South Yorkshire Research Articles

A Child-Centred Design Evaluation of a Learning Game to Improve Children’s Legal Capability

Children lack awareness and understanding of their rights and the law. There is a need to address this gap and empower children to become advocates for their rights when they encounter law-related issues. A promising approach to achieving this is through the use of games. In particular, games focused on learning have evolved into novel tools that can raise awareness as well as help children acquire essential skills. In this paper, we present a child-centred design approach to evaluating the initial version of a learning game designed to help children across a wide age range (3-15 years) and with diverse characteristics, improve their legal knowledge, skills, and confidence. This study supports the integral role and value of child participation in testing the usability of a law-based learning game and shaping its design. A mixed methods approach, grounded in user-centred principles, was employed to assess the first prototype (P1) of the game. 45 children from various schools and early years settings in South Yorkshire and the Midlands, UK were involved. This included children from: 1) advisory groups, 2) case study groups, and 3) game development groups, with an age range of 4 to 16 years old. School staff were also invited to give their feedback. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through questionnaires, and field note observations, and analyses were conducted through both thematic analysis and non-parametric statistical methods. We found the game was received positively overall, but further development was needed to make it accessible and engaging, especially for the youngest participants. Importantly, participants of diverse ages and characteristics shared valuable insights into enhancements to make the game more intuitive, interactive, and enjoyable, and these findings informed the development of the beta version of the game.

GPs' experience of difficult decisions in patients with dementia and an acute illness.

GPs are often required to make decisions about the management of acute illness in people living with dementia. These decisions are often complex and involve multiple informants. We aimed to explore how GPs made decisions about acute illness in people with dementia using a micropolitics approach. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 13 GPs with a range of years of experience working in South Yorkshire, UK. Interviews were conducted by phone. Interviews focused on GPs' accounts to reflect their own perceptions and choices as portrayed to the interviewer. The analysis used the lens of micro-politics in the analysis and interpretation of the themes, with a focus on decisions between GP, patient, family and carers, other health and social care providers about the management of acute illness in a person with dementia. The results showed that GPs act as street-level bureaucrats while carrying out their role, using discretion during decision-making in an environment characterised by uncertainties and work pressures. In addition, GPs use the "soft power" skills of diplomacy such as negotiation, persuasion and engagement in navigating through difficult decision-making situations, while building relationships and partnerships with various actors in the health system. GPs possess and express power and influence decision-making in people living with dementia when navigating biomedical, social, economic and psychological factors. This power comes in the form of soft power (street level diplomacy) and the more formal power of street level bureaucracy.

P36 Improving AMS programmes for paediatric services via a shared post working collaboratively across five hospital trusts within South Yorkshire

P36 Improving AMS programmes for paediatric services via a shared post working collaboratively across five hospital trusts within South Yorkshire

‘It depends on where you were born…here in the North East, there’s not really many job opportunities compared to in the South’: young people’s perspectives on a North-South health divide and its drivers in England, UK

BackgroundImproving the public’s understanding of how regional and socioeconomic inequalities create and perpetuate inequalities in health, is argued to be necessary for building support for policies geared towards creating a more equal society. However, research exploring public perceptions of health inequalities, and how they are generated, is limited. This is particularly so for young people. Our study sought to explore young people’s lived experiences and understandings of health inequalities.MethodsWe carried out focus group discussions (n = 18) with 42 young people, aged 13–21, recruited from six youth organisations in England in 2021. The organisations were located in areas of high deprivation in South Yorkshire, the North East and London. Young people from each organisation took part in three interlinked focus group discussions designed to explore their (i) perceptions of factors impacting their health in their local area, (ii) understandings of health inequalities and (iii) priorities for change. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most discussions took place online (n = 15). However, with one group in the North East, we carried out discussions face-to-face (n = 3). Data were analysed thematically and we used NVivo-12 software to facilitate data management.ResultsYoung people from all groups demonstrated an awareness of a North-South divide in England, UK. They described how disparities in local economies and employment landscapes between the North and the South led to tangible differences in everyday living and working conditions. They clearly articulated how these differences ultimately led to inequalities in people’s health and wellbeing, such as linking poverty and employment precarity to chronic stress. Young people did not believe these inequalities were inevitable. They described the Conservative government as prioritising the South and thus perpetuating inequalities through uneven investment.ConclusionsOur study affords important insights into young people’s perceptions of how wider determinants can help explain the North-South health divide in England. It demonstrates young people’s contextualised understandings of the interplay between spatial, social and health inequalities. Our findings support calls for pro-equity policies to address the structural causes of regional divides in health. Further research, engaging young people in deliberative policy analysis, could build on this work.

Supporting advanced practice: feedback from a mental health, community and primary care advanced practice support project in South Yorkshire, UK

Background: Despite the significant input from Heath Education England (HEE), now NHS England (NHSE), there are still significant variations around advanced practice programmes, support and training, particularly in less developed areas such as mental health, community posts and primary care. To help target these areas, and to support the NHS Long Term Plan (2023) to increase the number of advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs), the Faculty of Advanced Practice South Yorkshire recruited three ACP leads from mental health, community, and primary care backgrounds to establish a support project led by one professional lead. These leads were able to utilise their lived experience of completing the ACP MSc programme and working as an ACP to help trainee advanced clinical practitioners (tACPs) navigate their journey. The ACP leads also developed a variety of educational events, which further supported the trainees' needs. Aim: This article reports the feedback given via an online questionnaire from trainees that accessed the project, which ended in March 2024. Its aim is to highlight the often-undervalued concept of using clinicians personal experience regarding advanced training and practice, to mentor, support and ultimately retain the future ACP workforce. Methods: An email with a link to a questionnaire was sent to 128 tACPs or recently qualified ACPs that had applied for their training via the Faculty of Advanced Practice South Yorkshire. The questionnaire, created in Microsoft Forms, was completed anonymously, and produced both numerical and free-text data. The questionnaire solicited feedback around: the number of contacts they had and how they contacted; the ACP leads; types of support accessed; and the educational events available. Free text answers were analysed by the author (CJ) and a second reviewer (SF) to generate a consensus on themes. Results: A total of 64 clinicians responded, of which 43 were tACPs, 10 were ACPs, five had other job titles (community matron, pharmacist, practice nurse) and five did not state what their job title was. Responses suggest that the support accessed from the project was highly beneficial and could not be gained elsewhere. A key factor in the project's success was the ACP leads' lived experience of having previously completed advanced practice training, as well as their ability to tailor learning events to the trainees' needs. Conclusion: Meeting the demands of ACP training in areas where the role is less established remains an ongoing challenge. It seems some of these challenges relate to the lack of practical support being provided by employers or higher education institutions, such as lived experience of completing the task of ACP training. Support projects, like the one discussed in this article, appear aptly placed to help fulfil these needs and begs the question ‘why aren't there more?’, especially when advanced practitioners are fundamental to the future healthcare workforce.

Prehistoric Landscape Development and Romano-British Farming near Rossington, South Yorkshire

In 2016–2017 Wessex Archaeology undertook excavations between Rossington and Doncaster in South Yorkshire prior to the development of a strategic rail freight interchange. The earliest evidence related to peat formation within two different parts of the site, with a pair of sequences radiocarbon dated to between the Mesolithic period and the Bronze Age. Pollen preserved within the peat provides evidence for woodland development over this period, with no clear signs of any contemporary human impacts on the palynological record. The majority of the archaeological evidence relates to the Romano-British period, when the site contained settlement/farming enclosures and fields used for grazing and cultivation. Archeologically detectable activity was focussed on the enclosures; a stone-built ‘T’-shaped crop-dryer reveals malt production was undertaken in one. The animal bone is relatively informative when compared to regional norms and this evidence, which is accompanied by the results of the analysis of organic residues within the pottery assemblage, suggests a husbandry strategy focussed on cattle carcase products, with some dairying. Charcoal evidence and charred/waterlogged plant remains reveal further information on the agricultural economy of the site including aspects such as crops grown, fuel use and the local environment. The finds assemblage from the site is also relatively rich for the area; such a reasonable degree of integration with the economy of the wider Roman province may have been facilitated by the close proximity of a villa at Stancil.

A GLOBAL NORTH: TRANSFERS, EXCHANGES and TRANSNATIONAL LINKS BETWEEN VICTORIA AND SOUTH YORKSHIRE, 1880–1914

This article seeks to establish transnational links between South Yorkshire and the colony of Victoria in Australia during the late nineteenth-century. Examining definitions of ‘northernness’ and challenging arguments that depict northern identity and culture as inward-looking, it explores the relative absence of ‘northernness’ in narratives of migration and makes the case for the interconnection of ideas, events and individuals across cultural, political and national boundaries. Exploring Sheffield’s links and relationship with Victoria this article places recent research about population transfers, civic identity, protest and business practice in a global perspective that highlights overlaps and connections over disjunctures, difference and the particular. Throughout, the emphasis of the article is on the diverse and wide-ranging nature of these links in an imperial context. Against this background, neither steel workers in Sheffield, nor the shearers in outback Australia appear as insular and inward-looking, as has often been asserted. In short, the article poses questions about the nature and scale of a transplanted northern identity, and the relevance of the environment of the Australian colonies to a developing sense of what it was to be from Sheffield.

Iron Age and Roman Settlement at Cumwell Lane, Hellaby, South Yorkshire

Excavations at Hellaby, near Rotherham, on a site immediately to the west of Cumwell Lane, investigated part of a co-axial field system which spanned the late pre-Roman Iron Age through to at least the mid-fourth century AD. Over this period, the focus of associated activity shifted from the north end of the site southwards: to a small corner enclosure in the centre of the site in the early Roman period, and then to a larger corner enclosure further south, in use from the late second century and associated with the processing and storage of cereal crops. The site contributes to the growing corpus of evidence towards the understanding of South Yorkshires so-called ‘brickwork’ fields demonstrating a succession of enclosures migrating across the fields over time.

Richard Mitchell and Coal Mining Trade Unionism, 1858-1864

Histories of trade unionism have minimised the significance of the early years of the Coal Miners’ Association in south Yorkshire. For six years, beginning in 1858, Richard Mitchell was employed as the union’s first secretary and his term of office witnessed a succession of notable events, both locally and nationally, in which he took a significant part. These include the ‘checkweighman’ provision in the Mines Regulation and Inspection Act, 1860; the campaign for dependents’ compensation after the Edmund’s Main colliery catastrophe of 1862; the legal contest for John Normansell to be reinstated as checkweighman at Wharncliffe Silkstone colliery in 1863; and Mitchell’s contributions to the miners’ conferences and the Miners’ National Association from 1858 to 1864. His career ended abruptly in his flight in 1864 after he incurred the threat of ruinous legal costs over an action for criminal libel. Provoked by his own unguarded words, it led to a prosecution mounted by Robert Baxter, a solicitor and local coal-owner whom Mitchell had confronted several times in his career. This disastrous miscalculation alienated his associates, so terminally extinguishing his reputation. His undeserved neglect was reinforced by his marginalization in the official history of the union published a century later.

Agent-Based Modelling of Policy Interventions on District Heating Adoption

This study employs an agent-based model to examine the adoption of District Heating Networks (DHNs) in heat zoning areas, focusing on the impact of three policy interventions, subsidy, tax and mandating connections. Analysing a case in South Yorkshire, UK, the research highlights a notable synergy in policies, with a combined £25.5 million from subsidies and tax incentives leading to a 28% (£33 million) reduction in infrastructure costs. The policies accelerated the DHN connection rate, achieving full coverage by 2028, two years ahead of the baseline scenario. Investment costs per household were significantly reduced from £2000 to £1460, aligning with governmental cost projections. The study acknowledges optimistic connection rates and suggests future work to include realistic project timelines and incorporate social and behavioural factors in DHN adoption. The findings show the effectiveness of integrated policy frameworks in promoting DHNs.

Developing a ‘national module’ for nurses considering a career in general practice: addressing the workforce crisis in primary care

The age profile of GPNs means that the pool of experienced GPNs available to recruit is rapidly shrinking. This article looks at potential solutions to the workforce crisis affecting practice nursing If the predicted workforce crisis in primary care is to be avoided, there is a clear need to increase the number of student nurses considering a career in general practice. Initiatives such as the NHS England national module, described here, are integral to this process. Of the HEIs nationally that responded to a tender from NHS England, SHU was one of seven HEIs awarded a contract to deliver the module. The SHU module uses a blended approach to learning and provides learners with an insight into general practice and the role of the general practice nurse. It is unique in that it is delivered in partnership with the South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub and is designed to create a workforce ‘pipeline’ of new graduate nurses who will be equipped to access a regional career pathway for general practice nurses.

Patient and public involvementin the development of health services: Engagement of underserved populations in a quality improvement programme for inflammatory bowel disease using a community-based participatory approach.

Involving people with lived experience is fundamental to healthcare development and delivery. This is especially true for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) services, where holistic and personalised models of care are becoming increasingly important. There is, however, a significant lack of representation of underserved and diverse groups in IBD research, and there are significant barriers to healthcare access and utilisation among minority groups in IBD. IBD centres need to be aware of these experiences to address barriers via service changes, improve interactions with local communities and promote meaningful engagement for improved health outcomes. A pragmatic community-based approach was taken to engage with leaders and members of underserved groups across 11 workshops representing Roma, Afro-Caribbean, people of African descent and the wider black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, Muslim women, refugee community members, deprived areas of South Yorkshire, LGBTQ+ and deaf populations. Thematic analysis of field notes identified patterns of attention across the community groups and where improvements to services were most frequently suggested. Findings demonstrated several barriers experienced to healthcare access and utilisation, including language accessibility, staff attitudes and awareness, mental health and stigma, continuity of support, and practical factors such as ease of service use and safe spaces. These barriers acted as a lever to co-producing service changes that are responsive to the health and social care needs of these groups. Engaging with people from a range of communities is imperative for ensuring that service improvements in IBD are accessible and representative of individual needs and values. Local community leaders and members of community groups actively participated in the co-design and development of improvements to the IBDservice for a local hospital. Their contributions further informed a pilot process for quality improvement programmes in IBD centres.

Clinical impact and public health challenges of a PVL-MRSA bacteraemia outbreak amongst people who inject drugs in South Yorkshire, UK.

Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is an emergent public health concern. PVL toxin has been mostly associated with methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA)-related skin and soft tissue infections occurring in high-risk groups such as people who inject drugs (PWID). The emergence of PVL methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infection is causing severe and life-threatening disease in PWID. We present an outbreak of eight PVL-MRSA bacteraemia cases at a UK teaching hospital between 2018 and 2022. An additional four patients developed bacteraemia with PVL-negative MRSA of the same multilocus sequence type (MLST). All patients were PWID and aged 33-51 years old. Four patients developed MRSA bacterial endocarditis. Three patients died. These cases represent the initial cases detected at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals of what is an ongoing and developing outbreak. An outbreak investigation has been undertaken in association with the UK Health Security Agency. Epidemiological factors have been explored, including via direct contact at a local sheltered accommodation and the possibility of a contaminated drug supply. Whole-genome sequencing confirmed that all isolates were closely related and of the same MLST (sequence type 5). A community substance misuse group disseminated health education on the prevention of PVL-MRSA. Preventing infection in PWID presents a major challenge due to the impact of addiction on engagement with services and the significant barriers faced by our patients in observing infection prevention measures. PVL-MRSA is of major public health concern and outbreak investigation and mapping out local epidemiological patterns plays a vital role in preventing further spread throughout the community. Additionally, this work enables targeted and early treatment in patients in high-risk categories for disease. These cases of PVL-MRSA infection in PWID highlights the transmissibility, pathogenic potential and severe clinical disease spectrum within this population. Further work is required to tackle transmission and infection from this pathogenic strain.

Rejection of Fecal Immunochemical Tests Within the Lower Gastrointestinal Diagnostic Pathway: A Cohort Study.

The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) helps triage primary care patients at risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Improving FIT returns has received recent attention, however uncertainty exists regarding the accurate completion of samples provided for laboratory analysis. This study aims to identify the rejection rate of returned FIT samples and determine rejection causes. FIT samples from symptomatic patients within South Yorkshire, Bassetlaw, and North Derbyshire are processed at a central laboratory. Tests requests are made from 225 GP practices, which serve an estimated 2 million population. This study describes a retrospective review of FIT samples received in the central laboratory between 01/09/19 and 31/12/22. Locally held data was interrogated in March 2023 to determine the number of FIT samples received and rejected during the study period. Documented reasons for rejection were explored to identify common themes. Total FIT specimens received during the study period was 126 422. Of these, 5190 (4.1%) were rejected. Monthly rejection rates fell from 17.4% in September 2019 to 1.3% in December 2022 (P < .001). Sampling errors were the most frequent cause for FIT rejection (2151/5190), with other causes including: expired specimen; no sample collection date/ time, no request form, incomplete patient information and illegible handwriting. This is the first study exploring FIT rejection rates in symptomatic primary care patients, which shows improvements in rejection rates over time. Targeted interventions could improve rejection rates further, thereby reducing NHS resource use and costs and diagnostic delays.

Carbon Emission and Annual Income in the Britain in 2019: An Intra-regional Spatial Analysis

This study conducts a comprehensive spatial analysis of carbon emissions and annual income in Great Britain in 2019 using data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). Using spatial autocorrelation techniques, especially Local Morans I, I identify significant spatial clusters, where Low - Low carbon emission areas are located in Manchester, West Yorkshire, Dorset and Wiltshire. In contrast, High-High clusters occur in Moray, the Midlands, South Yorkshire and Lancashire, highlighting areas where carbon emissions are spatially correlated. In addition, this research uses geographically weighted regression (GWR) analysis to identify any existing relationship between annual income and carbon emissions with accounting of geography. The results show a consistent trend in the strength of this relationship, decreasing from northwest to southeast across the Great Britain. The highest coefficients are concentrated in eastern regions such as the South East, London and the East of England. This research aims to contribute to the understanding of spatial heterogeneity of the local environmental economics by informing relevant stakeholders and politicians about which regions are most in demand of targeted interventions. By identifying vulnerable areas, this study provides valuable insights into the UK's pursuit of sustainable development and low-carbon economy with the global movement towards green economy.

The socialist republic of South Yorkshire in the 1980s

The socialist republic of South Yorkshire in the 1980s

Exploring the prevalence of loneliness and social isolation in an analysis of Safeguarding Adults Reviews in South Yorkshire

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the links between being lonely and isolated, and increased risks of abuse for adults with care and support needs.Design/methodology/approachThematic analysis was used to explore features of loneliness and social isolation present in South Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) published since 2014.FindingsTen out of fifteen SARs indicated there had been issues of loneliness and/or social isolation for the person who was the subject of the SAR.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this paper are that it only included SARs from the South Yorkshire area. Future research should explore national and international perspectives on these issues.Practical implicationsSafeguarding Boards should include actions to address loneliness and social isolation as part of prevention strategies and services to develop approaches that can minimise or prevent abuse before it occurs. Practitioners should routinely explore whether the people they work with feel lonely and/or isolated and support people to take appropriate action to mitigate these risks.Originality/valueThis paper uses the existing body of literature about loneliness and social isolation to explore the risks of abuse and neglect for adults with care and support needs.

Mapping South Yorkshire employees by occupation industry

Mapping South Yorkshire employees by occupation industry

Audit of the use of continuous glucose monitoring in patients with type 1 diabetes at Broom Lane Medical Centre.

On 2 August 2022, it was announced by the NHS that all patients suffering from type 1 diabetes (T1DM) would be eligible for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Patients previously would have needed to scan or take a finger prick test at fixed time intervals to monitor their blood glucose. To investigate the number of patients registered to the practice who were eligible to switch over to CGM, and how many patients had already done so. Broom Lane Medical Centre (Rotherham, South Yorkshire) uses SystmOne to store patient notes. A search was conducted on 13 September 2022 generating data of 73 patients suffering from T1DM. The data were filtered to determine whether patients were using Libre glucose sensors or the traditional blood glucose testing strips. It was found that roughly half (50.7%) were on Freestyle Libre 1/2 sensors, which allow for flash glucose monitoring (FGM); 49.3% were using blood glucose testing strips. None of the patients was using CGM such as the Libre 3 sensor. It was noted that the group of individuals on the Libre sensor were of a younger age group (average age: 38.9) whereas the blood glucose testing strips age group were slightly older (average age: 45.8). Patients no longer need to live in fear of hyperglycaemia and maintain need for routine glucose measurements, allowing patients to live a more convenient and stress-free lifestyle.All of the T1DM patients (100%) registered at Broom Lane Medical Centre are eligible to be switched over to the CGM.

‘Rethinking camaraderie as emotional practices: deindustrialisation and deskilling in South Yorkshire coalfields, 1980s-2000s’

ABSTRACT Historical and sociological scholarship on the British coalfields has been driven by a sustained interest in community and class. Consequently, however, a focus on community can subsume camaraderie/comradeship as a category of historical analysis and its potential value as a framework for understanding change and continuity in practice, experience, and identity. Drawing on methodological tools from the history of emotions, and oral history interviews with ex-miners, this article employs the concept of ‘emotional practices’ to define camaraderie as a learnt, embodied, and affective workplace practice. Arising out of class processes, camaraderie constituted a workplace skill, important in communicating and mobilising ways of feeling and being, which oscillated between integration and alienation, alleviating and aggravating work experiences. It argues men’s lamentations over the loss of camaraderie should be understood as a profound emotional experience of deskilling, affecting how workers navigated and negotiated work and workplace transitions, and communicated with their co-workers and to themselves who they are. By integrating the history of work and the history of emotions into an analysis of camaraderie, it offers a contribution on the lasting effects of deindustrialisation on the body, experience, and identity, and towards a new way of conceptualising camaraderie as ‘emotional practices’.