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Children receiving services under a care and support plan had higher overall vaccination rates and were more up to date with immunisations than the general population of children in Wales, finds a new study involving UCL researchers. The research, published in Frontiers in Public Health , is the first data linkage study to explore vaccination coverage in children under social care services in Wales.

Female Genital Mutilation is causing thousands of unnecessary deaths every year - researchers are calling for extra effort to stop the practice. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a leading cause of death in the countries where it is practised, with over 44,000 additional women and young girls dying each year, a new study reveals.

A review into loneliness inequalities conducted by some of the UK's leading scholars in the field has highlighted key social and societal factors that lead to loneliness inequalities. Significantly, this departure from viewing loneliness as an individual problem to be treated by interventions such as befriending services or behavioural therapy suggests that loneliness could be improved by policy changes that reduce inequalities.

New research shows increasing levels of inequality in risk factors that causes higher levels of health conditions such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Findings published in the BMC Public Health have shown an increasing divide across England - with those in lower socioeconomic positions (SEPs) recording more behaviours that put them at increased risk of diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.

New research shows, for the first time, a higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation or death for the White Gypsy/Traveller ethnic minority group New research shows, for the first time, a higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation or death for the White Gypsy/Traveller ethnic minority group. The research, which looked at over 4.3m people in Scotland, was led by the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow and published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Analysis from Dr Helen Kowalewska and Dr Agnese Vitali looked at the link between breadwinner status and wellbeing in heterosexual couples. Men report lower wellbeing when women are the sole earner in a relationship, versus where both partners are employed or the man is the main breadwinner, according to a revealing new study.

Observations of a wild colony of macaques over three years show same-sex sexual behaviour among males is widespread and may be beneficial. The results, published today in Nature Ecology and Evolution , suggest same-sex sexual behaviour (SSB) has evolved and may be a common feature of primate reproduction.

Adults who voluntarily take part in mindfulness courses are less likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression for at least six months after completing the programmes, compared to adults who do not take part, a new analysis pooling data from 13 studies has confirmed. This study is the highest quality confirmation so far that the in-person mindfulness courses typically offered in the community do actually work for the average person.

Writing in The Conversation, Dr Michael Collins (UCL History) shares the report he co-led which recommended ways to address the ongoing and historic racism, elitism and sexism prevalent in English and Welsh cricket. After more than two years of research, interviews and evidence gathering, a landmark report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) was published on June 27 2023.

A new study from psychiatric epidemiologist Dr Lindsey Hines calls for greater support to help young people avoid problematic drug use. Young people who are exposed to adverse childhood experiences between the ages of 0 - 12 years, including parental drug misuse, are at highest risk for developing problematic adolescent cannabis use as teenagers, according to a new study.

Children who begin reading for pleasure early in life tend to perform better at cognitive tests and have better mental health when they enter adolescence, a study of more than 10,000 young adolescents in the US has found.

Around one million people donated money with hundreds of thousands volunteering for charitable causes as a result of the Ice Bucket Challenge, research has found. Academics from Cardiff University used data from Understanding Society , a large household survey representative of the United Kingdom (UK) population, to assess the impact the social media craze had on viewers.

Scottish study reveals insights into young people's mental health since pandemic A national report, carried out every four years in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), presenting data on adolescent health and wellbeing has provided a special focus insight into young people's mental health in Scotland.

General practices have recorded a large rise in eating disorder diagnoses and self-harm episodes amongst teenage girls in the UK in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, a research team has found. The study conducted jointly by The University of Manchester, Keele University, University of Exeter, and mental health research charity The McPin Foundation is published in the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health today (20/06/23).

New research led by experts from The University of Manchester , the University of St Andrews, the University of Essex and the University of Nottingham suggests that people from ethnic and religious minority groups are more likely to be interested in politics than White British people. Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) is a major new survey of racism and ethnic inequalities carried out by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE).

More than a third of people from ethnic and religious minority groups in Britain have experienced some form of racist assault, according to new research led by experts from The University of Manchester, the University of St Andrews and King's College London. The Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) is a major new survey of racism and ethnic inequalities carried out by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) , which reveals the extent of racism and racial discrimination experienced by people from ethnic and religious minority groups.

Those educated at private schools are twice as likely to be consistent Conservative voters in adulthood as those who had a state education, according to a new study involving UCL researchers. Published in the journal Sociology , the study uses data from a longitudinal study of almost 7,000 British people born in 1970.

Parents who frequently exercise harsh discipline with young children are putting them at significantly greater risk of developing lasting mental health problems, new evidence shows.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have conducted a systematic overview of reviews to assess the impact of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings showed that while school closures may reduce COVID-19 transmission, they were also associated with negative impacts on children's education, health, and wellbeing including increased anxiety, reduced learning, and increased obesity.

People aged between 10-24 who use social media sites may potentially be at risk of developing image concerns, eating disorders and poor mental health, suggests a new scoping review by UCL researchers. The study, published in PLOS Global Public Health , examined evidence from 50 studies in 17 countries and found that social media creates risks of social comparison and promotes the idea that it is vital to be thin or fit.