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The challenge of measuring outcomes associated with area-based regeneration initiatives has been discussed extensively in the literature. Key issues relate to the availability of appropriate data and the need to have some indication of the counter-factual-that is, what would have happened in the absence of the initiative. In this paper, we offer an assessment of the utility of a method to construct virtual area models that can be used as 'controls' in the quasi-experimental evaluation of an urban regeneration initiative and comment on the availability of appropriate health outcome data to populate such models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years health and well-being have been 'mainstreamed' as a policy issue and have become the concern of a widening range of agencies. Simultaneously, increasing weight has been placed on the measurement of population health status, the implementation of evidence-based practice in public health and the more effective evaluation of policy interventions targeted at health gain and health inequalities. Thus, at a time when greater conceptual clarity is crucial, there are more stakeholders in 'health', each with a potentially different perspective and understanding of what 'health' is. In this paper the authors explore the need for greater conceptual clarity in relation to health, using the term 'well-being' as an exemplar. They draw on findings from a research project undertaken with community and professional groups in the Black Country and Shropshire that explored shared ways to measure aspects, and determinants, of health. They suggest that a lack of attention to health concepts and their clarification, as indicated by the use of 'well-being' as an ill-defined tag to health, is having a negative impact on public health's ability to deliver health gain, and that commitment to clarifying concepts would lead to a range of benefits. At present, however, the term 'well-being' muddies the waters, acting more as an open-ended catch-all category than a clearly considered component of 'health'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how residents of disadvantaged communities believe where they live influences their health. The authors describe focus group work they have undertaken with older and younger adults resident in three neighbourhoods in the West Midlands region of England, which are participating in the New Deal for Communities initiative. Drawing on the narratives of residents, examples are given of specific 'pathways' they described linking place to health experiences. Resident discussions highlight a number of key points. First, health was conceived in physical and non-physical terms: participants spoke of health not only in terms of physical disease or illness, but also as 'being happy', 'having confidence', 'contentment' and 'peace of mind'. Second, place was seen by residents to impact on health through three core levers - physical structures (for example housing quality, visual amenity), social structures (for example, friendliness of neighbours, community norms) and service provision (for example, public transport, local police). Although the influence of each lever was described separately in certain instances, their interplay with health was often complex and intertwined. Third, although groups were not prompted to compare themselves with others, discussions frequently included comparison with other areas, and also consideration of what 'others' must think of them. Finally, it was noted that 'fear' was a common node in many of the pathways that residents described linking aspects of place with their health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community participation is a key characteristic of the British Labour Government's New Deal for Communities (NDC). However, the National Evaluation reports serious difficulties involving local communities in the programme. This article assesses the NDC's potential as a site for bottom-up community participation by reviewing government policy guidance, programme notes and strategy documents. We identify themes and mechanisms within the programme that facilitate and limit participation. It is argued that if NDC is a community-led programme, it is community-led in the sense that government decides how the community will be involved, why they will be involved, what they will do and how they will do it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, health and well-being have been 'mainstreamed' as a policy issue and have become the concern of a widening range of agencies. Simultaneously, increasing weight has been placed on the measurement of population health status, the implementation of evidence-based practice in public health and the more effective evaluation of policy interventions targeted at health gain and health inequalities. Thus, at a time when greater conceptual clarity is crucial, there are more stakeholders in 'health', each with a potentially different perspective and understanding of what 'health' is. In this study, we explore the need for greater conceptual clarity in relation to health, using the term 'well-being' as an exemplar. We draw on findings from a research project undertaken with community and professional groups in the Black Country and Shropshire that explored shared ways to measure aspects, and determinants, of health. We suggest a lack of attention to health concepts and their clarification, as indicated by the use of 'well-being' as an ill-defined tag to health, is having a negative impact on public health's ability to deliver health gain, and that commitment to clarifying concepts would lead to a range of benefits. At present, however, the term 'well-being' muddies the waters, acting more as an open-ended catch-all category than a clearly considered component of 'health'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has examined students’ perceptions of the factors influencing learning during initial hospital placements and whether differences in perceived experiences were evident between students attending new and established teaching hospitals. Five focus groups were conducted with Year III students at the University of Birmingham Medical School (UBMS): three with students attending three established teaching hospitals and two with students attached to a new teaching hospital (designated as part of the UBMS expansion programme). Extensive variation in student perception of hospital experiences was evident at the level of teaching hospital, teaching firm and individual teacher. Emergent themes were split into two main categories: ‘students’ perceptions of teaching and the teaching environment’ and ‘the new hospital learner’. Themes emerging that related to variation in student experience included the amount of structured teaching, enthusiasm of teachers, grade of teachers, specialty of designated firms and the number of students. The new teaching hospital was generally looked upon favourably by students in comparison to established teaching hospitals. Many of the factors influencing student experience relate to themes grouped under the ‘new hospital learner’, describing the period of adjustment experienced by students during their first encounter with this new learning environment. Interventions to improve student experience might be aimed at organisations and individuals delivering teaching. However, factors contributing to the student experience, such as the competing demand to teaching of heavy clinical workloads, are outside the scope of medical school intervention. In the absence of fundamental change, mechanisms to equip students with ‘survival skills’ as self-directed hospital learners should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]