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The Research, Development and Statistics Directorate RDS is part of the Home Office. The Home Office's purpose is to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced and the protection and security of the public are maintained. RDS is also part of National Statistics (NS). One of the aims of NS is to inform Parliament and the citizen about the state of the nation and provide a window on the work and performance of government, allowing the impact of government policies and actions to be assessed. Therefore-Research Development and Statistics Directorate exists to improve policy making, decision taking and practice in support of the Home Office purpose and aims, to provide the public and Parliament with information necessary for informed debate and to publish information for future use.

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Longitudinal panel studies have several distinct methodological and analytical advantages over cross-sectional studies for gaining an understanding of nurses' careers and developing strategies to facilitate retention. Panel studies do, however, present the researcher with a number of substantial challenges if maximum potential is to be achieved from the investment of time and resources that such studies entail. Respondent attrition at successive phases of data collection, for example, is a major problem, often with the consequence that respondents are not representative of the study group as a whole. This paper discusses reasons for choosing a longitudinal panel design for a programme of research into careers of midwives and nurses. The way in which the problem of respondent attrition has been approached in one of the projects in the programme, that focusing on the careers of registered general nurses, is then described.

Foster placements are more likely to break down where the foster carers already have birth children. Studies that explore the impact of fostering on foster carers and their birth children have suggested that relational changes occur, but these changes have not been examined in depth. This study aimed to explore the impact of fostering on parent-child relationships within foster families. Nine foster carers (including three couples) were interviewed separately, and the data were analysed using constructivist grounded theory methods. Analysis indicated that birth children may attribute particular importance to their position in the family (e.g. oldest child, youngest child) and that this is a key element of the way in which they relate to their parents. Emotional security and parent-child relationships can therefore be strained by a foster placement not taking this into account. Foster children also introduce significant competition for parental resources, putting a strain on relationships. Foster carers seem to prioritise, consciously or not, the preservation of relationships within the biological family. Reflecting on relationships and making changes to maximise potential improvements in relationships can lead to positive outcomes, and this can have an impact on whether families continue fostering or not.

BackgroundUrinary incontinence (UI) is a distressing condition affecting at least 5 million women in England and Wales. Traditionally, physiotherapy for UI comprises pelvic floor muscle training, but although evidence suggests this can be effective it is also recognised that benefits are often compromised by patient motivation and commitment. In addition, there is increasing recognition that physical symptoms alone are poor indicators of the impact of incontinence on individuals’ lives. Consequently, more holistic approaches to the treatment of UI, such as Modified Pilates (MP) have been recommended. This study aimed to provide preliminary findings about the effectiveness of a 6-week course of MP classes as an adjunct to standard physiotherapy care for UI, and to test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) design.MethodsThe study design was a single centre pilot RCT, plus qualitative interviews. 73 women referred to Women’s Health Physiotherapy Services for UI at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust were randomly assigned to two groups: a 6-week course of MP classes in addition to standard physiotherapy care (intervention) or standard physiotherapy care only (control). Main outcome measures were self-reported UI, quality of life and self-esteem at baseline (T1), completion of treatment (T2), and 5 months after randomisation (T3). Qualitative interviews were conducted with a subgroup at T2 and T3. Due to the nature of the intervention blinding of participants, physiotherapists and researchers was not feasible.ResultsPost-intervention data revealed a range of benefits for women who attended MP classes and who had lower symptom severity at baseline: improved self-esteem (p = 0.032), decreased social embarrassment (p = 0.026) and lower impact on normal daily activities (p = 0.025). In contrast, women with higher symptom severity showed improvement in their personal relationships (p = 0.017). Qualitative analysis supported these findings and also indicated that MP classes could positively influence attitudes to exercise, diet and wellbeing.ConclusionsA definitive RCT is feasible but will require a large sample size to inform clinical practice.Trial registrationISRCTN74075972 Registered 12/12/12 (Retrospectively registered).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12905-017-0503-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Nurses currently construct careers in a climate of continuing occupational and organizational change. A longitudinal project is in progress which is documenting the post-qualification histories of a cohort of registered general nurses, and studying the extent to which their careers represent occupational choice, a response to organizational constraints, or a combination of both. Three elements comprise the core of the research: questions which provide information on the cohort's career plans, charts which document their career histories and questions which explore the relationship between the two. The basis of the design is the first element, and this paper focuses on the problems encountered in designing the questions and routing structures which enabled all cohort members to describe their plans for the future. The importance of extensive pilot work is demonstrated in the development of options tailored for each potential career pathway and to allow expressions of uncertainty to emerge at points when appropriate to respondents. Of the 1164 members of the cohort, 1015 returned the questionnaire; a response rate of 87%. Findings are presented on the cohort's plans at qualification. The majority of respondents (86%) saw themselves as remaining in nursing and in clinical practice in the early post-qualification period. Eighteen per cent said they intended to practise abroad at some point, 30% foresaw a likelihood of working in the private sector, 59% wanted to take one or more English National Board courses and 42% expressed interest in obtaining an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.