Since 2015, the UK has resettled over 25,000 refugees. To support resettlement and integration, refugees undergo a pre-arrival medical health assessment (MHA), which is used for healthcare planning by local government in England. This study aimed to understand the utility and effectiveness of the MHA and flow of data to support resettlement planning. Seven local government representatives were interviewed regarding their experiences and perceptions of the refugee health information system (HIS) and the MHA for resettlement in England. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The three themes indicated that the HIS was perceived to be effective, however, issues on governance, timeliness of information and access were identified. Findings showed that for the MHA to be more useful for planning, assessments for mental health issues and child special educational needs (SEN) are needed. Findings also indicated resettlement promoted joint working and acceptability of refugee resettlement. In areas where data sharing and governance processes are well defined, the HIS is effective and the MHA supports resettlement. National agencies should put structures in place to support timely health information flow.

To capture and compare the differences in experiences of public health Specialty Registrars who commenced training prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (pre-pandemic Registrars) and those who commenced training during the pandemic (post-pandemic Registrars). This is a mixed methods study comprising a cross-sectional survey and participatory action research. A questionnaire of 10 open and 5 closed questions exploring participants experience of training during the pandemic was sent to East Midlands Specialty Registrars. Thematic analysis and double coding were undertaken, coded based on pre- or post-pandemic Registrar status. Participatory action research was then undertaken in 2 rounds with 2 groups, based on pre/post-pandemic status to consolidate themes. The survey was completed by 17 Registrars (8 pre-pandemic, and 9 post-pandemic) and 19 Registrars took part in participatory action research. The findings showed pre-pandemic Registrars noted the importance of negative impacts on their mental health whilst post-pandemic Registrars were more positive and felt well supported in their training. There is a stark difference in the impact of the pandemic for Registrars who started training before compared to during the pandemic. The training programme was not resilient to the impact of the pandemic. Robustness could be increased by encouraging early leadership experience and providing wellbeing support, particularly for post pandemic Registrars now and in future.

In the originally published version of this manuscript, the group author contributors were omitted in error.

Background: Specialty public health training consists of 48 months of practice across the domains of health protection, healthcare public health and health improvement.With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, activity pivoted towards pandemic management and the response became a significant element of registrar practice.This research aimed to understand the impact of this shift in focus on registrars’ role and training.Methods: Participatory action research comprising (i) a reflective survey sent to all specialty registrars in the East Midlands training region and (ii) Delphi rounds with survey respondents to generate consensus and define themes.Results: Sixteen (44%) registrars completed the survey with 12 (75%) participating in the Delphi rounds. The early pandemic response stages both challenged and re-affirmed registrars’ role and identity in public health and training while providing unique and diverse learning and development. Underpinning these themes is a variability in experience depending on prior experience, placement and training stage.Conclusions: The pandemic impacted the practice, training and home-life of registrars who were required to negotiate significant challenge and uncertainty. This original work adds to a growing body of correspondence and opinion pieces articulating the experiences and challenges of medical and public health education during a pandemic.