A new study shows significant long-term reductions in the stress hormone cortisol in seniors taking part in the O’stress program.

In a recent article published in the Journal of Marketing, researchers from the University of Vaasa (Finland), Arizona State University (United States), and Hanken School of Economics (Finland) offer a new perspective on how immersive services, such as residental care, affect consumer agency. Their discovery expands marketing theory and offers actionable implications for organizations to improve the service experiences of their customers. The researchers define immersive service as a service that consumers are embedded in and surrounded by, in the sense that their life experience is within the service and, in great part, constructed by it for some period of time. Consumers frequently experience immersive service in healthcare (e.g., hospital stays, residential care), education (e.g., school/university attendance) or hospitality (e.g., air travel, resorts) among others. 

A quarter of all children in England receive services from children’s social care before turning 18, finds a new study by UCL researchers.

Alcohol-related deaths increased 18% during the pandemic, as did hospitalizations related to alcohol use, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.241146.