Publications by authors named "Ivaylo Vassilev"

Introduction: Hospital readmission has a negative impact on older people and the healthcare system. Current hospital readmission research predominantly reports on clinical outcomes based on cross-sectional data. Research exploring patients' experiences and priorities is limited.

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Background: A Childhood Obesity Risk Estimation tool (SLOPE CORE) has been developed based on prediction models using routinely available maternity and early childhood data to estimate risk of childhood obesity at 4-5 years. This study aims to test the feasibility, acceptability and usability of SLOPE CORE within an enhanced health visiting (EHV) service in the UK, as one context in which this tool could be utilised.

Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to assess feasibility of implementing SLOPE CORE.

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Background: People with mental health difficulties often experience social isolation. The importance of interventions to enhance social networks and reduce this isolation is increasingly being recognised. However, the literature has not yet been systematically reviewed with regards to how these are best used.

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It is widely acknowledged that social network support plays an important role in the quality of life and illness management of breast cancer survivors. However, the factors and processes that enable and sustain such support are less well understood. This paper reports baseline findings from a prospective UK national cohort of 1,202 women with breast cancer (aged <50 years at diagnosis), recruited before starting treatment, conducted in 2016-2019.

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Background: In England, the responsibility to address food insecurity lies with local government, yet the prevalence of this social inequality is unknown in small subnational areas. In 2018 an index of small-area household food insecurity risk was developed and utilised by public and third sector organisations to target interventions; this measure needed updating to better support decisions in different settings, such as urban and rural areas where pressures on food security differ.

Methods: We held interviews with stakeholders (n = 14) and completed a scoping review to identify appropriate variables to create an updated risk measure.

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Social isolation and loneliness are significant concerns in community dwelling older adults due to associated poorer health outcomes, inadequate crises responsiveness and increased societal burdens of care and cost. Generating Engagement in Networks Involvement (GENIE) is an online evidence-based, client-centred social network tool piloted by community-aged care services in Sydney, Australia. GENIE facilitates access to community resources, activities and people to extend or re-establish a client's social connections.

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Background: Social integration, shared decision-making and personalised care are key elements of mental health and social care policy. Although these elements have been shown to improve service user and service-level outcomes, their translation into practice has been inconsistent and social isolation amongst service users persists.

Aim: To co-adapt, with service users, carers/supporters and health professionals, a web-based social network intervention, GENIE™, for use in secondary mental health services.

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Background: The use of research evidence to underpin public health practice and policy decisions in local government is strongly promoted but its implementation has not been straightforward. This study aimed to explore the factors, relationships and processes that contribute towards accessing, using, and generating research evidence that is relevant to local authority public health and social care and shapes its practice.

Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews with elected councillors, officers directly involved with public health and social care and with community members from one urban unitary authority in South England were conducted.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines how both online and offline social networks influence self-management and support for older patients with chronic respiratory conditions, aiming to enhance their health management.
  • Using a social network assessment tool and interviews, researchers analyzed the dynamics of social connections among participants, revealing different support benefits from small, close-knit versus larger, diverse networks.
  • Findings showed that while smaller networks provided emotional and physical support, larger networks helped participants share experiences and access more varied health information, leading to better illness management.
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Objective: The role of social networks, especially weaker ties (e.g. casual acquaintances and hobby groups), in self-management of long-term consequences of cancer is unexplored.

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Background: Social connections have been linked to the genesis and amelioration of mental health problems and thus have potential therapeutic value.

Purpose: To identify the current evidence base, assess risk of bias and synthesise findings on the effectiveness of social network interventions for people with mental health problems.

Methods: Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus) and grey literature databases were systematically searched from inception to October 2021 using free text syntax combining synonyms for 'mental health problems' and 'social network interventions'.

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Background And Aims: As demands on healthcare services grow, fiscal restrictions place increased emphasis on services outside of traditional healthcare settings. Previous research into long-term-conditions suggests that social network members (including weaker ties such as acquaintances, community groups, and healthcare professionals) play a key role in illness management. There is limited knowledge about the engagement of social networks in supporting people who are receiving medical interventions at home.

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When healthy people are part of an individual's social network, those individuals will have better dietary quality. Little, however, is known about whether social networks for food shopping, including both people and resources (e.g.

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Background: Primary care providers are well positioned to foster self-management through linking patients to community-based health and social services (HSSs). This study evaluated a web-based tool-GENIE (Generating Engagement in Network Involvement)-to support the self-management of adults. GENIE empowers patients to leverage their personal social networks and increase their access to HSSs.

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Background: Joint pain caused by osteoarthritis (OA) is highly prevalent and can be extremely debilitating. Programs to support self-management of joint pain can be effective; however, most programs are designed to build self-efficacy and rarely engage social networks. Digital interventions are considered acceptable by people with joint pain.

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Background: Self-Management Support (SMS), refers to the actions taken by individuals to recognise and manage their own health. It is increasingly recognised that individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) require additional support with their Self-management. Emerging evidence suggests that the use of a social network intervention can improve health outcomes and increase quality of life.

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Background: Successful facilitation of patient-centred interventions for self-management support has traditionally focussed on individual behaviour change. A social network approach to self-management support implicates the need for facilitation that includes an orientation to connecting to and mobilizing support and resources from other people and the local environment.

Objective: To identify the facilitation processes through which engagement with a social network approach to self-management is achieved.

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Background: Diet quality in older people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with better health and lung function. Social factors, such as social support, social networks and participation in activities, have been linked with diet quality in older age. A social network tool-GENIE (Generating Engagement in Network Involvement)-was implemented in a COPD community care context.

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The 'care transition' is characterised by reduced state involvement in chronic illness management in response to socio-political movements aimed at meeting the challenges presented by an increased prevalence of chronic illness. Amongst these changes has been online communities' rising importance in everyday interactions and attention is being increasingly paid towards the ways online contacts might contribute to self-management. Whilst research has illuminated the relevance of personal networks in long-term condition management, it is relevant to extend this work to consider the place of ties mediated online in this bricolage of support, including better understanding the work drawn from them and the strategies involved in eliciting it.

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Introduction: Loneliness and social isolation have been identified as significant public health concerns, but improving relationships and increasing social participation may improve health outcomes and quality of life. The aim of the Project About Loneliness and Social networks (PALS) study is to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a guided social network intervention within a community setting among individuals experiencing loneliness and isolation and to understand implementation of Generating Engagement in Network Involvement (Genie) in the context of different organisations.

Methods And Analysis: The PALS trial will be a pragmatic, randomised controlled trial comparing participants receiving the Genie intervention to a wait-list control group.

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Social networks have been found to have a valuable role in supporting the management of long-term conditions. However, the focus on the quality and how well self-management interventions work focus on individualised behavioural outcomes such as self-efficacy and there is a need for understanding that focuses on the role of wider collective processes in self-management support. Collective efficacy presents a potentially useful candidate concept in the development and understanding of self-management support interventions.

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Objective: To develop and evaluate the Collective Efficacy of Networks (CENS) questionnaire to measure perceived collective efficacy within personal social networks.

Methods: A mixed methods approach was used, guided by theory and with extensive input from adults with long-term conditions who completed the initial questionnaire (n = 78) with test-retest assessed at 2 weeks (n = 68). A second sample (n = 85) completed a postal questionnaire including CENS, theoretically linked constructs (self-efficacy, social support) and health outcomes (loneliness, mental and physical health).

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In Drosophila, a complex consisting of Calypso and ASX catalyzes H2A deubiquitination and has been reported to act as part of the Polycomb machinery in transcriptional silencing. The mammalian homologs of these proteins (BAP1 and ASXL1/2/3, respectively), are frequently mutated in various cancer types, yet their precise functions remain unclear. Using an integrative approach based on isogenic cell lines generated with CRISPR/Cas9, we uncover an unanticipated role for BAP1 in gene activation.

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Background: Personal and community networks are recognized as influencing and shaping self-management activities and practices. An acceptable intervention which facilitates self-management by mobilizing network support and improves network engagement has a positive impact on health and quality of life. This study aims to identify the processes through which such changes and engagement take place.

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There is evidence that relations between physicians and nurses within healthcare institutions might be shaped by informal aspects of such relations and by links to people external to the organization, with an impact on work performance. Social network analysis is underutilized in exploring such associations. The paper aims to describe physicians’ and nurses’ relationships outside their clinical units and to explore what kind of ties are related to job performance.

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