Jill Wales

Background: Economic inactivity, the proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 years who are not in the labour force, has increased significantly since 2020. Long-term sickness is the most common reason for economic inactivity. In the North of England, economic activity is lower, and levels of poor health in the working age population are higher, than national averages. The international literature reports many interventions designed to reduce economic inactivity including those designed to ameliorate the impact of health conditions on work participation, however, there is a need for high-quality evidence of what works for people with health conditions living in the United Kingdom (UK), and in particular for those living in areas of high deprivation such as the North of England. Methods: We conducted a systematic review preregistered with the open science framework. We searched AMED, ASSIA, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, PsycARTICLES, Science Direct, and Scopus to November 2023. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies consisted of experimental and observational studies published or in grey literature that examined the efficacy or effectiveness of interventions in reducing economic inactivity in people with health conditions living in the UK. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and full texts followed by data extraction and synthesis using the Narrative Synthesis Framework. Results: Twenty-seven reports detailing sixteen unique studies and eight different interventions met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. There was conflicting evidence for the effectiveness of sanctions on economic inactivity and the most robust evidence for classic individual placement and support although more evidence is needed for time-limited individual placement and support. Included studies highlighted the importance of providing specialist employment advice via skilled and experienced advisors but conflicting evidence on combining employment advice with specific psychological therapies. Conclusions: Overall, we found limited robust evidence of what works in reducing health related economic inactivity, particularly for populations experiencing elevated levels of socio-economic deprivation. Open science framework preregistration: https://osf.io/aucz9 .

Objective: The purpose of this study was to coproduce a smart-phone application for digital falls reporting in people with Parkinson disease (PD) and to determine usability using an explanatory mixed-methods approach. Methods: This study was undertaken in 3 phases. Phase 1 was the development phase, in which people with PD were recruited as co-researchers to the project. The researchers, alongside a project advisory group, coproduced the app over 6 months. Phase 2 was the implementation phase, in which 15 people with PD were invited to test the usability of the app. Phase 3 was the evaluation phase, in which usability was assessed using the systems usability scale by 2 focus groups with 10 people with PD from phase 2. Results: A prototype was successfully developed by researchers and the project advisory group. The usability of the app was determined as good (75.8%) by people with PD when rating using the systems usability scale. Two focus groups (n = 5 per group) identified themes of 1) usability, 2) enhancing and understanding management of falls, and 3) recommendations and future developments. Conclusions: A successful prototype of the iFall app was developed and deemed easy to use by people with PD. The iFall app has potential use as a self-management tool for people with PD alongside integration into clinical care and research studies. Impact: This is the first digital outcome tool to offer reporting of falls and near-miss fall events. The app may benefit people with PD by supporting self-management, aiding clinical decisions in practice, and providing an accurate and reliable outcome measure for future research. Lay Summary: A smartphone application designed in collaboration with people who have PD to record their falls was acceptable and easy to use by people with PD.