POSTnotes
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Children’s wellbeing in schools (2025)
Emma Cary
Children’s wellbeing in school
Emma examines the wellbeing of children aged 5 to 16 in mainstream schools.
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AI and Mental Healthcare (2025)
Hannah Gardiner
#AI and Mental Healthcare – opportunities and delivery considerations
Hannah summarises the opportunities and delivery considerations for deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in mental healthcare.
AI and Mental Healthcare – ethical and regulatory considerations
In this second note, Hannah examines the ethical implications and regulatory considerations for deploying AI in mental healthcare.
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Housing insecurity in the private rented sector in England (2024)
Xavier McNally
Housing insecurity in the private rented sector in England: drivers and impacts
Xavier looks at the extent of housing insecurity in the private rented sector and outlines risk factors and impacts on landlords, tenants, and their households.
Housing insecurity in the private rented sector in England: policy implications
In a second note, current and proposed future legislation for addressing housing insecurity in the private rented sector in England are analysed, as well as policy opportunities and challenges.
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Digital disengagement and impacts on exclusion (2024)
Hannah Romanowski
Digital disengagement and impacts on exclusion
Hannah outlines motivational reasons for not being online or using digital devices, and how this can contribute to digital exclusion and other forms of inequality.
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Mental Health Act reform – impacts on autistic people and people with a learning disability (2024)
Dugald Foster
Mental Health Act reform – impacts on autistic people and people with a learning disability
Dugald looks at the impact of the proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act on autistic people and people with learning disabilities. The note highlights research evidence and different stakeholder perspectives.
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Human stem cell-based embryo models (2024)
Jahnavi Bhaskaran
Human stem cell-based embryo models
Jahnavi summarises the emerging technology of human stem cell-based embryo models. The briefing introduces the scientific background, potential applications, challenges and opportunities of introducing their regulation, and initiatives to address regulatory gaps.
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Factors shaping gender incongruence and gender dysphoria, and impact on health services (2023)
Laura Heath
Factors shaping gender incongruence and gender dysphoria, and impact on health services
Laura outlines what is known about the factors that shape gender incongruence and gender dysphoria. The briefing looks at the systems in place for children, adolescents and adults and the impact on the NHS from increased referrals for gender identity care.
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Child food insecurity and Free School Meals (2023)
Stephanie Hartgen-Walker
Child food insecurity and Free School Meals
Stephanie summarises child food insecurity and Free School Meal initiatives in England. The POSTnote highlights relevant research evidence, provides stakeholder perspectives, and discusses the challenges involved in providing Free School Meals.
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Public health and climate change: a One Health approach (2023)
Hannah Wolmuth-Gordon
Public health and climate change: a One Health approach
Hannah discusses how the One Health approach can be used to tackle key impacts of climate change and threats to public health. The POSTnote takes a global perspective on implementation, with areas of focus on UK policy.
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Problem-solving courts (2023)
Katerina Mentzou
Katerina outlines the components and outcomes of different Problem-solving courts. The POSTnote goes on to highlight the opportunities and challenges to implementation across England and Wales.
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Mental Health Act reform – children and young people (2022)
Susie Walker
Mental Health Act reform – children and young people
Susie describes how and when the Mental Health Act (MHA) 1983 is used to treat children and young people under 18. This POSTnote was released after the government published a draft Mental Health Bill to amend the MHA and it includes stakeholder perspectives on the potential impact of the reforms.
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Invisible disabilities in education and employment (2022)
Rebecca Kelly
Invisible disabilities in education and employment
Rebecca discusses the types of invisible disabilities in the UK and relevant legislation and policy. The briefing also explores the experiences of adults with invisible disabilities and strategies aimed at increasing access and inclusion.
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Assisted dying (2022)
Devyani Gajjar
Devyani’s POSTnote on the ethical debate around assisted dying examines how it functions within health services where it is legal as well as evidence and expert opinion on key practical considerations.
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Distance learning (2021)
Faye Bolan
Faye provides an overview of current trends in distance learning including supporting digital skills for life and work, personalising learning programmes, and higher education models.
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Monitoring wastewater for COVID-19 (2020)
Amelie Ott
Monitoring wastewater for COVID-19
In this rapid response, Amelie looks at the role of wastewater monitoring systems in detecting COVID-19 outbreaks and supporting the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Screen use and health in young people (2020)
Amelie Ott
Screen use and health in young people
Amelie looks at the opportunities and risks of using screens for children and young people. The briefing outlines the evidence on the possible effects on health and development and how to support healthy screen use.
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Early interventions to reduce violent crime (2019)
Francesca Boyd
Early interventions to reduce violent crime
Francesca looks at the types and prevalence of violent crime, describing the risk factors associated with involvement as a victim or perpetrator of violent crime. The POSTnote also presents evidence on the effectiveness of early interventions.
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Sleep and Health, Shift work, sleep and health, Sleep and long-term health (2018)
Lev Tankelevitch
Sleep and Health: Lev explains existing research on sleep and sleep disorders. This includes the effects of poor sleep on performance and health, as well as its role in road safety, education and more.
Shift work: Lev examines how working outside of daytime hours affects overall health and performance. The briefing highlights how research can inform the design of interventions to manage these impacts.
Sleep and Long-Term Health: Lev describes existing research examining the long-term health outcomes associated with disruptions to sleep and the circadian rhythm including mental health, obesity and neurogenerative disease.
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Research integrity (2017)
Cressida Auckland
Cressida’s POSTnote – funded by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics – assesses current approaches to promoting integrity in research, how these mechanisms can be improved and current challenges within research culture.
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Creating age-friendly cities (2016)
Joanna Hale
Joanna examines how housing, outdoor space, and transport can be made more age-friendly. The POSTnote also looks at challenges to design and implementation, including public attitudes, economic barriers, and local planning.
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Obesity Treatments (2015)
Lucy Robinson
Lucy discusses the current methods used to manage and treat obesity, including population-wide interventions focused on preventing obesity, lifestyle interventions, specialist services, and weight-loss surgery.
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Childhood allergy (2014)
Louise Moyle
Louise describes the causes and prevalence of allergic disorders in children and investigates the links between allergy, genetics and the environment.
