PurposePhysical, emotional, and sexual violence and abuse occurring between close or extended family members are forms of family violence (FV). The negative impacts of FV are diverse, numerous, and pervasive for all individuals involved. To effectively support individuals experiencing FV, services designed to reduce and prevent FV and its associated harms must maintain participant engagement. Therefore, the purpose of this realist review was to synthesize literature on barriers and facilitators to individuals’ engagement in FV services so that relevant strategies can be implemented to improve service effectiveness.MethodsThis realist review was conducted systematically and searched five databases up to August 2024, screening 1, 334 evidence sources. Findings were examined in relation to families and parents, including mothers, fathers, and children, and were supplemented by relevant service provider perspectives.ResultsMost findings from the 24 included studies focused on facilitators of engagement. Priming and introductory sessions, provider-family rapport, group formats, empathy, trustworthiness, and family-centred approaches that consider familial needs and goals were identified as important facilitators of engagement in FV services. Prominent barriers included socioeconomic challenges, competing demands, childcare responsibilities, inadequate provider-client rapport, limited accessibility, intense initial meetings, and long service duration.ConclusionsRooted in family-centred approaches and interagency collaboration, recommended strategies to improve family engagement in FV services focus on opportunities during service: 1) intake; 2) initiation; and 3) delivery. These strategies are described in relation to context (e.g., socioeconomic factors) and potential mechanisms (e.g., perceived cultural safety), and could be further evaluated using implementation science methods to optimize family engagement in FV services.
Parental broad autism phenotype traits and executive function in families of children with autism spectrum disorder
BackgroundParents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently exhibit subclinical Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) traits, though their relationship with executive function (EF) remains underexplored. This study investigated associations between parental BAP traits and their EF performance.MethodsThe Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ) was used to assess the BAP traits in parents of children with ASD and parents of healthy children. Among them 20 of the high-BAP ASD parents with a total BAPQ score exceeding 3.55 and 20 of the parents of typically developing children completed executive function tests. The researchers utilized the flanker, 2-back, and Task-switching paradigm to examine their EF. Correlations analysis was used to analyze BAP-EF relationships.ResultsThe self-reported questionnaires indicated that parents of children with ASD had significantly higher BAPQ scores than non-ASD’s parents, with fathers scoring 41.21% versus 15% (χ2 = 31.628, p < 0.01), and mothers 26.25% versus 8.37% (χ2 = 25.764, p < 0.01). Parents of ASD children exhibited significantly prolonged reaction times on the Flanker task (528.95 ± 78.90 ms vs. 426.80 ± 18.40 ms, T = 15.639, p<0.01), with BAPQ total scores positively correlating with slower responses (R² = 0.2325, p = 0.0313). Paradoxically, they demonstrated accelerated 2-Back incongruent reaction times (537.60 ± 80.21 ms vs. 665.70 ± 137.17 ms, T = 6.715, p=0.001) but reduced accuracy (0.947 ± 0.037 vs. 0.983 ± 0.016, T = 16.875, p<0.01), where BAPQ again correlated with reaction times (R² = 0.2318, p = 0.0316). Crucially, these associations were absent in controls, and BAPQ scores showed no relationship with task accuracy in either group.ConclusionsBAP traits are associated with attentional control challenges (indexed by Flanker Task) and a maladaptive speed-accuracy tradeoffs during working memory demands.
Efficient targeting of human glial progenitor cells in vivo with engineered AAV vectors and glymphatic delivery
Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 08 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03185-2
Viral vectors delivered through the brain glymphatics achieve widespread targeting of glial cells.
An AAV vector for glial cells
Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 08 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03193-2
Delivery of an in vivo–selected AAV into the glymphatics achieves broad transduction of human glial cells in chimeric mice.
Oncology must confront hidden side effects
Nature Medicine, Published online: 08 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04554-9
As a new generation of cancer drugs continues to extend the lives of people with cancer, strategies for recording and managing their toxicity and long-term effects will need innovation too.
Microglial TDP-43 mediates myelin refinement and represses Tyrobp cryptic exon inclusion in mice
Nature Neuroscience, Published online: 08 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41593-026-02348-3
Compagnion et al. show that TDP-43 loss in microglia causes myelin defects, oligodendrocyte precursor cell imbalance and motor deficits in mice. They identify TDP-43 as a regulator of the TREM2-DAP12 signaling, through the control of Tyrobp mis-splicing.
Griffiths: ‘People in digital have to work at the top of their game’
Andrew Griffiths, chief executive of FEDIP, explains why NHS England’s new “expectation” of registration is a turning point.
<![CDATA[In the final episode, “Take-Home Messages: Clinical Confidence in Transitioning Patients to Cobenfy,” David Walling, PhD, explored how these findings add to the evolving evidence base for Cobenfy in schizophrenia, and what questions remain for future research.]]>
NHS staff to face sack or prison for unlawful patient data access
NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey has said NHS staff face the sack or even prison if they access patient records unlawfully.
Another big premium hike on the horizon
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Good morning from your shriveled-up Fourth of July leftovers. On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read in public for the first time, in Philly’s Independence Square. It was subsequently published in newspapers throughout the no-longer-colonies, though not always on the front page (!).