Within high-income-countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted people from racially minoritised backgrounds. There has been significant research interrogating the disparate impact of the virus, and recently, interest in the long-term implications of the global crisis on young people’s mental health and wellbeing. However, less work explores the experiences of young people from racialised backgrounds as they navigate the pandemic, and the specific consequences this has for their mental health. Forty young people (age 16-25) from black, mixed and other minority backgrounds and living in London, participated in consecutive focus group discussions over a two-month period, to explore the impact of the pandemic on their lives and emotional wellbeing. Thematic analysis identified seven categories describing the impact of the pandemic, indicating: deepening of existing socioeconomic and emotional challenges; efforts to navigate racism and difference within the response; and survival strategies drawing on communal and individual resources. Young people also articulated visions for a future public health response which addressed gaps in current strategies. Findings point to the need to contextualize public health responses to the pandemic in line with the lived experiences of racialised young people. We specifically note the importance of long-term culturally and socio-politically relevant support interventions. Implications for policy and practice are discussed

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Background The utilisation of diagnostic imaging has risen dramatically over time. IBD patients are particularly vulnerable to this inclination. We evaluated trends in the radiation doses to which our service exposed our new IBD referrals over time. Methods Searches of new referrals to our IBD clinic during two 24-month periods beginning 01/06/2005 (n=84) and 01/01/2013 (n=63) were conducted. The numbers of AXRs, CT APs, Barium Swallows, Meals, Follow-Throughs and Enemas, CT Colonographies and MRI SBs were collated for each patient for the five-year period subsequent to their first attendance. The dataset was irrevocably anonymised. Cumulative effective radiation doses were calculated using estimates provided in leading radiology journals. Linear regression using the ordinary least squares method examined the relationship between cumulative dose, period of diagnosis, age, gender and category of IBD. Results The mean cumulative effective radiation doses for the earlier and later periods were 4.7mSv (95% CI, 1.86 to 7.54) and 7.4mSv (95% CI, 3.60 to 11.26) respectively. No significant relationship was demonstrated between age (-0.03mSv, 95%CIs: -0.20, 0.12), male gender (0.69mSv, 95%CIs: -4.00, 5.39), or later referral period (3.06mSv, 95%CIs: -1.67, 7.78) and cumulative dose. A diagnosis of Crohn’s (as opposed to UC) had a strongly positive relationship with total radiation dose (5.89, 95%CI: 1.07, 10.70). 12 MRI small bowels were completed during period 2, none during period 1. Conclusion Our evaluation shows an upward trend, failing to meet statistical significance, in the radiation doses to which patients with new diagnoses of IBD were exposed to by our service.