Population Health Sciences

ProtecT trial receives award for pioneering research demonstrating the safety of active surveillance

13 August 2024

A study to find out the best ways of treating prostate cancer has been named the 2024 recipient of the Active Surveillance Patients International (ASPI) Special Award. The ProtecT trial, led by the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, received the award for game-changing research in the development of the active surveillance approach to managing low-risk prostate cancer. Their research has proved active monitoring in patients with lower-risk prostate cancer was as safe as aggressive treatments.

Study finds programme to prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies is effective

10 January 2023

A programme to increase the use of magnesium sulfate, a £1 injection that helps prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies, is effective according to a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded evaluation. The findings, led by researchers at the University of Bristol, are published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Weston-super-Mare launches its first festival of love and loss

26 April 2023

A new festival that aims to open up conversations around death and bereavement is launching in Weston-super-Mare next week. Good Grief Weston (Monday 1 to Monday 8 May) will offer 30 workshops and events over eight days and across more than 20 venues.

Lesson for young people about the HPV vaccine in schools awarded quality mark

1 February 2023

A lesson to help teenagers find out about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in schools has been awarded the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education Association quality mark. HPV is a common infection that is spread by skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact. Since the pandemic there has been a decline in the uptake of the HPV vaccine – down nationally from 86% to 69%

Over 1 in 5 adults worldwide has a genital herpes infection

16 December 2024

Around 846 million people aged between 15 and 49 are living with genital herpes infections – more than 1 in 5 of this age-group globally - according to new estimates. At least 1 person each second – 42 million people annually - is estimated to acquire a new genital herpes infection.

Smoking tobacco from childhood can cause premature heart damage

11 December 2024

Two-thirds of children who started tobacco smoking at 10 years of age continued until their mid-twenties, significantly increasing their risk of early heart damage

Daylight saving time clock changes have substantial, but short-lived effect on how much sleep we get

25 October 2024

With the clocks going back this weekend, a new study has found that moving the clocks one hour forward in Spring and one hour back in Autumn has a substantial, but short-lived effect on sleep duration.

Providing free school meals to all secondary pupils is feasible and acceptable, finds study

22 March 2023

Providing free school meals to all secondary pupils is feasible and acceptable, and brings many potential benefits, finds a new University of Bristol-led study of a pilot scheme in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, published today [22 March].

Reductions in sexual mixing ended mpox outbreak in England, while vaccination has prevented resurgences in 2023

11 September 2023

The rapid outbreak of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) in 2022 likely resulted from high levels of sexual mixing among some gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), with the initial downturn in cases probably due to a reduction in sexual contacts among these men, according to new research led by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Behavioural Science and Evaluation. The HPRU is a partnership between the University of Bristol and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Surgeons need to improve how they communicate with patients about innovative procedures

14 August 2023

Patients are not given sufficient information about the novel status of a procedure, possible uncertainties or potential risks when deciding to go ahead with the procedure, research led by the University of Bristol and published in the Annals of Surgery has found.