People with severe mental illness (SMI) have worse physical health than the general population. There is evidence that support from volunteers can help the mental health of people with SMI, but little evidence regarding the support they can give for physical health.

To evaluate the feasibility of an intervention where volunteer ‘Health Champions’ support people with SMI in managing their physical health.

A feasibility hybrid randomised controlled trial conducted in mental health teams with people with SMI. Volunteers delivered the Health Champions intervention. We collected data on the feasibility of delivering the intervention, and clinical and cost-effectiveness. Participants were randomised by a statistician independent of the research team, to either having a Health Champion or treatment as usual. Blinding was not done.

We recruited 48 participants: 27 to the intervention group and 21 to the control group. Data were analysed for 34 participants. No changes were found in clinical effectiveness for either group. Implementation outcomes measures showed high acceptability, feasibility and appropriateness, but with low response rates. No adverse events were identified in either group. Interviews with participants found they identified changes they had made to their physical health. The cost of implementing the intervention was £312 per participant.

The Health Champion intervention was feasible to implement, but the implementation of the study measures was problematic. Participants found the intervention acceptable, feasible and appropriate, and it led them to make changes in their physical health. A larger trial is recommended, with tailored implementation outcome measures.

Online grocery shopping could improve access to healthy food, but it may not be equally accessible to all populations – especially those at higher risk for food insecurity. The current study aimed to compare the socio-demographic characteristics of families who ordered groceries online v. those who only shopped in-store.

We analysed enrollment survey and 44 weeks of individually linked grocery transaction data. We used univariate χ2 and t-tests and logistic regression to assess differences in socio-demographic characteristics between households that only shopped in-store and those that shopped online with curbside pickup (online only or online and in-store).

Two Maine supermarkets.

863 parents or caregivers of children under 18 years old enrolled in two fruit and vegetable incentive trials.

Participants had a total of 32 757 transactions. In univariate assessments, online shoppers had higher incomes (P < 0 0001), were less likely to participate in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; P < 0 0001) and were more likely to be female (P = 0·04). Most online shoppers were 30–39 years old, and few were 50 years or older (P = 0·003). After controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, number of children, number of adults, income and SNAP participation, female primary shoppers (OR = 2·75, P = 0·003), number of children (OR = 1·27, P = 0·04) and income (OR = 3·91 for 186–300 % federal poverty line (FPL) and OR = 6·92 for >300 % FPL, P < 0·0001) were significantly associated with likelihood of shopping online.

In the current study of Maine families, low-income shoppers were significantly less likely to utilise online grocery ordering with curbside pickup. Future studies could focus on elucidating barriers and developing strategies to improve access.

Influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 became the predominant circulating strain in the United States during the 2013–2014 influenza season. Little is known about the epidemiology of severe influenza during this season.

A retrospective cohort study of severely ill patients with influenza infection in intensive care units in 33 US hospitals from September 1, 2013, through April 1, 2014, was conducted to determine risk factors for mortality present on intensive care unit admission and to describe patient characteristics, spectrum of disease, management, and outcomes.

A total of 444 adults and 63 children were admitted to an intensive care unit in a study hospital; 93 adults (20.9%) and 4 children (6.3%) died. By logistic regression analysis, the following factors were significantly associated with mortality among adult patients: older age (>65 years, odds ratio, 3.1 [95% CI, 1.4–6.9], P=.006 and 50–64 years, 2.5 [1.3–4.9], P=.007; reference age 18–49 years), male sex (1.9 [1.1–3.3], P=.031), history of malignant tumor with chemotherapy administered within the prior 6 months (12.1 [3.9–37.0], P<.001), and a higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (for each increase by 1 in score, 1.3 [1.2–1.4], P<.001).

Risk factors for death among US patients with severe influenza during the 2013–2014 season, when influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 was the predominant circulating strain type, shifted in the first postpandemic season in which it predominated toward those of a more typical epidemic influenza season.

Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;36(11):1251–1260

To compare commonly used dietary screeners for fat intake and fruit and vegetable intake with 24 h dietary recalls among low-income, overweight and obese African-American women.

Three telephone interviews were completed; measures included two 24 h dietary recalls (a weekday and weekend day) using the Nutrition Data System for Research software, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System’s (BRFSS) Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Module and the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Percentage Energy from Fat Screener.

Participants were recruited from three federally qualified health centres in south-west Georgia, USA.

Participants (n 260) were African-American women ranging in age from 35 to 65 years. About half were unemployed (49·6 %) and 58·7 % had a high-school education or less. Most were obese (88·5 %), with 39·6 % reporting a BMI≥40·0 kg/m2.

Mean fruit and vegetable intake reported from the 24 h dietary recall was 2·66 servings/d compared with 2·79 servings/d with the BRFSS measure. The deattenuated Pearson correlation was 0·22, with notable variation by weight status, education level and age. Mean percentage of energy from fat was 35·5 % as reported from the 24 h dietary recall, compared with 33·0 % as measured by the NCI fat screener. The deattenuated Pearson correlation was 0·38, also with notable variation by weight status, education level and age.

Validity of brief dietary intake measures may vary by demographic characteristics of the sample. Additional measurement work may be needed to accurately measure dietary intake in obese African-American women.

Many factors influence the type and quantity of services received by patients and, thus, the total cost of care. Knowledge of these factors can aid budgetary and service-planning decisions.

To investigate factors that influence the cost of caring for patients with severe psychotic illness.

Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine associations between baseline characteristics and subsequent 2-year total direct costs in 667 patients from the UK700 case management trial.

Significantly more money was spent on younger patients, those with longer duration of illness, those who had spent less time living independently and those who had spent longer in hospital for psychiatric reasons.

Total costs of caring for patients with severe psychotic illness appear to be influenced to a large extent by age, duration of illness and past levels of dependence on statutory services. The strength of these relationships is greater than the impact of illness severity.