Hannah Edwards

An international review of the use of MgSO4 to protect against cerebral palsy - ARC West Babies born prematurely have a higher risk of brain injury, which can lead to cerebral palsy. We know that giving the drug magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) to the mum when she is in preterm labour can protec...

New project on our website: An international review of the use of magnesium sulfate to protect against cerebral palsy. Building on the life changing work of the PReCePT programme
@karenluyt.bsky.social @hannah-b-edwards.bsky.social @healthinnowest.bsky.social
arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/an-internati...

Grand day out today at the #ChildHealthImpact2025 conference 😊

New research reinforces impact of cerebral palsy prevention programme - ARC West Evidence for the impact of a programme to increase the use of magnesium sulfate, a £5 injection that helps prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies, has been strengthened by a new study published in...

Our new research published in @bmj.com Quality and Safety reinforces the impact of PReCePT, the cerebral palsy prevention programme to promote the use of magnesium sulfate.
We compared use of magnesium sulfate before and 4 years after PReCePT, and in Wales and Scotland
bit.ly/42MbzjM

Implementation of national guidelines on antenatal magnesium sulfate for neonatal neuroprotection: extended evaluation of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the National PReCePT Programme in ... Background Since 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines have recommended antenatal magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) for mothers in preterm labour (<30 weeks’ gestation)...

Happy news from our PReCePT programme: concerted national efforts can effectively and cost-effectively improve quality of perinatal care, helping protect preterm babies ❤️
qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/earl... @karenluyt.bsky.social @arc-west.bsky.social @frankdv.bsky.social @csrejon.bsky.social

Spoiler... the surprising effect is that they might improve road safety

This 👇🏼 is a very nice, balanced, and comprehensive discussion of the evidence and its interpretation.
...of course, from a #publichealth perspective, this is entirely unhelpful: "The impact “depends on the individual themselves and their history and their physiology, the content and the context”."

Reducing Serious Injuries on European Roads (PIN Flash 48) Every day, all over Europe, people fall off bikes or trip on pavements and injure themselves. While these incidents do not usually end in tragedy, the short-term effects can be extremely burdensome.

🚨 Serious road injuries are underreported – new @etsc.eu report. Police data significantly underestimates serious road injuries in the EU. Many pedestrian & cyclist incidents go unrecorded.

📢 Read more: etsc.eu/reducing-ser...

#RoadSafety #PACTS #TransportSafety #VisionZero #SafeMobility

Great to see this framework on natural experiments published, including involvement from our very own #NaturalExperiment guru @frankdv.bsky.social!

Great idea to encourage more active travel. As our research suggests, the more people using active travel = the safer it is for everyone:
injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/earl...
@frankdv.bsky.social @arc-west.bsky.social @eddcarlton.bsky.social

Risk of bicycle collisions and ‘safety in numbers’: a natural experiment using the local introduction of e-scooters in England Background Ecological studies hypothesise a ‘safety in numbers’ (SiN) effect whereby road safety for bicycles and other micromobility users improves as their numbers increase, due to behavioural chang...

Full details of our research at: injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/earl...

@frankdv.bsky.social @eddcarlton.bsky.social @zoetw.bsky.social @arc-west.bsky.social @nihr.bsky.social @bristolcouncil.bsky.social @sustrans.bsky.social @simonlightwood.org.uk

Great to hear from Local Transport Minister @simonlightwood.org.uk
“We’re looking to blend healthy, greener transport choices that give people greater choice over how they travel. That’s why it’s great to see this research showing areas with our e-scooter trials are now a safer place for cyclists.”

"These findings support the ‘safety in numbers’ hypothesis. This argues that the more people use ‘micromobility’ forms of transport such as bicycles and e-scooters the safer they become, possibly because car drivers take more care."

arc-w.nihr.ac.uk/news/electri...

@nihr.bsky.social @nihrarcs.bsky.social

@nihr.bsky.social @nihrarcs.bsky.social 😊

@arc-west.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social @sustrans.bsky.social @chrisboardman.bsky.social @roadcc.bsky.social @cyclingweekly.com @eddcarlton.bsky.social @frankdv.bsky.social @drmirandaarmstrong.bsky.social

E-scooters reduce bike collision risk, says Bristol University study The University of Bristol study looked at police data on road collisions between 2015 and 2023.

How e-scooters might benefit cyclists
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
@arc-west.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social @sustrans.bsky.social @chrisboardman.bsky.social @roadcc.bsky.social @cyclingweekly.com @eddcarlton.bsky.social @frankdv.bsky.social @drmirandaarmstrong.bsky.social

E-scooters may not be so bad for your health (if you ride a bike)…
injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/inju...

“Safety in numbers”: Have e-scooter schemes made roads safer for cyclists? - ARC West Since 2020, some areas in England have introduced electric scooter (e-scooter) rental schemes. They aim to encourage greener transport choices to help reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality. ...

For more about this project, see our plain language summary:
bit.ly/4iJatM5

Risk of bicycle collisions and ‘safety in numbers’: a natural experiment using the local introduction of e-scooters in England Background Ecological studies hypothesise a ‘safety in numbers’ (SiN) effect whereby road safety for bicycles and other micromobility users improves as their numbers increase, due to behavioural changes of motorists. Causal interpretation of these studies is difficult due to confounding and reverse causation. The introduction of electric scooter (e-scooter) rental schemes in selected districts in England meant an increase in micromobility users in these areas, which presented an opportunity to test the SiN hypothesis using a natural experiment. Methods Time-series analysis of police data on road collisions in local authorities (LAs) in Great Britain, 2015–2023. Random-effects Poisson regression time-series models compared collision rates in LA districts with an e-scooter trial (n=41) versus matched control districts (n=41). Primary outcomes were all road collisions and bicycle collisions. Models adjusted for time; seasonality; baseline collision rate; COVID-19 period; and preintervention/postintervention period (proxied by intervention group/COVID-19 period interaction). Results The rate of bicycle collisions reduced following the introduction of the schemes, compared with control districts (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.78, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.89 during peak COVID-19; IRR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.99 in the post-COVID-19 period). This effect was specific to bicycle collisions and strongest in the subgroup of serious/fatal collisions. Conclusions Findings suggest that the increase of a new and sustainable mode of transport, e-scooters, may have reduced bicycle collisions. This could have far-reaching benefits including reduced injuries, safer environments, and public health and environmental benefits if more people choose bicycles and micromobility over car transport. Findings should be verified in further work. Data are available upon reasonable request. All data used in this study is publicly accessible.

This project was led by Hannah Edwards, Frank de Vocht, @drmirandaarmstrong.bsky.social, Russ Jago and Yoav Ben-Shlomo
See the full methodology and results in the paper published in Injury Prevention
injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/earl...

Interesting - and possibly surprising - findings from this natural experiment. Best evidence so far supporting the 'safety in numbers' hypothesis!

Electric scooter schemes reduce bicycle collisions by 20%, study suggests - ARC West Electric scooter schemes appear to reduce the risk of bicycle collisions by around 20%, according to a University of Bristol-led study. The research, funded by the National Institute for Health and Ca...

We tested the 'safety in numbers' hypothesis to see whether e-scooter schemes have affected bicycle collisions, using police data.
Our natural experiment found e-scooter schemes appear to reduce the risk of bicycle collisions by around 20%.
#RoadSafety
bit.ly/4itEeks