend well
beyond those provided by health and social care. The
report therefore calls for a ‘whole systems approach’
and gives due consideration to the centrality of
transport, housing, and fear of crime. A pilot
programme called Link-Age Plus – which aims to
provide a single gateway to the full range of services
provided in the community – is currently testing the
Sure Start approach for older people in eight local
authority areas.
Housing and mental health
Taske N,Taylor L, Mulvihill C et al (2005)
Housing and public health: a review of reviews of
interventions for improving health.Evidence br iefing.
London: National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (NICE).
http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=526664
This review of reviews analyses English language
literature between 1996 and 2004 to assess which
housing-related interventions can promote health.
Fifteen review-level papers satisfied the appraisal
criteria, only two of which address mental health.
There is review-level evidence that anxiety and
depression are reduced when people are rehoused
because of medical need, and that rehousing people
©Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Ltd
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