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Personalised learning is emerging as the way forward for global education in the changing environment of 21st century teaching and learning. This involves the transfer of learning focus from teacher directed toward a more individualised approach, one that places learner needs, abilities, motivations, and desires in the forefront. Research suggests that the common in practice themes of a personalised approach are authentic assessment for learning, a flexible curriculum that is learner centred, the involvement of the community in learning, and the use of information communication technology (ICT) to provide multiple resources and learning platforms. The challenges that exist with this approach are the level of teacher buy in, student unfamiliarity with its processes, and lack of Government support and guidance for schools. This review focuses on case studies as well as primary and secondary research, relating to these common themes and challenges and identifies necessary personalised aspects and exemplars for future implementers.

To effectively communicate and disseminate the outputs of CropM and MACSUR per se at national, EU and global levels it is essential that we engage with the appropriate audiences and tailor the level and depth of the outputs accordingly. Consequently for the range of stakeholder outputs there will be a staged period of engagement with stakeholders in the policy and industry sectors (and where appropriate others). This will be driven by the strategies outlined in WP6.3-4 (Strategies for engagement on adaptation and mitigation with national and EU policy makers and with the agro-food chain sector). Once enacted and the feedback collated these response will facilitate the co-construction of an appropriate dissemination strategy. Aligned with this will be a series of standardised dissemination routes that will deliver globally but will then often be followed up by a more local (national) output/dissemination activity tailored for that region. The dissemination strategy will include but will not be limited to multiple and various methods of information distribution including Scientific papers and presentations. Agricultural sector/industry focused talks/presentations and workshops. A fully developed and interactive website (part of the larger project). Social Media Podcasts and WebTV with key actors in the crop and climate change arena including scientists, and stakeholders (policy, agriculturalists and industry representatives). Integration with the cognate EU platforms, e.g. EIP Agricultural and Sustainability, EIT-KIC Climate Change(ETP), the appropriate ETPs (http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/individual_en.html) and major EU projects such as SUSFOOD etc.

Background Policy-driven ehealth underpins the delivery of healthcare in which pharmacy practice plays an increasingly integral role. As health is a devolved matter within the UK, responsibility for policy development and service delivery lies with the parliament of each of the home nations. Aim The aim of this research was to describe the policy-driven intended use of ehealth as the landscape of pharmacy practice evolves in Scotland. Methods A content analysis of current policy and strategy documents was conducted. A framework approach was applied (transcribing, familiarising, coding, developing/applying analytical framework, mapping data to the framework, interpreting patterns across and within constructs) from which a conceptual model of the intended use of technology in pharmacy was developed along with this explanatory narrative. Results Four key documents were identified for inclusion with a subsequent policy refresh incorporated. Key constructs were identified with associated sub-themes inducted from the data: Patient care: safety, partnership, integration, resources; Education and training: fit-for-future needs, multidisciplinary, delivery mode; Information governance: systems, staff; Implementation: accessibility, interoperability, support for role development. Conclusions The policy-driven strategy for ehealth in pharmacy practice in Scotland values the pharmacy team and promotes their role in multidisciplinary healthcare delivery. The clearly described intention is to facilitate and develop the patient-facing clinical role of the pharmacist and more integrated role of pharmacy in Scotland. This integrated role for pharmacy practice within the healthcare team, based on a secure, shared EHR, is a 2020 target for Scotland moving policy towards pharmacy practice.

With continuing pressures for transparency, accountability and value for money, measuring the performance of public sector organisations is attracting increasing academic and management attention. However, little attention appears to have been paid to the performance information needs of stakeholders. This paper describes work with a number of Scottish local authority services to develop an information portfolio that would meet the performance measurement needs of diverse stakeholders. Overall, the approach was found to be useful, allowing services to identify the key stakeholders with an interest in their service's performance, the judgements about performance that each group wanted to make and the key information that stakeholders would need.

The new Labour Government elected in the UK in 1997 has a declared commitment to the modernisation of local government and has proposed radical change to the way councils plan and deliver local services through best value in service delivery. Best value emphasises the role of sound management as a means of delivering service improvements. Best value in Scotland has a core requirement for every council to develop an effective performance management and planning (PMP) framework. The Accounts Commission and Audit Scotland have developed a detailed audit approach to assess and support each council's progress in developing and improving its PMP framework. The audit specified sets out the key features of a best value service grouped under ten criteria, requires each council service being audited to critically assess their current performance, and requires each service to implement performance improvements that are necessary to deliver best value services. The key findings from the first audit are presented together with an evaluation of councils' reactions to the audit and an assessment of the contribution of the audit to continuous improvement in Scottish local government.

The aim of this Cochrane review was to find out if prescribing by health professionals other than doctors delivers comparable outcomes to prescribing by doctors. Cochrane researchers collected and analysed all relevant studies to answer this question and found 46 studies. Key messages With appropriate training and support, nurses and pharmacists are able to prescribe medicines as part of managing a range of conditions to achieve comparable health management outcomes to doctors. The majority of studies focus on chronic disease management in higher-income counties where there is generally a moderate-certainty of evidence supporting similar outcomes for the markers of disease in high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Further high-quality studies are needed in poorer countries and to better quantify differences in prescribing outcomes for adverse events, and to determine health economic outcomes. Further studies could also focus more specifically on the prescribing component of care. What was studied in the review? A number of countries allow health professionals other than doctors to prescribe medicines. This shift in roles is thought to provide improved and timely access to medicines for consumers where there are shortages of doctors or the health system is facing pressures in coping with the burden of disease. In addition, this task shift has been supported by a number of governments as a way to more appropriately use the skills of health professionals, such as nurses and pharmacists, in the care of patients. We compared the outcomes of any healthcare workers who were prescribing with a high degree of autonomy with medical prescribers in the hospital or community setting in low-, middle- and high-income countries. What are the main results of the review? This review found 45 studies where nurses and pharmacists with high levels of prescribing autonomy were compared with usual care medical prescribers. A further study compared nurse prescribing with guideline support with usual nurse prescribing ...

The World Health Organization states that globally more than half of all medication is inappropriately prescribed, dispensed or sold with a need to implement wastage reduction strategies. Developing processes which include behaviour change theories, such as the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), significantly impacts the positive implementation of evidence into healthcare practice. Objective To describe and understand the beliefs and behaviours regarding medication wastage of the Maltese public and healthcare professionals (HCPs) and to explore potential solutions. Setting: Malta. Method Five 90 min audio recorded focus groups (2 public and 3 HCPs) were conducted with a purposive sample who responded to a previous survey study and were willing to participate in focus groups in Malta. The guide was based upon the TDF with interview questions derived from findings of the questionnaire phase. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was carried using the framework approach. Main outcome measure Beliefs and behaviours regarding medication wastage and potential solutions to reduce medication wastage. Results A total of eleven pharmacists, six doctors and six members of the public consented to participate. Focus groups conducted with HCPs and the general public identified the following four key themes aligned with the TDF domains to address proposed solutions to minimise medication wastage: (1) practitioner effects; (2) patients effects; (3) political effects; (4) societal effects. Conclusion This study has employed a theoretical framework to obtain a better understanding of facilitators which require attention as part of strategic development.

Background Medication wastage is a global issue, with key public health implications in terms of safety, the environment and the economy. A recently conducted systematic review of the published literature identified a lack of focus on the views of healthcare professionals and the general public. Objective To explore awareness, attitudes and behaviours relating to medication wastage amongst the general public in Malta. Setting Malta. Method Survey methodology employing a pre-piloted questionnaire was developed from theoretical frameworks of behaviour. Questionnaire items comprised open, closed and 5-point Likert scales. Medication adherence as a possible factor associated with wastage was measured using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Random sample of 1920 was obtained from the Maltese electoral register 2013. Ethical approval was obtained. Main outcome measures Awareness, attitudes and behaviours relating to medication wastage amongst the general public in Malta. Results Response rate was 20.4%. The majority (70.6%) agreed that they were fully aware of the issue of wastage and 71.9% disagreed that they had no interest in wastage. The following were significantly related to increased awareness of wastage: older age (p=0.003), pensioners (p=0.011), on regular medication (p=0.021) and obtaining free medication (p=0.026). Lack of interest in wastage was significantly related to obtaining free medication by government (p=0.022), with those purchasing medication being significantly more interested (p=0.028). While 75.1% of respondents on regular medication self-reported not being fully adherent, there were no associations with awareness (p=0.100) and interest in wastage (p=0.385). Unemployed were more likely to report contribution towards wastage (p=0.010) and the presence of a healthcare professional as family member was significantly related to confidence in ability to reduce wastage (p=0.009). 46.2% claimed to have unused medication at home and improvement in patient's medical condition was the main ...