Implementation and sustainability of public health approaches for mental health and wellbeing in schools

Aims: With increasing prevalence of emotional difficulties in children and young people in England, there is a growing emphasis on prevention programs delivered in school settings. The Education for Wellbeing program is working with around 400 schools in England to evaluate five universal mental health and wellbeing interventions Here, we present an overview of the Education for Wellbeing program and describe patterns across different school settings in barriers and facilitators to sustaining intervention delivery Methods: This study draws on interviews with staff and pupils from eight schools over multiple timepoints, including during the COVID- 19 pandemic. Qualitative methods were used to cluster schools with similar 'journeys' over a three-year period in terms of staff members' experiences of intervention delivery and perceived barriers and facilitators to sustaining delivery Results: The analysis demonstrated patterns in schools' journeys over time, each underpinned by a range of barriers and facilitators to the sustainability of the interventions. Four clusters of schools were identified each representing one overarching pattern: 'Spreading and embedding', 'Trialled and moved on', 'Everything's changed', and 'Built into the curriculum for now' Conclusion(s): The variety in schools' experiences highlights the complexity of both school settings and the process of implementing and sustaining interventions. These findings suggest that the environment and conditions into which a public health intervention is placed may be as, if not more, important than the intervention itself, and provoke important questions regarding future research and intervention development.

A review of the blue economy, potential, and opportunities in seven Caribbean nations pre-COVID-19

Caribbean countries face many challenges to effectively implement and benefit from the blue economy. This study synthesized current available information from the literature about the main blue economy activities in the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to highlight their value in the context of blue economic recovery. This timestamp of data provides a point of comparison to understand the vulnerability of blue economy sectors to external shocks. The top performing sectors prior to the pandemic were shipping and tourism, both of which were significant contributors to the GDP. The other sectors (e.g. fisheries, aquaculture, pharmaceuticals, etc.) in some countries were well established and in others, at a minimum, displayed potential for continued development. To valorize the blue economy in a post pandemic recovery, there are three core areas of opportunity: sustainable resource extraction and production;cultivated economic development;and improved ecosystem economic valuations. Harnessing these opportunities will require a transition from a traditional ocean economy towards a coordinated blue economy, including the adoption of effective governance and sustainability principles, improved social, economic, and environmental valuations, and sustainable financing, as well as a more regional coordinated approach to the management of resources.