ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: It is estimated that around 160,000 households in Britain experience homelessness each year, although no definitive statistics exist. Between March and September 2020, as part of the initial 'Everyone In' government response to COVID-19 in England, 10,566 people were living in emergency accommodation and nearly 18,911 people had been moved into settled accommodation. However, some forms of temporary accommodation may not be suitable as shared facilities make it impossible for people to adhere to government guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19. METHODS: This is parallel group, pilot randomised controlled trial. The target is to recruit three local authorities, each of which will recruit 50 participants (thus a total of approximately 150 participants). Individuals are eligible if they are aged 18 and over, in a single-person homeless household, temporarily accommodated by the LA with recourse to public funds. Participants will be randomised to receive settled accommodation (intervention group) or temporary accommodation (control group). The intervention group includes settled housing such as Private Rented Sector (low and medium support), Social Housing (low and medium support), and Housing First (High support). The control group will maintain treatment as usual. The follow-up period will last 6 months. The primary outcome is to assess the feasibility of recruitment, retention, and acceptability of trial processes against progression criteria laid out in a traffic light system (green: all criteria are met, the trial should progress as designed in this pilot; amber: the majority of criteria are met and with adaptations to methods all criteria could be met; red: the minority of criteria are met and the pilot RCT should not proceed). Secondary outcomes include assessment of completeness of data collection at 3 and 6 months and percentage of participants consenting to data linkage, as well as a process evaluation and economic evaluation. DISCUSSION: This trial will address feasibility questions associated with progression to a fully powered effectiveness trial of models of housing to reduce risk of COVID-19 infection and homelessness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN69564614 . Registered on December 16, 2020.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders (AP-FGIDs) affect a significant proportion of the pediatric population and consist 1 of the most frequent causes for seeking medical advice. In this study, we aimed to assess the relation of dietary habits with the likelihood of AP-FGIDs. METHODS: This was a school-based, cross-sectional study approved by the Greek Government authorities, after obtaining informed consent by the legal representatives of the children. Diagnoses of AP-FGIDs were based on the Greek official translation of the Rome III questionnaire. Demographic, socioeconomic and dietary data were collected through self-reporting or parent-reporting questionnaires. Associations between the probability of AP-FGIDs and dietary practices were assessed after adjusting for known confounders through a multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1365 children (147 AP-FGIDs and 1218 controls, 52.4% females, mean age: 12.8 ± 2.8 years) were included. Multiple regression analysis identified the following statistically significant confounders: victimization, the presence of a person with a severe health problem at home, female sex, engaging in limited physical exercise, and living in a single adult family. Subsequently, logistic regression, adjusted for the abovementioned confounders, showed that reduced fish and increased junk food consumption were related to a higher likelihood of AP-FGIDs. CONCLUSIONS: Children with AP-FGIDs report excessive junk-food and reduced fish intake compared to controls. Further studies are needed in order to clarify the nature of this observation.
