An exploratory study of women prisoners’ attitudes towards their self-harm and the use of medical skin camouflage

Self-harm is a growing problem in UK prisons with women self-harming more than men. Self-harm can leave permanent scarring. Research on scarring suggests that living with scars can lead to psychological difficulties; however, there is little research on the specific effects of self-harm scars. Medical skin camouflage (MSC) can be used to cover numerous skin conditions. The use of MSC for women in prison with self-harm scars has not been examined previously. A focus group involving 10 women prisoners aimed to (1) explore feelings about self-harm scars, (2) examine effects that scars have on life in prison and (3) examine thoughts on using MSC in prison. This group formed part of a larger project designed to test the feasibility and acceptability of MSC for women who self-harm in prison. A topic guide was created with two service user researchers with experience of self-harm in prison. The results have been divided into three themes: (1) feelings about self-harm scars, (2) covering self-harm scars and (3) attitudes towards MSC. Our findings indicate that women in prison tend to feel embarrassed and self-conscious about their scars, and the presence of scars affects their relationships within prison. The women were enthusiastic about MSC, suggesting that it has the potential to affect women’s well-being and ability to engage with others

Acceptability and feasibility pilot randomised controlled trial of medical skin camouflage for recovery of women prisoners with self-harm scarring (COVER): the study protocol

Self-harm in prison is a major public health concern. Less than 5% of UK prisoners are women, but they carry out more than a fifth of prison self-harm. Scars resulting from self-harm can be traumatising and stigmatising, yet there has been little focus on recovery of women prisoners with self-harm scarring. Medical skin camouflage (MSC) clinics treat individuals with disfiguring skin conditions, with evidence of improved well-being, self-esteem and social interactions. Only one community study has piloted the use of MSC for self-harm scarring. We describe an acceptability and feasibility pilot randomised controlled trial; the first to examine MSC for women prisoners who self-harm. We aim to randomise 20-25 women prisoners to a 6-week MSC intervention and 20-25 to a waitlist control (to receive the MSC after the study period). We aim to train at least 6-10 long-term prisoners with personal experience of self-harm to deliver the intervention. Before and after intervention, we will pilot collection of women-centred outcomes, including quality of life, well-being and self-esteem. We will pilot collection of self-harm incidents during the intervention, resources used to manage/treat self-harm and follow-up of women at 12 weeks from baseline. Data on recruitment, retention and dropout will be recorded. We aim for the acceptability of the intervention to prison staff and women prisoners to be explored in qualitative interviews and focus groups. Ethical approval for COVER has been granted by the North East-York Research Ethics Committee (REC) for phases 1 and 2 (reference: 16/NE/0030) and West of Scotland REC 3 for phases 3 and 4 (reference: 16/WS/0155). Informed consent will be the primary consideration; it will be made clear that participation will have no effect on life in prison or eligibility for parole. Due to the nature of the study, disclosures of serious self-harm may need to be reported to prison officials. We aim for findings to be disseminated via events at the study prison, presentations at national/international conferences, journal publications, prison governor meetings and university/National Health Service trust communications. NCT02638974; Pre-results. [Abstract copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.

Medical skin camouflage:a recovery intervention for femail prisoners who self-harm

This editorial focuses on medical skin camouflage, a recovery intervention for female prisoners who self-harm. Women prisoners comprise 5% of the prison population and are far more likely to inflict harm directly on their bodies than women in the community or male prisoners. Their self-harm challenges the criminal justice system, not least because it may be life threatening and is a predictor of an inflated risk of suicide

Children, dying parents and COVID-19

By Dr Steve Marshall, Professor Andrew Rowland, Susan Higgins, Christina Woods, Lisa Jones, Professor Sandeep Ranote, Dr Iain Lawrie and Fiona Murphy </jats:p

Functionalized <i>Moringa oleifera</i> Gum as pH-Responsive Nanogel for Doxorubicin Delivery: Synthesis, Kinetic Modelling and In Vitro Cytotoxicity Study

Environment-responsive-cum-site-specific delivery of therapeutic drugs into tumor cells is a foremost challenge for chemotherapy. In the present work, Moringa oleifera gum–based pH-responsive nanogel (MOGN) was functionalized as a doxorubicin (DOX) carrier. It was synthesized via free radical polymerization through the γ-irradiation method using acrylamide and N,N’-MBA followed by hydrolysis, sonication, and ultracentrifugation. The swelling behavior of MOGN as a function of pH was assessed using a gravimetric method that revealed its superabsorbent nature (365.0 g/g). Furthermore, MOGN showed a very high loading efficiency (98.35 %L) of DOX by MOGN. In vitro release studies revealed that DOX release from DOX-loaded MOGN was 91.92% at pH 5.5 and 12.18% at 7.4 pH, thus favorable to the tumor environment. The drug release from nanogel followed Korsmeyer–Peppas model at pH 5.5 and 6.8 and the Higuchi model at pH 7.4. Later, the efficient DOX release at the tumor site was also investigated by cytotoxicity study using Rhabdomyosarcoma cells. Thus, the synthesized nanogel having high drug loading capacity and excellent pH-triggered disintegration and DOX release performance in a simulated tumor environment could be a promising candidate drug delivery system for the targeted and controlled release of anticancer drugs

Kinetic and thermodynamic evaluation of sulfonated guar gum-based hydrogels for effective and rapid adsorption of cationic dyes

To develop new sustainable and efficient materials for green technologies, we report the synthesis of guar gum (GG) and 2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPSA) based hydrogels for the removal of cationic dyes. GG was grafted with AMPSA and crosslinked with different concentrations (1, 2.5, and 5%) of ethyleneglycoldimethylacrylate (EGDMA) to obtain GG-g-poly(AMPSA)-cl-EGDMA hydrogels. The well-characterized hydrogels were investigated for adsorption of two cationic dyes, malachite green (MG) and crystal violet (CV). The hydrogel with 2.5% EGDMA showed the best dye uptake and was thus further investigated for the uptake of dyes. The selectivity of the hydrogels for cationic dyes was established by comparing the adsorption capacity of cationic and anionic dyes from their binary solutions. The role of the sulfonate group in the removal of the cationic dyes was established with two control experiments using pristine GG and GG hydrogel with 2.5% EGDMA but without AMPSA. The hydrogel showed tremendous dye adsorption with percent uptake up to 93.13% for MG, 91.50% for CV, and 91.8% for the mixture of dyes in 45 minutes. The adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir adsorption isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity of 354.6 mg/g and 163.39 mg/g for CV and MG, respectively. The adsorbent exhibited good regeneration and recyclability up to seven cycles. Finally, dye adsorption studies of the candidate hydrogel were carried out for real textile effluent. The reported GG-g-poly(AMPSA)-cl-EGDMA hydrogels possess great potential as cost-effective, sustainable, recyclable, and environmentally-friendly adsorbents for the selective and effective removal of hazardous cationic dyes from wastewater.</p