Investigating long-term retest effects in the GHQ-12

The aim of this analysis was to examine data from a general population sample for any retest effects in the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. A core panel was drawn from the British Household Panel Survey (n=4749) of those who had completed the GHQ-12 seven times from 1991 to 1997. The panel results were compared with cross-sectional data from the Health Surveys for England for the same years. No evidence of retest effects was found. The age composition of the panel and the distribution of GHQ scores with age are discussed in light of these findings

Who has a child as a teenager?

This paper uses data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the British 1970 Cohort Study (BCS70) to investigate the family background and childhood factors that are associated with having a child as a teenager. The advantage of combining results from these two sets of data is that the BHPS analyses are restricted to a few background factors while the BCS70 analyses have far more. However, the results obtained from the BHPS data are reasonably replicated with the BCS70 data in that family social class and having lived with one parent during childhood are significantly associated with a higher likelihood of a teenage birth. From the BCS70 data we show that the effect of having lived with one parent is not significant once child-specific variables, such as self-esteem and teacher rated behaviour, are included in the models. Mothers age at the birth of the cohort member and mothers education have significant, consistent and robust associations with the likelihood of teenage birth. The analyses reported in this paper are part of a larger programme of work for the Department of Health examining the medium and long-term consequences of early childbearing

Demonstrating cultural competence within health-visiting practice: working with refugee and asylum-seeking families

This qualitative study explored the experiences of health visitors working with refugee and asylumseeking families in central London, and assessed the dimensions of their cultural competency using Quickfall's model (Quickfall, 2004, 2010). In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 health visitors. Data were analysed using Framework, a thematicbased analytical method. The findings revealed that the health visitors demonstrated aspects of culturally competent care in relation to Quickfall's five-step model which was developed from the literature specifically for working with asylum applicants within a primary care setting. Shortcomings with regard to demonstrating cultural competence were related to working for an organisation whose work is governed by external factors such as national legislation and policy. In addition, the complexity of the needs of these vulnerable populations and limited resources sometimes compromised the cultural competence of the health visitors. However, they showed many positive xamples of how they provided equity, access and non-discriminatory services, health promotion and socially inclusive services

Childhood parental behaviour and young people's outcomes

This paper estimates the relationship between several outcomes in early adulthood (education, inactivity, early birth, distress and smoking) and experiences of life in a single-parent family and with jobless parent(s) during childhood. The analysis is performed using a special sample of young adults, who are selected from the first nine waves of the British Household Panel Survey (1991-1999) and can be matched with at least one parent and one sibling over the same period. This sample allows us to estimate the relationship of interest using sibling differences. We also use another sample of young adults from the BHPS, matched to at least one parent, to estimate more conventional level models and compute nonparametric bounds and point estimates. The estimates based on sibling differences require weaker assumptions (as compared to the assumptions imposed by nonparametric estimators under conditional independence and level estimators) for the identification of the effects of family structure and parental joblessness on the outcomes under analysis. We find that: (i) experiences of life in a single-parent family and with jobless parents during childhood are usually associated with disadvantageous outcomes for young adults;(ii) the effect of family structure is in general significantly greater (in absolute value) than the effect of parental worklessness; (iii) most of the unfavourable outcomes are linked to an early family disruption, when the child was aged 0-5, whereas the timing of parental joblessness during childhood has more complex effects, with different outcomes being more strongly influenced by parental worklessness at different developmental stages

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) among Ghanaian adolescents

Purpose: There is little information about the reliability and validity of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in Ghana. This study sought to examine the reliability and factor structure of the GHQ-12 in Ghanaian adolescents. Method: sHigh school students (N = 770) completed the GHQ-12 and the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ). Internal consistency, convergent validity and exploratory factor analysis were used. Results: A two factor structure, each with six items, was extracted. The total GHQ-12 had acceptable internal consistency and a generally high correlation with the ASQ subscales. Conclusion: The GHQ-12 can be used in Ghanaian samples, but more research is needed to confirm its factor structure

Routine testing for blood-borne viruses in prisons: a systematic review

Background: People in prison have a higher burden of blood-borne virus (BBV) infection than the general population, and prisons present an opportunity to test for BBVs in high-risk, underserved groups. Changes to the BBV testing policies in English prisons have recently been piloted. This review will enable existing evidence to inform policy revisions. We describe components of routine HIV, hepatitis B and C virus testing policies in prisons and quantify testing acceptance, coverage, result notification and diagnosis. Methods: We searched five databases for studies of both opt-in (testing offered to all and the individual chooses to have the test or not) and opt-out (the individual is informed the test will be performed unless they actively refuse) prison BBV testing policies. Results: Forty-four studies published between 1989 and 2013 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 82% were conducted in the USA, 91% included HIV testing and most tested at the time of incarceration. HIV testing acceptance rates ranged from 22 to 98% and testing coverage from 3 to 90%. Mixed results were found for equity in uptake. Six studies reported reasons for declining a test including recent testing and fear. Conclusions: While the quality of evidence is mixed, this review suggests that reasonable rates of uptake can be achieved with opt-in and, even better, with opt-out HIV testing policies. Little evidence was found relating to hepatitis testing. Policies need to specify exclusion criteria and consider consent processes, type of test and timing of the testing offer to balance acceptability, competence and availability of individuals

Association between psychosomatic health symptoms and common mental illness in Ghanaian adolescents: Age and gender as potential moderators

Little is known about the role of age and gender in the association between psychosomatic symptoms and common mental illness in Ghanaian adolescents. This cross-sectional study examined age and gender as moderators between psychosomatic symptoms and common mental illness using data from a school-based survey ( N = 770). Males reported higher psychosomatic symptoms and common mental illness, while younger adolescents reported higher common mental illness only. Psychosomatic symptoms were positively associated with common mental illness, but age and gender did not moderate this association. Interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence rate in psychosomatic symptoms are crucial in decreasing common mental illness in Ghanaian adolescents. </jats:p