Human challenge studies in the study of infectious diseases
What can deliberately infecting healthy people tell us about infectious diseases? How is this useful for developing treatments, and how do we manage the risks?

Media headlines have predicted an increase in mental ill health among NHS staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. This POSTnote gives an overview of the scale and quality of current evidence on the mental health and well-being of NHS staff before and during the pandemic. It also discusses how staff are supported and the options for introducing other effective interventions as the pandemic continues.
Mental health impacts of COVID-19 on NHS staff (314 KB , PDF)
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a number of challenges to the mental health and well-being of NHS staff. This group were more vulnerable to mental ill health than other occupational groups prior to the pandemic. However, it is unclear the extent to which the mental health of NHS staff has declined during the pandemic and the quality of the evidence is mixed. Further research is required to understand staff groups who may be particularly at risk and the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on NHS staff mental health. However, supporting the mental health and well-being of NHS staff during this time could maximise current and future NHS workforce capacity and performance.
Key sources of support for staff:
Acknowledgements
POSTnotes are based on literature reviews and interviews with a range of stakeholders and are externally peer reviewed. POST would like to thank interviewees and peer reviewers for kindly giving up their time during the preparation of this briefing, including:
*denotes people and organisations who acted as external reviewers of the briefing.
Mental health impacts of COVID-19 on NHS staff (314 KB , PDF)
What can deliberately infecting healthy people tell us about infectious diseases? How is this useful for developing treatments, and how do we manage the risks?
A POSTnote summarising proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act (1983) to improve patient choice, highlighting relevant research evidence and stakeholder perspectives.
This note will outline the latest knowledge about the role for psychedelic drugs to treat a wide range of mental health disorders and the recent data on risks and benefits.