Katherine Curtis

Consulted but not heard: a qualitative study of young people's views of their local health service

Objectives  The objective of this study was to identify what children and young people in a health district in a large urban area experience as positive – and not so positive – about their local health services, in the light of a growing expectation that users play a more central role in the design and delivery of services.

Prevalence of working smoke alarms in local authority inner city housing: randomised controlled trial

Abstract Objectives: To identify which type of smoke alarm is most likely to remain working in local authority inner city housing, and to identify an alarm tolerated in households with smokers. Design: Randomised controlled trial. Setting:Two local authority housing estates in inner London. Participants: 2145 households. Intervention: Installation of one of five types of smoke alarm (ionisation sensor with a zinc battery; ionisation sensor with a zinc battery and pause button; ionisation sensor with a lithium battery and pause button; optical sensor with a lithium battery; or optical sensor with a zinc battery). Main outcome measure: Percentage of homes with any working alarm and percentage in which the alarm installed for this study was working after 15 months. Results: 54.4% (1166/2145) of all households and 45.9% (465/1012) of households occupied by smokers had a working smoke alarm. Ionisation sensor, lithium battery, and there being a smoker in the household were independently associated with whether an alarm was working (adjusted odds ratios 2.24 (95% confidence interval 1.75 to 2.87), 2.20 (1.77 to 2.75), and 0.62 (0.52 to 0.74)). The most common reasons for non-function were missing battery (19%), missing alarm (17%), and battery disconnected (4%). Conclusions: Nearly half of the alarms installed were not working when tested 15 months later. Type of alarm and power source are important determinants of whether a household had a working alarm. What is already known on this topic Functioning smoke alarms can reduce the risk of death in the event of a house fire Many local authorities install smoke alarms in their properties Several different types of smoke alarm are available What this study adds Only half of the smoke alarms installed in local authority housing were still working 15 months later Ionising smoke alarms with long life lithium batteries were most likely to remain functioning Installing smoke alarms may not be an effective use of resources

Family and peer networks in intimate and sexual relationships amongst teenagers in a multicultural area of East London

The Minister for Children has recently suggested on the basis of research evidence that parents need to talk more to their children about sex in order to encourage them to start sex later and improve contraceptive use, with a view to reducing teenage conceptions. We report here on a mixed-methods project funded by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit and the Department of Health which draws on accounts of young people aged 15-18 from diverse ethnic groups in East London describing their inclination (or otherwise) to talk with parents, other family members, and peers about sex and intimate relationships. Recent sociological research describes diversity in sexual relationships, family practices and ways in which people love and care for each other, but work addressing ethnicity in these areas has been less well developed. Drawing on research into ethnicity, youth and identity formation in an urban multicultural area, our work indicates that Black African, Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani young people living in East London talk to a range of people for support in addition to, or instead of parents. Thus, the siblings and extended families to whom they go for advice may well have a role in health promotion as may existing peer networks. The findings we report here reflect cultural diversity, re-working of cultural traditions and emerging youth identities in multicultural areas. Whilst there may be benefits in some families from more open talk between parents and children about sex, our work suggests that this could helpfully be supplemented by an increased appreciation of what cultural diversity and youth networks can offer.