Measuring the size of a child’s head is done routinely worldwide to screen for possible learning or developmental problems but new research out today [18 May] suggests that differences within the normal range of measurements are common – and mainly due to human error – and should not unduly concern parents.
The Government is aiming for all adults to have online access to their health and social care records by 2020, but researchers from the Institute of Child Health, QMUL and the University of Bristol are concerned about the potential for unintended harm.
As calls to emergency services increase, there is an urgent need for a reliable and consistent method of measuring whether or not these calls are appropriate. These are the findings from a University of Bristol study, published in BMJ Open, which explored ambulance use among patients with problems that could potentially be managed by their GP or other primary care health services.
A large-scale review that evaluated the medical efficacy of cannabinoids — the active chemical compounds in marijuana — across a range of conditions found there is moderate evidence to support the use of cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic pain and spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis. The meta-analysis, led by the University of Bristol and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analysed the results of 79 different randomised-controlled studies involving more than 6,400 patients to investigate the benefits and side effects of medical cannabinoids.
It’s a common dilemma faced by many working parents: your child has a cough or a cold, do you send them to nursery? Researchers from the University of Bristol have, for the first time, investigated the process of decision-making that parents go through when faced with this situation.
A concerning gap in school anti-bullying policies has been revealed in a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded study by the University of Bristol and University of Bath. While weight-based bullying is reportedly the most common form experienced by students, fewer than 7% of schools in southwest England explicitly address it in their anti-bullying policies according to the study published in BMC Public Health.
Scientists are inviting members of the public to find out about dementia research in the region at a free event [31 March] which aims to improve patient and public involvement in studies.
World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) is an internationally recognised day on 2 April every year to raise awareness of the hurdles that people with autism – and others living with autism – face every day. Following research by the University of Bristol, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Autism Independence, a film that tells the stories of Bristol-based Somali families affected by autism and the professionals who support them will be premiered tomorrow [Wednesday 3 April].
A dozen early-career researchers from the School of Social and Community Medicine recently travelled to Brazil to deliver an epidemiology course to South American academics.
