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Peer support work is increasingly recognised as an adjunct support across various systems of health and social care, and is a core principle in trauma-informed care. Those accessing a wide range of human and social services may have experienced prior trauma. As such, trauma-informed care is a universal organisational model that seeks to realise, recognise and respond to trauma, while limiting possible re-traumatisation when individuals are engaging with systems of care. Peer support can play an integral role in supporting those who have experienced prior traumas. However, trauma does not exist in isolation and the wider environment influences, moderates and contributes to how an individual experiences and heals from trauma. Peers can play an important role helping to alleviate some of the environmental influences by helping to build the capacity of those that use health and social care services.

Contextual to the recognition of the complex interplay between health and behavioral aspects, integrated behavioral health (IBH) has emerged. Although this model is becoming popular in the Western world, its presence in the global context is not promising. This paper aims to explore the need for IBH in India and address its barriers to implementation and possible solutions.

We analyzed the case of IBH and its potential implications for India using the current evidence base, authors' reflections and experience of implementing similar programs.

This paper identifies contextual factors, including increased instances of non-communicable diseases and psychosocial and cultural determinants of health, that necessitate the implementation of IBH programs in India. The key features of different IBH models and their applicability are outlined. The current status of IBH and potential challenges in implementation in India in terms of human resources and other factors are delineated. We also discuss the potential models for implementing IBH in India.

Integrating behavioral health in primary care is considered an effective and sustainable model to promote health and well-being across various target populations. Towards this end, this paper is the first to discuss the contextual factors of IBH in India. It is a significant addition to the knowledge base on IBH and its possible implementation barriers and strategies in low- and middle-income countries.

The Healthy at Home (H@H) is an older adult day program that is in Toronto in Ontario, Canada. This is an integrated health and social care (IHSC) program that seeks to address the social isolation and health needs of a highly vulnerable older adult population living in the north Toronto communities. These are Russian-speaking Jewish older adult immigrants. The case provides a detailed description of the factors that enabled a diverse group of health and social care organizations to integrate their respective services to address the health and social care needs of their clients using a culturally appropriate and trauma-informed lens.

A case description comprised of key informant interviews, and a focus group was undertaken of representatives from health and social care organizations serving clients in the north Toronto area.

This case description identified eleven integration factors that enabled organizations to provide integrated care using a culturally appropriate and trauma-informed lens, and they include developing an aligned vision and goals, communications, an inter-organization culture of inter-dependence, champions, pre-existing relationships, and champions. In addition, operating in the not-for-profit sector, sector differences, enabling public policies and a strong sense of community have influenced integration of services across the organizational partners to serve its high-risk client group.

This case description lends insights into how IHSC can be leveraged to provide culturally appropriate and trauma-informed care for highly vulnerable client/patient populations. A lesson learnt is that social care partners can engage in successful integration leadership in joint health and social care integration efforts.

Peer work would previously have been associated with having a lived experience of mental health conditions and working with people in a relatable way to model that context. However, peer support work has since embraced a wider composition from the generic context, seeing that ethnic minorities face many health, social and psychological challenges, especially those deemed Refugees/Asylum Seekers (International Protection Applicants) on their journey to resettlement in host countries. The Health Service Executive's Social Inclusion office plays a crucial role in responding to the health needs of service users from underserved communities. The health and care needs of people from diverse ethnic, cultural and religious communities fall within the remit of the Health Service Executive Social Inclusion office nationally. The context for peer work in ethnic minority communities is that it is a pilot programme evaluated and endorsed as a national programme by the National Intercultural Health Group. It is evidence-based and aligned with national strategy/policy, with training options available to peer support workers. In the Southeast region of Ireland, communities vulnerable to health inequality targeted by the Social Inclusion team would range from Roma to Refugees and International Protection Applicants – formally known as Asylum Seekers. This chapter will focus on these ethnic populations and how peer support work is delivered in these contexts.

Racism occurs in many ways and varies across countries, evolving and adapting to sociocultural history, as well as contemporary economic, political and technological changes. This chapter discusses the multilevel dimensions of racism and its diverse manifestations across multiracial societies. It examines how different aspects of racism are mediated interpersonally, and embedded in institutions, social structures and processes, that produce and sustain racial inequities in power, resources and lived experiences. Furthermore, this chapter explores the direct and indirect ways racism is expressed in online and offline platforms and details its impacts on various groups based on their intersecting social and cultural identities. Targets of racism are those who primarily bear the adverse effects. However, racism also affects its perpetrators in many ways, including by limiting their social relations and attachments, and by imposing social and economic costs. This chapter thus analyses the many aspects of racism both from targets and perpetrators' perspectives.

Many countries have a significant vaccination hesitancy rate regardless of vaccine prosperity. This study aims to identify factors restricting hesitancy and fostering vaccination intention and uptake against coronavirus in Vietnam.

The study has proposed an extended COM-B model based on the Theoretical Domains Framework to explore critical factors influencing vaccination intention and uptake in Vietnam. A database was collected from 1,015 suitable respondents who had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and ten hypotheses were tested by the partial least squares structural equation model.

The findings showed that six factors, including knowledge, experience, resource, social influence, belief and reinforcement, have either direct or indirect positive effects on COVID-19 vaccine uptake behavior. The output also indicated that personal experience positively affects vaccination intention and uptake.

This study contributes to understanding COVID-19 vaccine uptake behavior by identifying several direct and indirect factors of the extended COM-B model that include “knowledge” and “reinforcement” in shaping behavior change. The study adds to the literature on COVID-19 vaccine uptake behavior and could help achieve higher vaccination rates, ultimately leading to better control of the pandemic.

Greener on the Outside for Prisons (GOOP) is a therapeutic horticulture programme targeting the high levels of complex health and social care needs in prisons in England. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns led to unprecedented disruption in prisons in England. This paper examines the experiences of prisoners both during and post-lockdowns in four prisons, to understand the effects of participation in GOOP on health and wellbeing after the disruption of restrictions, and identify implications for developing this programme further.

The paper is based on original qualitative data gathered from in-depth narrative-based interviews and focus groups with prisoners and staff in four English prisons. Audio data was transcribed and subject to a thematic analysis, drawing from a realist-informed lens.

Thematic analysis revealed five key themes: reimagining the GOOP context; increasing empathy between participants; building sense of coherence; reconnecting with nature and a joined-up connection with provider services. The main arguments centre on horticulture in prisons remaining under-utilised as a means of promoting good health and wellbeing, although there is enthusiasm from staff to provide green spaces for the most vulnerable prisoners and develop a range of mechanisms to connect people in prison with nature.

This paper focuses on new knowledge arising from an unprecedented situation in English prisons, from key stakeholders on the frontline of garden activities. Accounts demonstrate the extent of the health and wellbeing benefits of participation in such activities in this challenging environment, which has implications for practice for prisons more widely.