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During the early years (2020–2021) of the COVID‐19 pandemic, relatively little attention focused on experiences of people with long‐lasting symptoms, particularly young adults who were commonly understood to be invulnerable to serious effects of the virus. Drawing on narrative interviews with 15 adults in their twenties and living in the UK when they became ill with long COVID, we explore contextual factors which made their long COVID illness experience, and the wholescale disruption to their lives, challenging. We propose that existing adaptations of the concept of biographical disruption are problematic for this group, and instead suggest that 'biographical retrogression' may more accurately reflect these young adults' experiences. For many of these young adults, their illness occurred at a crucial stage in forming or solidifying (presumed) adult trajectories. Secondly, the recency of long COVID did not allow for comparison with an existing 'grand narrative' of recovery, so the future course of their illness was not just unknown for them as individuals; there was no prognostic map against which to assess their symptoms. Thirdly, the lives of people with long COVID have been disrupted in the context of global societal disruption by the same virus, rendering their experiences both topical yet invisible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Points: Question: Do text messages with or without financial incentives promote weight loss in men with obesity? Findings: In this randomized trial that included 585 men with obesity, text messaging with behavioral messages combined with a financial incentive resulted in a 5% weight loss at 12 months, compared with weight loss of 3% for text messaging alone, and 1% for the control group. The difference in weight loss was statistically significant for the comparison between text messaging with financial incentives and the control group but not between the text messaging alone and the control group. Meaning: In men with obesity, a 12-month intervention consisting of text messaging with financial incentives resulted in modest but statistically significant weight loss compared with control. Importance: Effective weight loss interventions are needed for men with obesity. Objective: To determine whether an intervention that combined text messaging with financial incentives attained significant weight loss at the 12-month follow-up compared with the control group and whether an intervention of text messaging alone attained significant weight loss at the 12-month follow-up compared with the control group. Design, Setting, and Participants: An assessor-blinded randomized clinical trial conducted in Belfast, Bristol, and Glasgow areas in the UK. A total of 585 men with body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more were enrolled between July 2021 and May 2022. Final follow-up occurred June 2023. Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to 12 months of behavioral focused text messages combined with financial incentives (n = 196), 12 months of behavioral focused text messages alone (n= 194), or a waiting list (control group; n= 195). The financial incentive consisted of a monetary reward that was lost if weight loss targets were not met. All participants received weight management information and a pedometer at baseline. Main Outcomes and Measures: The 2 primary comparisons were the 12-month comparison of within-participant weight change between the text messaging with financial incentive group and the control group and the comparison between the text messaging alone group and the control group (minimum clinically important difference, 3%). The P value defined for statistical significance was P <.025 for each comparison. Results: Of the 585 men (mean [SD] age, 50.7 [13.3] years; mean weight, 118.5 [19.9] kg; mean BMI, 37.7 [5.7]; 525 [90%] White), 227 (39%) lived in postal code areas with lower socioeconomic status, and 426 (73%) completed the 12-month follow-up. At the 12-month follow-up, compared with the control group, the mean percent weight change was significantly greater in the text messaging with financial incentive group (mean difference, −3.2%; 97.5% CI, −4.6% to −1.9%; P <.001) but was not significantly greater in the text messaging alone group (mean difference, −1.4%; 97.5% CI, −2.9% to 0.0, P =.05). The mean (SD) weight changes were −5.7 (7.4) kg for the text messaging with financial incentives group, −3.0 (7.5) kg for the text messaging alone group, and −1.5 (6.6) kg for the control group. The 12-month mean (SD) percentage weight changes from baseline were −4.8% (6.1%) for the text messaging with financial incentives group, −2.7% (6.3%) for text messaging alone group, and −1.3% (5.5%) for the control group. Of 366 adverse events reported, the most common were infections (83 [23%]). Of the 23 serious adverse events (6.3%), 12 (52%) occurred in the text messaging with financial incentives group, 5 (22%) in the texts messaging alone group, and 6 (26%) in the control group. None were considered related to participating in a trial group. Conclusion and Relevance: Among men with obesity, an intervention with text messaging with financial incentive significantly improved weight loss compared with a control group, whereas text messaging alone was not significantly better than the control condition. These findings support text messaging combined with financial incentives to attain weight loss in men with obesity. Trial Registration: isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN91974895 This randomized clinical trial assesses whether text messaging combined with financial incentives or text messages alone could help men with obesity lose weight at 12 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst concerns that young people's mental health is deteriorating, it is important to explore their understandings of symptoms of mental health problems and beliefs around help seeking. Drawing on focus group data from Scottish school pupils, we demonstrate how they understood symptoms of mental health problems and how their characterisations of these symptoms as "rare" and "weird" informed participants' perceptions that peers, teachers and parents would respond to disclosure in stigmatising ways. Consequently, participants suggested that they would delay or avoid disclosing symptoms of mental health problems. We highlight subtle gender and age differences and outline implications for policy and practice. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Social support is essential for weight loss but we know surprisingly little about how family relations are (re)negotiated when men attempt to lose weight. We use qualitative data from a [...]

Abstract Background "Smoke-Free" legislation prohibiting smoking in all enclosed public places was introduced in March 2006. This qualitative study presents insights from bar workers about their observations of the changing social bar environment, changing patrons' behaviours and challenges bar workers have faced in managing smoke-free legislation. Methods Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted between November 2006 and January 2007 with a purposively-selected sample of bar workers, identified from a larger quantitative study evaluating the impact of the legislation in Scotland [the Bar Workers' Health and Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure project (BHETSE)]. Results Bar workers all spoke of the improvements the legislation had brought to their working lives and the greater comfort it appeared to offer patrons. Bar workers reported that patrons were generally quick to accept and comply with the new law, and that families had become a greater feature of pub life since the legislation. However, they expressed concerns that older men seemed to have had most difficulty adjusting to the legislation and lack of knowledge about the best practices they should adopt in order to reduce the risks of unattended drinks being spiked and of anti-social behaviour associated with patrons moving outside to smoke. Conclusion Smoke-free legislation is changing the social context of smoking in Scotland. Further research to assess the impact the legislation is having on older male smokers and on the incidence of drink spiking would be useful. More specifically, bar workers would benefit from guidance on how to manage issues arising from patrons moving outside to smoke.

In this paper we use a social practice approach to explore men's experience of Football Fans in Training ( FFIT), a group-based weight management programme for men that harnesses men's symbolic attachment to professional football clubs to engage them in lifestyle change. FFIT is delivered by community coaches in clubs' stadia and is gender-sensitised in relation to context, content and style of delivery. Using a 'toolkit' of concepts from the work of Bourdieu, Goffman and Durkheim we analysed data from 13 focus group discussions with participants, and fieldwork notes from programme observations to investigate the appeal and success of FFIT, and how it worked to support change. Our analysis builds on our work on the importance of shared symbolic commitment to the football club and being with 'men like me' to understand how the interaction context facilitated 'effervescent' experiences. These experiences encouraged men to make changes to their diet and physical activity, talk about them, practice performing them and implement them in their lives. Thus a social practice approach illuminated the social processes through which lifestyle change was achieved, and we argue that it can deepen and enrich both intervention design and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Recent qualitative research found young men reporting that an expectation that eating disorders (EDs) mainly affect young women led them, and others, to only recognise their symptoms when their ED had become entrenched. This raises questions about how these stereotypes persist. We therefore explored how EDs in males were represented in articles published in UK newspapers over a 10-year period (7.12.2002-7.12.2012), specifically attending to whether newsprint media represent EDs in males as 'gender appropriate', 'gender anomalous' or 'gender neutral'. Design: A qualitative thematic analysis of UK newspaper articles. Methods: We searched two databases, Newsbank and LexisNexis, for newspaper articles including ED and male terms in the lead/first paragraph. Following de-duplication, 420 articles were scrutinised; 138 met inclusion criteria for detailed textual analysis and were imported into NVivo10. Findings: The number of articles peaked in 2008 when a UK politician announced that he had experienced bulimia nervosa. Analysis of how the articles portrayed male ED-related characterisations and experiences revealed that they conveyed ambiguous messages about EDs in males. Despite apparently aiming to dispel stereotypes that only young women experience EDs and to address stigma surrounding EDs in males, many aspects of the articles, including repetition of phrases such as 'a young woman's illness', serve to reinforce messages that EDs are inherently 'female' and so 'anomalous' for men. Conclusions: Newspaper articles represent men with EDs as atypical of men, as a result of having an ED (and any feminising or demasculinising characteristics associated with this), and as atypical of people with EDs, who are still usually portrayed as teenage girls. Such media representations frame a cultural paradigm in which there is an expectation that men may feel shame about or strive to conceal EDs, potentially contributing to men with EDs delaying help-seeking, gaining late access to treatments and reducing chances of successful outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family sociologists often conduct research which generates and compares parents' and children's perspectives as a way of ensuring children's voices are heard and building an understanding of family practices and cultures. It is far less common, however, for children to be interviewed in the presence of parents or to interview families as a group. Primarily, this is a response to concerns that, given generational power relations, the presence of parents may serve to influence, police, or silence children's voices. However, by making such methodological assumptions and, in turn, not generating group accounts with parents and children, we may be missing opportunities to add further methods to our toolkit and additional analytical dimensions to our explorations and understandings of families' and children's lives. In this article, we reflect on our experiences of conducting family group interviews as the second wave of a qualitative longitudinal study, involving parents and children who gave individual accounts at the first and third/final waves. We explore the factors involved in designing this method into a research project, the challenges of conducting family group interviews, and of analysing the data produced. In so doing, we contribute to the methodological debate on researching with children in the context of families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of obesity in men in the UK is amongst the highest in Europe but men are less likely than women to use existing weight loss programmes. Developing weight management programmes which are appealing and acceptable to men is a public health priority. Football Fans in Training (FFIT), a men-only weight management programme delivered to groups of men at top professional football clubs, encourages men to lose weight by working with, not against, cultural ideals of masculinity. To inform further development of interventions in football club settings, the current study explored who is attracted to FFIT and why overweight/obese men choose to take part. Methods: A mixed-methods study analysing baseline data on 747 men aged 35-65 years with BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2 who were participants in a randomised controlled trial of FFIT, and data from 13 focus group discussions with 63 men who had attended the programme. Results: Objectively-measured mean body mass index was 35.3 kg/m2 (sd 4.9). Overall over 90% of participants were at very high or extremely high risk of future ill-health. Around three-quarters of participants in all age groups were at ‘very high’ risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease (72%, 73% and 80% of men aged 35-44, 45-54 and 55-64 years respectively). A further 21%, 16% and 13% were at ‘extremely high’ risk. Qualitative data revealed that the powerful ‘draw’ of the football club attracted men otherwise reluctant to attend existing weight management programmes. The location and style of delivery of early FFIT sessions fostered team spirit; men appreciated being with others ‘like them’ and the opportunity to undertake weight management in circumstances that enhanced physical and symbolic proximity to something they valued highly, the football club. Conclusions: The delivery of a weight management intervention via professional football clubs attracted men at high risk of ill-health. The setting enabled men to join a weight management programme in circumstances that felt ‘right’ rather than threatening to themselves as men. FFIT is an example of how to facilitate health promotion activities in a way that is consistent with, rather than challenging to, common ideals of masculinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about children's views and experiences of their parents’ work−life reconciliation and how these are negotiated in everyday family practices. This article examines families' experiences of work−life reconciliation from both children's and parents' perspectives, drawing on a qualitative longitudinal study with 14 families in Scotland. Such experiences have implications for the spatial and temporal construction of family and childhood in the UK, where working parenthood is increasingly the norm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of systematic review literature searches that use either generic or specific terms for health outcomes. Design: Prospective comparative study of two electronic literature search strategies. The 'generic' search included general terms for health such as 'adolescent health', 'health status', 'morbidity', etc. The 'specific' search focused on terms for a range of specific illnesses, such as 'headache', 'epilepsy', 'diabetes mellitus', etc. Data sources: The authors searched Medline, Embase, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO and the Education Resources Information Center for studies published in English between 1992 and April 2010. Main outcome measures: Number and proportion of studies included in the systematic review that were identified from each search. Results: The two searches tended to identify different studies. Of 41 studies included in the final review, only three (7%) were identified by both search strategies, 21 (51%) were identified by the generic search only and 17 (41%) were identified by the specific search only. 5 of the 41 studies were also identified through manual searching methods. Studies identified by the two ELS differed in terms of reported health outcomes, while each ELS uniquely identified some of the review's higher quality studies. Conclusions: Electronic literature searches (ELS) are a vital stage in conducting systematic reviews and therefore have an important role in attempts to inform and improve policy and practice with the best available evidence. While the use of both generic and specific health terms is conventional for many reviewers and information scientists, there are also reviews that rely solely on either generic or specific terms. Based on the findings, reliance on only the generic or specific approach could increase the risk of systematic reviews missing important evidence and, consequently, misinforming decision makers. However, future research should test the generalisability of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'What do you want to be when you grow up?' is a question often asked of children yet little is known about how children and their parents think about their future in terms of employment. This paper, based on qualitative longitudinal research with 14 families, explores children's and parents' narratives about children's employment futures, illuminating the values, social relations and structures through which such narratives are formed. The paper reflects on the extent to which children's present lives are future orientated and the ways this future orientation manifests itself in everyday life. The findings highlight the hopes expressed by parents and the nature of parental influence in shaping their children's futures. While children's futures were not developed as precise plans, there were many ways in which they were being 'planned'. Choices were expanded or narrowed and trajectories mapped out through parents' and children's hopes, dreams and assumptions for what the future would hold. This 'planning' was framed by the families' individualised biographies and their socio-economic position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is not uncommon to explore the views of parents and children in qualitative research with families. Yet the implications and challenges of a multiple perspective approach often remain at a relatively taken-for-granted level. In this article we draw on our experience across a range of qualitative interview-based projects, focusing in particular on two case studies, to illustrate the practical working out of the challenges posed by multiple perspective research in families. The implications of research with parents and children are discussed in relation to two themes - power and truth. This discussion reflects on the challenges and benefits of multiple perspective research at different points in the research process. It is not the intention of this article to try to provide definitive 'answers' to some of the challenges posed. Rather we aim to open up discussion by reflecting on a range of scenarios, offering suggestions based on our experience, and so, allow the reader to reflect on the particularities of their own research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from a qualitative longitudinal study which investigated processes of negotiation between parents and their primary school-aged children in addressing issues raised by working parenthood. Three waves of fieldwork were conducted with 14 families living in Scotland under differing socio-economic and labour market conditions. Individual interviews were conducted with parents and children at waves 1 and 3, while wave 2 entailed family interviews. Experiences of unfolding conditions of economic uncertainty and recession were explored with a focus on how families were making sense of these changes in terms of their personal projects, aims and challenges. The data revealed three types of recession experience and showed how, within each, notions of economising or adapting to changing economic circumstances were articulated and incorporated into everyday family practices to differing extents. The findings also demonstrate the importance of understanding families' reactions to the recession against the backdrop of their financial histories and anticipated futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: "Smoke-Free" legislation prohibiting smoking in all enclosed public places was introduced in March 2006. This qualitative study presents insights from bar workers about their observations of the changing social bar environment, changing patrons' behaviours and challenges bar workers have faced in managing smoke-free legislation. Methods: Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted between November 2006 and January 2007 with a purposively-selected sample of bar workers, identified from a larger quantitative study evaluating the impact of the legislation in Scotland [the Bar Workers' Health and Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure project (BHETSE)]. Results: Bar workers all spoke of the improvements the legislation had brought to their working lives and the greater comfort it appeared to offer patrons. Bar workers reported that patrons were generally quick to accept and comply with the new law, and that families had become a greater feature of pub life since the legislation. However, they expressed concerns that older men seemed to have had most difficulty adjusting to the legislation and lack of knowledge about the best practices they should adopt in order to reduce the risks of unattended drinks being spiked and of anti-social behaviour associated with patrons moving outside to smoke. Conclusion: Smoke-free legislation is changing the social context of smoking in Scotland. Further research to assess the impact the legislation is having on older male smokers and on the incidence of drink spiking would be useful. More specifically, bar workers would benefit from guidance on how to manage issues arising from patrons moving outside to smoke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nPoints of interestLong Covid is an activity-limiting condition that causes significant long-term impairment that can last up to one year or longer and impacts labour participation. ‘Episodic disability’ is an apt conceptual framework to comprehend the fluctuating impairments of those with Long Covid and the barriers they encounter when returning to employment. Drawing on 65 narrative interviews, conducted between 2021 and 2022, from three UK studies involving adults with Long Covid, this article demonstrates how participants experienced a ‘spoiled identity’, had their ‘disability’ status challenged due to existing in-between (dis)ability classifications and experienced their ‘bodies-at-odds’ with their working environment. The additional ‘adjustment’ and ‘administrative’ work of navigating disabling systems required participants to balance workloads to avoid relapse. Utilising ‘episodic disability’ demonstrates that current sickness absence, return to work and welfare policies are disabling and unfit for purpose, requiring participants to take sole responsibility for the additional ‘rehabilitative work’ involved in returning to employment.There is very little advice for people with Long Covid on how best to return to work. Long Covid is not yet officially classified as a ‘disability’ in the UK.People with Long Covid may have symptoms others cannot see and symptoms that vary. One day symptoms may be very severe and debilitating and other times they are less severe.People with Long Covid report sadness, guilt and fear about being unable to work as well as they had done before.Because Long Covid symptoms can be invisible to others and their severity is unpredictable, some people said they felt disbelieved about how serious their symptoms were and said that people at work did not realise they needed workplace adaptations.Sickness absence policies that classify employees simply as either ‘able’ or ‘disabled’ do not work for people with unpredictable illnesses that vary in their severity, like Long Covid.There is very little advice for people with Long Covid on how best to return to work. Long Covid is not yet officially classified as a ‘disability’ in the UK.People with Long Covid may have symptoms others cannot see and symptoms that vary. One day symptoms may be very severe and debilitating and other times they are less severe.People with Long Covid report sadness, guilt and fear about being unable to work as well as they had done before.Because Long Covid symptoms can be invisible to others and their severity is unpredictable, some people said they felt disbelieved about how serious their symptoms were and said that people at work did not realise they needed workplace adaptations.Sickness absence policies that classify employees simply as either ‘able’ or ‘disabled’ do not work for people with unpredictable illnesses that vary in their severity, like Long Covid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media presentations of health issues affect evaluations of personal susceptibility to particular illnesses and hence help-seeking behaviours. We examined data on prevalence of eating disorders (EDs--which are often characterised as "female ") among males in: scientific literature; readily-accessible web-based information; and UK newspaper articles (published 7/ 12/2002-7 / 12/2012). This revealed conflicting statistics. Academic papers suggest men comprise around 25% of community-based samples, but much lower proportions (10% or less) of clinic samples. Websites and newspapers presented widely differing statistics both on prevalence overall (numbers with EDs in the UK ranged from 60,000 to 2.7 million), and in men (generally suggesting they constituted 10-25% of those with EDs), rarely distinguishing between diagnosed and non-diagnosed samples. By 2011, newspapers were more consistent on overall numbers with EDs in the UK (1.6 million) and the proportion who were men (20%), drawing on one website as the authoritative source. Conflicting statistics may confuse men searching for ED (or other) health-related information, lead to underestimations of male susceptibility to EDs and/or reinforce inappropriate stereotypes of EDs as confined to adolescent girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]