Introduction: Unsupported attempts to quit smoking during pregnancy have a low success rate. Chances of quitting successfully are higher with an interpersonal treatment programme but there is low uptake of this in the United Kingdom (UK). Delivering a pregnancy-specific treatment programme digitally may provide an alternative treatment route.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Imaging Radiat Sci
December 2024
Introduction: This work reports on an unusual finding observed during image quality assessment in the preparation for the clinical implementation of breast magnetic resonance image-guided radiotherapy (MRIgRT) on a 1.5 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance linear accelerator (MR-Linac) (Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden).
Case And Outcomes: A patient with T2 N0 M0 right breast invasive ductal carcinoma, receiving adjuvant radiotherapy, underwent two imaging sessions on the MR-Linac.
Introduction: Smoking during pregnancy is harmful to unborn babies, infants and women. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is offered as the usual stop-smoking support in the UK. However, this is often used in insufficient doses, intermittently or for too short a time to be effective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Objectives: Evidence from studies among non-Indigenous populations has established the association of poor sleep to mental health issues and supported how improving sleep could reduce the risk of mental ill health. In contrast, for Indigenous people, who experience disproportionate rates of mental ill health, the association between sleep and mental health and the potential of sleep health in reducing the risk and severity of mental health issues have never been fully reviewed. Considering the literature gap, this review assesses the association between sleep and mental health in Indigenous people.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose/objective: To determine the impact of a MR-based contouring atlas for male pelvis radiotherapy delineation on inter-observer variation to support radiographer led real-time magnetic resonance image guided adaptive radiotherapy (MRgART).
Material/methods: Eight RTTs contoured 25 MR images in the Monaco treatment planning system (Monaco 5.40.
Many pregnant smokers need support to quit successfully. In the United Kingdom, trained smoking cessation advisors deliver structured behavioural counselling alongside access to free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT); known as the 'Standard Treatment Programme' (STP). Pregnant smokers who access STP support are more likely to quit, but uptake is low.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Globally, sexually transmissible infections (STIs) continue to disproportionately affect young people. Regular STI testing is an important public health strategy but remains low among this age group. Raising awareness of testing is an essential step and requires effective interventions designed for young people.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Metallic implants cause artefacts and distortion on MRI. To ensure accurate dose delivery and plan adaptation on an MR Linac, there is a need to evaluate distortion caused.
Methods: Participants were imaged on an MR Linac (Elekta Unity, Elekta AB Stockholm).
Introduction: Digital cessation support appeals to pregnant smokers. In two pooled RCTs, MiQuit, a pregnancy-specific tailored text messaging intervention, did not show effectiveness for validated prolonged abstinence. However, secondary outcomes and potential moderators and mediators have not been investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Social support can mitigate the impact of stress and stigma before or after an abortion. However, stigma anticipation can limit access to in-person support. Informal online spaces can offer opportunities to address unmet support needs including supplementing in-person support lacking within stigmatised contexts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), in which people take HIV medication to prevent HIV acquisition, underpins global HIV transmission elimination strategies. Effective prevention needs people to adhere to PrEP and remain in care during periods of risk, but this is difficult to achieve. We undertook a process evaluation of Scotland's PrEP programme to explore barriers and facilitators to PrEP adherence and retention in care and to systematically develop evidence-based, theoretically-informed recommendations to address them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The need to engage boys in gender-transformative relationships and sexuality education (RSE) to reduce adolescent pregnancy is endorsed by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Objectives: To evaluate the effects of on the avoidance of unprotected sex and other sexual health outcomes.
Design: A cluster randomised trial, incorporating health economics and process evaluations.
Background: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is key to HIV transmission elimination but implementation is challenging and under-researched. We undertook a process evaluation of the first 2years of a national PrEP program to explore barriers and facilitators to implementation and to develop recommendations to improve implementation, focusing on PrEP uptake and initiation.
Methods: Stage 1 involved semi-structured telephone interviews and focus groups (September 2018-July 2019) with geographically and demographically diverse patients seeking/using/declining/stopping PrEP (n =39), sexual healthcare professionals (n =54), community-based organisation service users (n =9) and staff (n =15) across Scotland.
Background: The effectiveness of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation in pregnancy is limited by inconsistent and incorrect use. This paper describes the development process for "Baby, Me, & NRT", a novel pregnancy-specific intervention aimed at enhancing adherence to NRT.
Methods: An integrated approach to intervention development was used, combining evidence, theory, stakeholders' feedback, and tailoring principles.
Background: The quality of school-based sex and relationships education (SRE) is variable in the UK. Digitally-based interventions can usefully supplement teacher-delivered lessons and positively impact sexual health knowledge. Designed to address gaps in core SRE knowledge, STASH (Sexually Transmitted infections And Sexual Health) is a peer-led social network intervention adapted from the successful ASSIST (A Stop Smoking in Schools Trial) model, and based on Diffusion of Innovation theory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOptimal sleep, both in terms of duration and quality, is important for adolescent health. However, young people's sleeping habits have worsened over recent years. Access to and use of interactive electronic devices (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Few studies have investigated how to best measure adherence to smoking cessation medications, but continuous usage measures are recommended.
Objective: In this first study of its kind, we compared methods for measuring adherence to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) among pregnant women, investigating the completeness and validity of data collected from daily assessments using a smartphone app versus data collected from retrospective questionnaires.
Methods: Women aged ≥16 years who were daily smokers and <25 weeks pregnant were offered smoking-cessation counseling and encouraged to use NRT.
Introduction: Improving adherence to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in pregnancy may result in higher smoking cessation rates. Informed by the Necessities and Concerns Framework, we developed an intervention targeting pregnancy NRT adherence. To evaluate this, we derived the NRT in pregnancy necessities and concerns questionnaire (NiP-NCQ), which measures perceived need for NRT and concerns about potential consequences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Many countries recommend Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation in pregnancy. Preclinical studies of nicotine exposure to pregnant mammals could indicate how nicotine may adversely affect the developing fetus. As a first step towards summarising this literature, we undertook a systematic scoping review to determine the number and nature of offspring outcomes studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To explore geographical variations in the prevalence of traditional and cyberbullying and their individual and additive role on psychological and somatic health issues of adolescents.
Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 188,003 adolescents (50.9% females; mean age 13.
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated school closures may have constrained educational participation particularly for students in disadvantaged circumstances. We explore how 30 disadvantaged students in secondary school (14 mainstream/16 Flexible Learning Programme) from Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania experienced home learning during the first wave of COVID-19, teasing out nuances across two educational models. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with these students, our analysis revealed three interconnected themes inflecting their learning: connection, connectivity and choice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper contributes to the growing body of research that demonstrates uneven impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational outcomes of students from different socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. We evaluate the early impacts of COVID-19 on student attendance in secondary school and show how these impacts depend on students' SES. We employ a quasi-experimental design, using difference-in-differences (DiD) estimation extended to incorporate third-order differences over time between low-SES and other students, and pre- versus during-COVID-19, leveraging robust administrative data extracted from the registers of the Tasmanian Department of Education.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/purpose: This work evaluated the suitability of MR derived sequences for use in online adaptive RT workflows on a 1.5 Tesla (T) MR-Linear Accelerator (MR Linac).
Materials/methods: Non-patient volunteers were recruited to an ethics approved MR Linac imaging study.