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Research has highlighted problems in accessing mental health services for people from minority ethnic groups. Much of this literature is focused on adults. The Minority Voices study aimed to identify and describe the perceptions and use of mental health services from the viewpoint of black and minority ethnic (BME) young people aged between 12 and 25 in England and Wales, and to examine initiatives designed to improve the access to, and acceptability of, services for these young people. It used a mixed methods approach, including a literature review, national service mapping, in‐depth interviews and focus groups in four sample areas and action research in preparing materials designed by BME young people. A number of issues that impede access to services, and that are specific to them, were identified and explored with young people from BME groups. These include concerns related to discrimination and racism, confidentiality, family and community pressures, uncertainty about any help they may receive, and marked fears of the stigma that surrounds mental health difficulties. Within services, a lack of capacity of targeted services and of cultural competence were highlighted. The research concluded that there is a need to improve awareness of mental health and information about services among BME communities, and for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to work with these communities to explore ways in which acceptable and appropriate mental health expertise can be made more readily available through both informal and mainstream provision.

Examines the twelfth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

In the disaster mitigation community, one of the most important tasks is that of information transfer prior to, and following natural disasters. The purpose of this research project was to increase the understanding of key aspects (such as attractiveness and educational value) that influence the utility and effectiveness of educational media tools for home resilience during hurricanes.

A total of three types of educational media were developed – pulp board coasters, tri‐fold pamphlets, and a web hosted video. The contents of these media were developed based on data from federal agencies, as well as scholarly articles and technical reports to form an inclusive body of information. Several focus groups of homeowners and potential homeowners were held to evaluate participant's preference of these three media tools with regards to their usefulness for making homes safer during natural disasters, specifically during wind and wind‐driven rain events (e.g. hurricanes).

Analysis of the focus groups indicate that media use (based on disaster prevention home resilience practices) is highly dependent on the target audience or the stakeholder group (e.g. consumers look for different information content as compared to the builders). While all three media were indicated by the participants to have merit, the pamphlet was preferred aesthetically and was most likely to be used by homeowners. In addition, the study found that the usefulness of the tools depends on the ease of understanding and implementation of the best practices and ease of access to the tools (targeted location for each media).

The findings of the study have implications for the entire disaster educational community. Although the findings are mostly qualitative and the small sample used in the focus groups limits the generalize ability to the entire population of the USA, nevertheless, future educational information and tools used should follow easy to understand language, be illustrated with examples and pictures, and be placed at convenient locations for homeowners to access.

By understanding how to better reach homeowners with information on home resilience, information can be more effectively disseminated to the public which allows for efficient use of tools as well as funds.

The proportion of those over the age of 65 years in black and minority ethnic (BME) groups in England and Wales is increasing. The prevalence of dementia and depression among BME elders from different groups in the United Kingdom is generally similar to or higher than in indigenous white British elders. Two methods were used to provide a conservative estimate of the absolute number of cases of dementia and depression among BME elders. Data on prevalence from published studies of different BME elderly groups and the number of those over the age of 65 years from different BME groups in the general population in the 2001 population census were used for analysis. The most conservative estimates of the absolute number of cases of dementia among BME elders were 7270 and 10,786 for the two methods of analysis; the corresponding figures for depression were 33,559 and 52,980. There is a significant amount of psychiatric morbidity among the elderly from BME groups. A multi‐faceted approach is needed to ensure that commissioning, design, development and delivery of culturally capable, appropriate and sensitive old age psychiatry actually occurs and improves the equity of service access by BME elders.

The black and ethnic minority (BME) elderly population in England and Wales is increasing. As dementia is an age‐related disorder and the prevalence of depression in old age is high, the absolute number of cases of dementia and depression will increase among BME elders. This has implications for the development and delivery of old age psychiatry services (OAPSs) for BME elders. Demographic data pertaining to the elderly from BME groups in the 2001 population census were analysed in detail to evaluate the implications for development and delivery of OAPSs for BME elders. The demographic changes identified have important future implications for the development and delivery of OAPSs for BME elders. Unless they are addressed systematically, BME elders will continue to harbour untreated, hidden psychiatric morbidity. Strategies to ensure that this vulnerable group of elderly are identified and provided with accessible, acceptable and culturally sensitive OAPSs should be developed.