Publications by authors named "Emily Dema"

Background: Uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is generally high in high-income countries with school-based vaccination programmes; however, lower uptake in certain population subgroups could continue pre-immunisation inequalities in cervical cancer.

Methods: Six electronic databases were searched for quantitative articles published between 1 September 2006 and 20 February 2023, which were representative of the general population, with individual-level data on routine school-based vaccination (with >50% coverage) and sociodemographic measures. Titles, abstracts and full-text articles were screened for eligibility criteria and assessed for bias.

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Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, online sexual health service delivery increased across Britain. We investigated inequalities in STI testing access and methods of access during the first year of the pandemic.

Methods: Natsal-COVID, an online-survey of people 18-59 years in Britain, explored sexual health experiences in the first year of the pandemic.

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Objectives: The utility of whole genome sequencing (WGS) to inform sexually transmitted infection (STI) patient management is unclear. Timely WGS data might support clinical management of STIs by characterising epidemiological links and antimicrobial resistance profiles. We conducted a systematic review of clinical application of WGS to any human pathogen that may be transposable to gonorrhoea.

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Introduction: The extent to which individuals living with HIV experience residential and healthcare mobility during pregnancy in the UK is unknown. We aimed to determine a minimum estimate of residential and healthcare mobility during pregnancy in people living with HIV in the UK in 2009-2019 to explore patterns of and factors associated with mobility and to assess whether mobility was associated with specific HIV outcomes.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service to assess pregnancies with HIV in the UK and included livebirths and stillbirths with estimated delivery in 2009-2019.

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Importance: Understanding disparities in human papillomavirus (HPV) awareness is crucial, given its association with vaccine uptake.

Objective: To investigate differences in HPV awareness by educational attainment, race, ethnicity, and their intersectionality.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study used the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5 cycles 1 to 4 data (January 26, 2017, to June 15, 2020).

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Objectives: To assess sexual behaviour, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes, after 1 year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Britain.

Methods: 6658 participants aged 18-59 and resident in Britain completed a cross-sectional web-panel survey (Natsal-COVID-Wave 2, March-April 2021), 1 year after the first lockdown. Natsal-COVID-2 follows the Natsal-COVID-Wave 1 survey (July-August 2020) which captured impacts in the initial months.

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Background: Contraceptive services were significantly disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic in Britain. We investigated contraception-related health inequalities in the first year of the pandemic.

Methods: Natsal-COVID Wave 2 surveyed 6658 adults aged 18-59 years between March and April 2021, using quotas and weighting to achieve quasi-representativeness.

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Background: The UK National Screening Committee currently recommends against antenatal screening for Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in England due to lack of HCV prevalence data and treatment licensed for use in pregnancy. We aimed to produce regional and national estimates of the number and proportion of livebirths to HCV seropositive women in England in 2013 and 2018.

Methods: A logistic regression model fitted in the Bayesian framework estimated probabilities of HCV seropositivity among 24,599 mothers delivering in the North Thames area of England in 2012 adjusted by maternal age and region of birth.

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Objectives: To investigate how differential access to key interventions to reduce STIs, HIV and their sequelae changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: British participants (18-59 years) completed a cross-sectional web survey 1 year (March-April 2021) after the initial lockdown in Britain. Quota-based sampling and weighting resulted in a quasi-representative population sample.

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Background: The National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles COVID study (Natsal-COVID) was designed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on Britain's sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Natsal-COVID Wave 1 survey and qualitative follow-up interviews were conducted in 2020. The Wave 2 survey was designed to capture one-year prevalence estimates for key SRH outcomes and measure changes over the first year of the pandemic.

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Britain's National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) have been undertaken decennially since 1990 and provide a key data source underpinning sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policy. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of sexual lifestyles, triggering an urgent need for population-level data on sexual behaviour, relationships, and service use at a time when gold-standard in-person, household-based surveys with probability sampling were not feasible. We designed the Natsal-COVID study to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the nation's SRH and assessed the sample representativeness.

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Introduction: Access to quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services remains imperative even during a pandemic. Our objective was to understand experiences of delayed or unsuccessful access to SRH services in Britain during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: In October and November 2020 we conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with 14 women and six men reporting an unmet need for SRH services in the Natsal-COVID survey, a large-scale quasi-representative web-panel survey of sexual health and behaviour during COVID-19 (n=6654).

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Intimate relationships are ubiquitous and exert a strong influence on health. Widespread disruption to them may impact wellbeing at a population level. We investigated the extent to which the first COVID-19 lockdown (March 2020) affected steady relationships in Britain.

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Objectives: Physical distancing as a non-pharmaceutical intervention aims to reduce interactions between people to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Intimate physical contact outside the household (IPCOH) may expand transmission networks by connecting households. We aimed to explore whether intimacy needs impacted adherence to physical distancing following lockdown in Britain in March 2020.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected sexual and reproductive health (SRH) service use and unmet need, but the impact is unknown. We aimed to determine the proportion of participants reporting sexual risk behaviours, SRH service use and unmet need, and to assess remote sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing service use after the first national lockdown in Britain.

Methods: We used data from the National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal)-COVID cross-sectional, quasi-representative web survey (Natsal-COVID Wave 1).

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Objectives: Physical restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19 dramatically altered sexual lifestyles but the specific impacts on sexual behaviour are still emerging. We investigated physical and virtual sexual activities, sexual frequency and satisfaction in the 4 months following lockdown in Britain in March 2020 and compared with pre-lockdown.

Methods: Weighted analyses of web panel survey data collected July/August 2020 from a quota-based sample of 6654 people aged 18-59 years in Britain.

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Lead (Pb) is a teratogen that poses health risks after acute and chronic exposure. Lead is deposited in the bones of adults and is continuously leached into the blood for decades. While this chronic lead exposure can have detrimental effects on adults such as high blood pressure and kidney damage, developing fetuses and young children are particularly vulnerable.

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