Knowledge of non-contraceptive benefits of and willingness to consider taking oral contraceptive pills among a low-risk female population: a cross-sectional study.

Background: In addition to its widely-appreciated contraceptive applications, the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) conveys both oncological and non-oncological benefits. Oncological benefits include a decreased risk of endometrial, ovarian, and colorectal cancer. Non-oncological benefits include reducing androgenic effects and alleviating menstruation-related problems.

Associations between the COVID-19 pandemic and women's fertility intentions: a multi-country, cross-sectional (I-SHARE) study.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic, together with the subsequent social distancing measures, could lead to shifts in family and fertility planning. This study aimed to explore the associations between the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in fertility intentions among an international sample of reproductive-aged women.

Methods: A multi-country, cross-sectional study based on data from 10 672 women aged 18-49 years who participated in the International Sexual Health And REproductive Health (I-SHARE) study, which organised an international online survey between July 2020 and February 2021.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) healthcare in Singapore: perspectives of non-governmental organisations and clinical year medical students.

Purpose: International studies document that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) patients face significant health disparities. Studies exploring the attitudes, knowledge, preparedness and comfort levels of healthcare students towards LGBTQI+ health have been conducted in the United States, United Kingdom and Malaysia. This study aims to investigate stigma in healthcare for LGBTQI+ patients in Singapore, and possible upstream factors within medical education.

Intimate partner violence before and during the COVID-19 lockdown: findings from a cross-sectional study in Singapore.

Background: The coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in lockdowns worldwide, with reports suggesting a concomitant increase in the incidence of intimate partner violence (IPV). This study was part of the International Sexual and Reproductive Health (I-SHARE) Consortium, examining IPV and its correlates before and during lockdown in April 2020.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study, conducted online during August-September 2020, recruited 259 participants from Singapore who reported having a steady partner.

COVID-19 and the shifting organisation of sex work markets in Singapore.

While past studies have sought to capture how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the health and sexual lives of sex workers internationally, less attention has been paid to the reorganisation of sex markets as a result of COVID-19. We conducted a sequential exploratory mixed methods study using in-depth interviews, cyber ethnography and surveyor-administered structured surveys among sex workers. We report two key findings on how the pandemic has impacted sex markets in Singapore.

Partnership status, living arrangements, and changes in sexual behaviour and satisfaction during the COVID-19 lockdown: insights from an observational, cross-sectional online survey in Singapore.

Background The SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus disease 2019; COVID-19) pandemic and its concomitant movement control measures have had a profound impact on the world. In spite of its potential impact on sexual health, there is a lack of research on how the pandemic and its movement control measures have impacted sexual wellbeing among Singaporeans. Methods This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted from August to September 2020.

Statistical Process Control Charts for Monitoring Next-Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Turnaround in Precision Medicine Initiatives.

Purpose: Precision oncology, such as next generation sequencing (NGS) molecular analysis and bioinformatics are used to guide targeted therapies. The laboratory turnaround time (TAT) is a key performance indicator of laboratory performance. This study aims to formally apply statistical process control (SPC) methods such as CUSUM and EWMA to a precision medicine programme to analyze the learning curves of NGS and bioinformatics processes.

The Impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on the Health and Social Needs of Sex Workers in Singapore.

We evaluated the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the sex work industry and assessed how it has impacted the health and social conditions of sex workers in Singapore. We conducted a sequential exploratory mixed methods study amidst the COVID-19 pandemic from April to October 2020, including in-depth interviews with 24 stakeholders from the sex work industry and surveyor-administered structured surveys with 171 sex workers. COVID-19 had a substantial impact on sex workers' income.

Social capital and chemsex initiation in young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: the pink carpet Y cohort study.

Background: Young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (YMSM) are especially vulnerable to the risks associated with sexualized substance use, or 'chemsex'. Engaging in chemsex established as a major risk factor for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) acquisition, and is thus a public health issue of increasing urgency. This paper attempts to explore the association between measures of social capital and patterns of sexualized substance use among a sample of YMSM in Singapore.

Therapist written goodbye letters: evidence for therapeutic benefits in the treatment of anorexia nervosa.

Background: Despite their use in clinical practice, there is little evidence to support the use of therapist written goodbye letters as therapeutic tools. However, preliminary evidence suggests that goodbye letters may have benefits in the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN).

Aims: This study aimed to examine whether therapist written goodbye letters were associated with improvements in body mass index (BMI) and eating disorder symptomology in patients with AN after treatment.

Parents' prioritised outcomes for trials investigating treatments for paediatric severe infection: a qualitative synthesis.

Objective: To identify parents' prioritised outcomes by combining qualitative findings from two trial feasibility studies of interventions for paediatric suspected severe infection.

Design: Qualitative synthesis combining parent interview data from the Fluids in Shock (FiSh) and Fever feasibility studies. Parents had experience of their child being admitted to a UK emergency department or intensive care unit with a suspected infection.

Restricted fluid bolus versus current practice in children with septic shock: the FiSh feasibility study and pilot RCT.

Background: There has been no randomised controlled trial (RCT) of fluid bolus therapy in paediatric sepsis in the developed world despite evidence that excess fluid may be associated with harm.

Objectives: To determine the feasibility of the Fluids in Shock (FiSh) trial - a RCT comparing restricted fluid bolus (10 ml/kg) with current practice (20 ml/kg) in children with septic shock in the UK.

Design: (1) Qualitative feasibility study exploring parents' views about the pilot RCT.

Restricted fluid bolus volume in early septic shock: results of the Fluids in Shock pilot trial.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of Fluids in Shock, a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of restricted fluid bolus volume (10 mL/kg) versus recommended practice (20 mL/kg).

Design: Nine-month pilot RCT with embedded mixed-method perspectives study.

Setting: 13 hospitals in England.

A qualitative feasibility study to inform a randomised controlled trial of fluid bolus therapy in septic shock.

Objective: The Fluids in Shock (FiSh) Trial proposes to evaluate whether restrictive fluid bolus therapy (10 mL/kg) is more beneficial than current recommended practice (20 mL/kg) in the resuscitation of children with septic shock in the UK. This qualitative feasibility study aimed to explore acceptability of the FiSh Trial, including research without prior consent (RWPC), potential barriers to recruitment and participant information for a pilot trial.

Design: Qualitative interview study involving parents of children who had presented to a UK emergency department or been admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit with severe infection in the previous 3 years.

Evidence that Illness-Compatible Cues Are Rewarding in Women Recovered from Anorexia Nervosa: A Study of the Effects of Dopamine Depletion on Eye-Blink Startle Responses.

In anorexia nervosa (AN), motivational salience is attributed to illness-compatible cues (e.g., underweight and active female bodies) and this is hypothesised to involve dopaminergic reward circuitry.

Written case formulations in the treatment of anorexia nervosa: Evidence for therapeutic benefits.

Objective: Case formulation is a core component of many psychotherapies and formulation letters may provide an opportunity to enhance the therapeutic alliance and improve treatment outcomes. This study aimed to determine if formulation letters predict treatment satisfaction, session attendance, and symptom reductions in anorexia nervosa (AN). It was hypothesized that higher quality formulation letters would predict greater treatment satisfaction, a greater number of attended sessions, and greater improvement in eating disorder symptoms.

Two-year follow-up of the MOSAIC trial: A multicenter randomized controlled trial comparing two psychological treatments in adult outpatients with broadly defined anorexia nervosa.

Objective: This study reports follow-up data from a multicenter randomized controlled trial (n = 142) comparing the Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA) with Specialist Supportive Clinical Management (SSCM) in outpatients with broadly defined anorexia nervosa (AN). At 12 months postrandomization, all patients had statistically significant improvements in body mass index (BMI), eating disorder (ED) symptomatology and other outcomes with no differences between groups. MANTRA was more acceptable to patients.

The Effects of Acute Dopamine Precursor Depletion on the Reinforcing Value of Exercise in Anorexia Nervosa.

This study investigated whether dopaminergic systems are involved in the motivation to engage in behaviours associated with anorexia nervosa (AN), specifically, the drive to exercise. Women recovered from AN (AN REC, n = 17) and healthy controls (HC, n = 15) were recruited. The acute phenylalanine/tyrosine depletion (APTD) method was used to transiently decrease dopamine synthesis and transmission.

A reward-centred model of anorexia nervosa: a focussed narrative review of the neurological and psychophysiological literature.

This focussed narrative review examines neurobiological and psychophysiological evidence supporting a role for altered reward processes in the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). In AN, there does not appear to be a generalised inability to experience reward. Rather, data suggest that a reluctance to gain weight leads to an aversive appraisal of food- and taste-related stimuli.

Acute phenylalanine/tyrosine depletion reduces motivation to smoke cigarettes across stages of addiction.

The neurobiology of tobacco use is poorly understood, possibly in part because the relevant mechanisms might differ depending on past nicotine exposure and degree of addiction. In the present study we investigated whether these factors might affect the role of dopamine (DA). Using the acute phenylalanine/tyrosine depletion method (APTD), DA synthesis was transiently decreased in three groups of abstinent smokers (n=47): (1) early low-frequency smokers, who had smoked a maximum of five cigarettes per day for less than one year, (2) stable low-frequency smokers smoking at the same level as early low-frequency smokers for at least 3 years, and (3) stable high-frequency smokers, who smoked a minimum of 10 or more cigarettes per day for at least 5 years.