ProjectsNIHR Policy Reviews FacilityWork in progressNewsletterHP&PH Newsletter Issue 5
ONGOING RESEARCH

Children and obesity review series

This new programme of reviews has recently begun for the Department of Health.  The programme consists of three projects running between now and 2010.

To help policy makers draw on existing practice, we are in the process of identifying and describing weight management programmes for children and young people in England. This work will provide policymakers with a searchable table of current initiatives, an insight into the kinds of evidence used by practitioners at a local level and the extent of evaluation planned.

Systematic reviews will be conducted to provide a wide-ranging and rounded picture of  ‘non-medical’ interventions to prevent obesity. One systematic review will investigate the effectiveness of ‘social and environmental’ interventions in promoting positive behaviours for healthy weight such as increased physical activity, reduced sedentary behaviour and healthier eating.  There is increased interest in this area and, to avoid duplication and build on existing research, an overview of systematic reviews that have already been done on this broad topic is currently being undertaken.  A weakness of much existing research evidence is its failure to integrate the views of children and young people themselves on the importance of body size, factors influencing this and ways in which they can be encouraged to keep their own weight down to ‘normal’ levels. A second systematic review will aim to address this and will bring together qualitative research on children's and young people’s views and experiences.

If you have relevant information on this programme of work that could help us see Working With Us.

  
RESEARCH RESOURCES

How the EPPI Centre’s online resources in health promotion can help with your research

Last October the BMJ published two rapid responses highlighting how the EPPI Centre’s reviews and resources can contribute to research on the effectiveness of health promotion.

Reviews which take into account people’s views can put into context other research findings. The EPPI Centre’s review on children and healthy eating gives a number of insights into children’s views. This can helpfully supplement other research on healthy eating programmes and assist in informing the design of future trials in this area.

The EPPI Centre’s website provides a range of online resources for primary research and reviews. The Evidence Library features over 70 systematic reviews of which 27 are related to health promotion. For instance, those doing research on promoting physical activity in young people and children could look at the EPPI Centre systematic reviews on children and physical activity, young people and physical activity and a synthesis of research on walking and cycling. Other sources of freely available information from the EPPI Centre include DoPHER, a database of over 2,000 effectiveness reviews in public health, TRoPHI, a register of over 3,500 controlled trials of health promotion and public health interventions and BiblioMap, a database of health promotion research containing around 13,400 records. To access these databases click here.

Read the BMJ rapid responses by following the links below:

Other useful sources to complete the picture
Jenny Woodman, Philip Rose, Angela Harden, Ann Oakley, Helen Roberts. BMJ, 21 Oct 2007.
Why what works in Christchurch might not work here
Helen Roberts, Philip Rose, Angela Harden, Ann Oakley, Jenny Woodman. BMJ, 21 Oct 2007

  
EVENTS

Introduction to systematic reviewing - a one day workshop

How can we translate evidence for policy and practice?

This workshop introduces the principles, methods and critiques of systematic reviews.

Dates and Venue

9.30 – 5.30pm Wednesday 12 March 2008

ESRC Regional Training Centre, Queen's University, 69/71 University Street, Belfast, BT7 1HL

For more information, or to enrol in this workshop, see our website.

Short Courses in systematic reviews and using research

Places are still available on our spring term short courses. These modules are part of our MSc in Evidence for Public Policy and Practice and so can be taken for credit at Masters Level or as short courses without assessment. Students will usually need to be familiar with systematic review approaches and methods.

Supporting evidence-informed decision-making: ‘Evidence for policy, practice and personal decisions’

Course Leader:  Professor Sandy Oliver

Learn about collaborative approaches to doing research and models for using research to inform decisions.

Dates and Venue

9.30am - 5pm on 26 February, 4, 11, 18 March 2008

Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL

For more information, see our website.

Methods for research synthesis

Course Leader: Dr James Thomas

Understand the theory, aims and practicalities of a range of qualitative and quantitative approaches to research synthesis.

Dates and Venue

9.30am - 5pm on 21, 28 May, 4, 11 June 2008

Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL

For more information, see our website.

  
About the EPPI Centre

The Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI Centre) is part of the Social Science Research Unit (SSRU) at the Institute of Education, University of London. The focus of the EPPI Centre’s work is on promoting systematic reviews of research evidence, on developing methods and tools for systematic appraisal of different research questions and different kinds of research studies, and on facilitating user involvement throughout the review and dissemination process.

 

The EPPI Centre currently works in the areas of health promotion and public health, education and social care. Some reviews and methodological developments are undertaken by EPPI Centre staff. Others are done collaboratively with external organisations and individuals. The EPPI Centre is also contributing to the Economic and Social Research Council's National Centre for Research Methods, and is the home of the Methods for Research Synthesis programme.

  
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Young people, pregnancy and social exclusion

Fletcher A, Harden A, Brunton G, Oakley A, Bonell C (2008) Interventions addressing the social determinants of teenage pregnancy. Health Education 108 (1): 29-39.

View the abstract of this paper on the publisher's website.

Young people and mental health

Oliver S, Harden A, Rees R, Shepherd J, Brunton G, Oakley A (in press) Young people and mental health: novel methods for systematic review of research on barriers and facilitators. Health Education Research

Advanced access to this paper is on the Health Education Research website

Synthesising qualitative research

Thomas J, Harden A (2007) Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews. National Centre for Research Methods Working Paper Series. Number (10/07).

View the full text of this paper here on the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods website.

  
Subscription options

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WORKING WITH US

Can you help us identify weight management programmes for children in England

We are trying to identify programmes for children aged 4 to 18 years.  Please let us know about:

  • any local programmes (past and present) you know about, or are involved with; or
  • any local mapping or scoping exercises that have been undertaken about this type of programme.

We are interested in programmes that both have and have not been written about. Please forward any information to c.aicken@ioe.ac.uk

Do you know of any unpublished studies on children and obesity?

For our systematic reviews on this topic, we’d particularly like to hear about any unpublished or ‘hard to find’ studies about the following:

  • Evaluations of social and environmental interventions (including interventions that alter the built environment, encourage active transport or modify access to unhealthy or healthy foods)
  • Qualitative studies about children and young people’s views on body size and barriers and facilitators of healthy weight

Please forward any details to j.woodman@ioe.ac.uk 

Behavioural interventions to prevent STIs amongst young people

We are about to start a new systematic review on this topic in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Southampton. If you know of any published or unpublished evaluations of behavioural interventions to prevent STIs we would be very grateful if you could let us have references to them so that we can consider them for inclusion in our current systematic review.  Please forward to a.harden@ioe.ac.uk

Participating in and using reviews - get involved

The EPPI Centre co-directs the Cochrane Health Promotion and Public Health field with colleagues in Australia. This group promotes the conduct, dissemination and use of systematic reviews of research in health promotion and public health as part of the world-wide Cochrane Collaboration.

The Cochrane Health Promotion and Public Health Field continues in its application to become an review group in 2008.  The following link provides and update on this process and an opportunity for comments: http://www.ph.cochrane.org/en/index.html

  
Funders

The Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI Centre) receives funding from the Department of Health (England) for a specific programme of work in health promotion and public health.

This free email newsletter is produced by EPPI Centre to disseminate information about its work in the field of Health Promotion and Public Health.

The EPPI Centre is the Methods for Research Synthesis programme of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods. The centre receives funding from a number of other agencies including the Department for Education and Skills, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Social Care Institute of Excellence. The EPPI Centre is a formal partner of the Campbell Collaboration and co-directs the Cochrane Health Promotion and Public Health Field.

Further details of work in Health Promotion and the rest of the EPPI Centre's work on Education and Perspectives and Participation can be found here. For more information about the Methods for Research Synthesis programme, click here.

The Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI Centre) is part of the Social Science Research Unit (SSRU), Institute of Education, University of London.

Further details of SSRU's work can be found here.

  
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