More than signposting: Findings from an evaluation of a social prescribing service.

This paper presents findings from an evaluation of a social prescribing service, undertaken between January 2019 and December 2020. Data was collected through interviews and focus groups with a range of groups including social prescribing managers, link workers (LWs), referrers (GPs and social work practitioners), clients, Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) agencies and groups. Thematic analysis of data was undertaken, and findings were presented in respect of clients' journeys into social prescribing; the support received from LWs; their onward journeys to VCS support. The findings highlight the challenges for individuals in contacting new agencies/groups and the importance of practitioner referral into and onwards from social prescribing, as well as buddying to support clients on initial agency visits. The depth of the LW role is highlighted, as well as the complexity of client circumstances, highlighting a need for 'more than signposting', and challenging the notion of self-referral as an indicator of motivation. Social prescribing has been positioned as amongst the solutions to the challenges of primary care. However, referrals from GPs were low and significantly outnumbered by those from social workers; this suggests a need to explore in greater depth the use of social prescribing by social workers, who have, to date, been absent from social prescribing research.

Suicide Exposure in a Polymediated Age.

With growing evidence that media plays a vital role in shaping public understanding of suicidality and influencing behaviours, media portrayals of suicidality have for some time been the focus of suicide prevention efforts. Traditional media has changed, and now exists alongside and within an instantaneous, interactive sharing of information created and controlled by anyone; the way most people use it today incorporates a wide variety of online communication media. Polymedia describes media communication as both a product and process, where anyone can contribute and act as producers, consumers, audiences, and critics. In a "Polymediated age," media exposure becomes much more complex. To understand how media exposure to suicide influences and impacts on others, it is important to take into account the communicative ecology of media technologies and the different interactions we can have with them. We researched the effects of this type of exposure by conducting in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of individuals who have lived experience and/or knowledge of suicide exposure via polymediated communication in the aftermath of a suicide. Using thematic analysis, our data demonstrates how exposure to suicide has become more complex as a result of new communicative media technology: it can be both a gift and a curse, difficult to distinguish, predict or control. Polymedia has the power to determine new forms of narrative and new forms of behaviour that on the one hand can provide support and prevention efforts, while on the other hand can promote conflict and cast an adverse influence on suicidal behaviour. Polymedia provides novel affordances for very intimate collective exposure to suicide. Our findings shed important new light on how the interplay between news media and social media has transformed our relationship with the information to which we're exposed. We highlight important suggestions for those working in suicide prevention to develop (1) media strategies that recognise the multiple ways in which users are exposed and impacted, and (2) mechanisms for a strategic amplification and moderation of specific types of content. Media organisations and users of social media alike can contribute to maximising the beneficial capacity of polymediated exposure to suicide.

Suicide-Related Internet Use Among Suicidal Young People in the UK: Characteristics of Users, Effects of Use, and Barriers to Offline Help-Seeking.

The study replicates earlier research using a UK sample to examine differences between suicidal people who go online for suicide-related reasons and suicidal people who do not, perceived effects of suicide-related Internet use, and perceived barriers to offline help-seeking. A total of 72 UK citizens (18-24 years old) who had contemplated killing themselves or deliberately harmed themselves with the intention of dying within the past 12 months participated in an anonymous online survey. Results indicate that suicidal young people who use the Internet for suicide-related purposes are a high-risk group characterized by higher levels of social anxiety. The main purposes of suicide-related Internet use were to connect with others and seek information. Both positive and negative effects were found.

'We do it to keep him alive': bereaved individuals' experiences of online suicide memorials and continuing bonds.

This paper presents draws on interviews with individuals who have experience of creating, maintaining and utilising Facebook sites in memory of a loved one who has died by suicide. We argue that Facebook enables the deceased to be an on-going active presence in the lives of the bereaved. We highlight the potential of the Internet (and Facebook in particular) as a new and emerging avenue for the continuation of online identities and continuing bonds. Our study offers unique insight into survivors' experiences of engaging with the virtual presence of their deceased loved one: how mourners come and go online, how this evolves over time and how the online identity of the deceased evolves even after death. We discuss how Facebook provides new ways for people to experience and negotiate death by suicide and to memorialise the deceased, highlighting the positive impact of this for survivors' mental health. Finally, we describe the creation of tension amongst those who manage their grief in different ways.

A population study showing that the advent of second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors has improved progression-free survival in chronic myeloid leukaemia.

BACKGROUND: Population based data suggest the proportion of patients failing imatinib in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is higher than the reported one-third of patients in clinical trials. Clinical trials have demonstrated second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) dasatinib and nilotinib can restore complete cytogenetic remission (CCR) and major molecular response (MMR) to many patients failing imatinib, but their impact in the general population is not clear. DESIGN AND METHODS: We report CML outcome in a population of 2.3 million people in a geographically contiguous area of North West England and North Wales. RESULTS: Between 2003 and 2009, 192 new CML cases were diagnosed, of whom 184 were in chronic phase and 160 started on imatinib. The maximal CCR rate was 65% at 24 months and the maximal MMR rate was 50% at 36 months. Patients diagnosed since second generation TKI became available for imatinib failure had a more rapid cumulative CCR and MMR rate and a significantly improved progression free survival (p=0.022) than those diagnosed before this time. CONCLUSION: The study indicates that second generation TKI have improved CML outcome in the general population.

The role of perfectionism in student suicide: three case studies from the UK.

A number of studies have investigated the relationship between suicide and perfectionism but none to our knowledge have been based on studies of completed suicides. This article aims to provide important insight into the potency that certain profiles of perfectionism can claim in the path to suicide by presenting three case studies from a U.K. study of student suicide. Collectively, these case studies provide theoretical support for existing frameworks and are consistent with other literature which emphasizes those forms of perfectionism that engender severe self-criticism and self-doubt and fear of failure as most destructive.

Why embarrassment inhibits the acquisition and use of condoms: A qualitative approach to understanding risky sexual behaviour.

This article is based on research commissioned by the UK Government's Teenage Pregnancy Unit. The Living on the Edge (LOTE) study qualitatively explored factors that shape young people's experiences and attitudes towards sexual behaviour and young parenthood in three linked seaside and rural areas in England. It identifies embarrassment as a key risk factor in young people's sexual behaviour and demonstrates why engaging in protective behaviour and seeking information and advice, can be constrained by fear of embarrassment and concerns about how they are regarded by others. This paper also argues that embarrassment around condom use is not necessarily restricted to adolescence. Embarrassment is a deeply unpleasant experience for everyone and people (young and old) are motivated to avoid it. Implications and recommendations for future policy and service provision are highlighted.