Oropharyngeal gonorrhoea among heterosexual men and women at a sexual health centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 2023: reservoir for transmission?

Background: Sexual health centres (SHCs) in the Netherlands report a surge in gonorrhoea, especially among young women (notably oropharyngeal) and men who have sex with women (MSW) since the second half of 2022. MSW are not routinely oropharyngeal tested, and women only when reporting oral sex. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess oropharyngeal gonorrhoea in MSW and women, and potential underdiagnosis.

The roles of the general practitioner and sexual health centre in HIV testing: comparative insights and impact on HIV incidence rates in the Rotterdam area, the Netherlands - a cross-sectional population-based study.

Background: Access to HIV testing is crucial for detection, linkage to treatment, and prevention. In less urbanised areas, reliance on general practitioners (GPs) for HIV testing is probable, as sexual health centres (SHC) are mostly located within urbanised areas. Limited insight into individuals undergoing HIV testing stems from sparse standard registration of demographics at GPs.

Testing for sexually transmitted infection: who and where? A data linkage study using population and provider data in the Rotterdam area, the Netherlands.

Background: In the Netherlands, insight into sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and characteristics of those tested by general practitioners (GPs) and sexual health centres (SHC) is limited. This is partly due to lacking registration of socio-demographics at GPs. We aimed to fill this gap by linking different registers.

Community-based HIV testing through a general health check event in a high HIV-prevalent multicultural area in Rotterdam, The Netherlands: a pilot study on feasibility and acceptance.

Background: HIV testing is crucial for finding the remaining cases in a declining HIV epidemic in The Netherlands; providing HIV testing in non-traditional settings may be warranted. We conducted a pilot study to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a community-based HIV testing (CBHT) approach with general health checks to improve HIV test uptake.

Methods: CBHT's main conditions were low-threshold, free-of-charge, general health check, and HIV education.

Area-based comparison of risk factors and testing rates to improve sexual health care access: cross-sectional population-based study in a Dutch multicultural area.

Objectives: Areas with high sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing rates may not require additional strategies to improve testing. However, it may be necessary to intervene in areas with elevated STI risk, but with low STI testing rates. We aimed to compare STI-related risk profiles and STI testing rates by geographical area to determine areas for improvement of sexual healthcare access.

Changes in shared and private e-scooter use in Brisbane, Australia and their safety implications.

Shared electric scooter (e-scooter) schemes debuted in US cities in 2017 and have spread to many cities worldwide. Rider inexperience and the inexperience of other road users in interacting with e-scooters may be contributing to injuries. Shared e-scooters came to Brisbane, Australia, in November 2018 and our observational study in February 2019 found a high level of non-compliance with regulations by riders of shared, but not private, e-scooters.

Distance as explanatory factor for sexual health centre utilization: an urban population-based study in the Netherlands.

Background: The central sexual health centre (SHC) in the greater Rotterdam area in the Netherlands helps finding people unaware of their STI/HIV status. We aimed to determine a possible association between SHC utilization and travel distance in this urban and infrastructure-rich area. Insight in area-specific utilization helps adjust outreach policies to enhance STI testing.

Introducing accompanied driving in Denmark. Safety-related differences between youth licensing with immediate or delayed access to solo driving.

In Denmark, the legal license age was lowered from 18 to 17, to allow practice with an experienced driver before solo driving from age 18. The change gives the candidate driver a choice between: a) licensing at age 17 followed by a phase of accompanied driving until solo driving at age 18 (L17), and b) licensing at age 18 (or older) giving immediate access to solo driving (L18). The purpose of this study is: First, to explore safety-related differences between youth choosing the L17 or the L18 option, with a particular focus on safety attitude and self-assessed driving skills.

Who is providing HIV diagnostic testing? Comparing HIV testing by general practitioners and sexual health centres in five regions in the Netherlands, 2011-2018.

Objectives: General practitioners (GPs) and sexual health centres (SHCs) are the main providers of HIV testing and diagnose two-thirds of HIV infections in the Netherlands. We compared regional HIV testing and positivity by GPs versus SHCs to gain insight into strategies to improve HIV testing, to enable timely detection of HIV infections.

Methods: Laboratory data (2011-2018) on HIV testing by GPs and SHCs in five Dutch regions with varying levels of urbanisation were evaluated.

Influencing factors of observed speed and rule compliance of speed-pedelec riders in high volume cycling areas: Implications for safety and legislation.

Speed pedelecs (s-pedelecs) are electric bicycles offering pedal assistance up to 45 km/h. S-pedelecs may contribute to a more efficient and green traffic system. However, their potential to reach high speeds has raised road safety concerns.

Traffic conflicts involving speed-pedelecs (fast electric bicycles): A naturalistic riding study.

Speed-pedelecs -fast electric bicycles offering pedal support up to a speed of 45 km/h- are a recent, environmentally friendly, and mobility efficient innovation. However, their high travel speed may increase crash and injury risk. Due to their recent introduction accurate crash data are not available yet.

Can't simply roll it out: Evaluating a real-world virtual reality intervention to reduce driving under the influence.

Driving under the influence (DUI) increases the risk of crashes. Emerging technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), represent potentially powerful and attractive tools for the prevention of risky behaviours, such as DUI. Therefore, they are embraced in prevention efforts with VR interventions primed to grow in popularity in near future.

Comparing the risky behaviours of shared and private e-scooter and bicycle riders in downtown Brisbane, Australia.

Electric scooter (e-scooter) use has increased internationally, with concerns about injuries to riders and pedestrians, and reports of non-use of helmets, excessive speed, drink-riding and underage riding. E-scooter regulations vary widely among jurisdictions, with likely effects on the extent and nature of safety issues. This study was conducted in downtown Brisbane, Australia, where e-scooters must be ridden on the footpath, bicycles are allowed on the road and the footpath, and helmet use is mandatory for bicycle and e-scooter riders of all ages.

Understanding the predictors of young drivers' speeding intention and behaviour in a three-month longitudinal study.

This study aimed to examine to what extent an Adolescent Speeding Specific Model (ASSM), extending the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), predicts young drivers' (aged 18-25) future and past speeding (n = 126). The ASSM tested the contribution of demographics, split TPB, additional predictors and past behaviour to young drivers' speeding at two moments of time, over three months. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that participants most likely to speed in the future were those who have done so in the past (independent predictor (ip): past compliance with the speed limit), and who were not certain in their ability to control their speeding (ip: self-efficacy).

Speed characteristics of speed pedelecs, pedelecs and conventional bicycles in naturalistic urban and rural traffic conditions.

To assess the potential impact of the higher speeds of pedal-assisted bicycles on safety, this study compared conventional bicycles, pedelecs and speed pedelecs (hereafter called s-pedelecs) on mean speeds, speed variability, harsh braking events (decelerations > 2 m/s), and mean speeds above the speed limit (MSAL) in rural and urban areas in the Netherlands Data were collected in daily traffic, while the legal maximum speed for speed-pedelecs was 25 km/h, and pedelecs and s-pedelecs shared the infrastructure with conventional bicycles. Data were collected, using two-wheelers equipped with accelerometers and GPS. Personality factors - sensation seeking and risk taking - were measured with surveys.

Driver knowledge of cycling-related road rules in Queensland, Australia.

Objectives: Violations of road rules are common in bicycle-motor vehicle crashes, but little is known about how much this results from lack of knowledge of the rules. This article addresses the research questions of how well do drivers know the road rules related to interacting with cyclists, and what factors influence their level of knowledge.

Methods: An online survey compared drivers who reported riding bicycles on Queensland roads in the previous 12 months ("cyclists":  = 2,839) and those who did not ("drivers":  = 4,070).

Social environment versus cycling competency predicting risk-taking in 11- to 13-year-old cyclists in The Netherlands.

From age 12 onwards, cycling injuries begin rising in The Netherlands. A known contributing factor is younger children's underdeveloped competency to deal with complex and hazardous traffic situations, and their exposure to such situations strongly increases after transitioning to secondary school. Little is known about intentional risk-taking as a contributing factor.

Higher-order cycling skills among 11- to 13-year-old cyclists and relationships with cycling experience, risky behavior, crashes and self-assessed skill.

Introduction: In the Netherlands, young cyclists are extremely vulnerable in traffic, which may partly be due to their still underdeveloped higher-order cycling skill. So far, knowledge on their actual level of skill is lacking. Using a computerized test battery mimicking real-life risky traffic conditions, this study assessed the level of higher-order cycling skill in children 11 and 12 years of age and tested the hypothesis that these skills show caveats.

[Sex under the age of 25 in 2017: the sexual health of young people in the Netherlands].

Objective: To gain insight in the sexual health of young people aged 12 to 25 in the Netherlands. Municipal health services and other stakeholders in the area of the promotion of sexual health were involved in various phases of this study, the results of which can be applied better to maintaining or improving the sexual health of young people.

Design: Large-scale representative study with a cross-sectional design which was previously conducted in 2005 and 2012.

Detection of Incident Anal High-Risk Human Papillomavirus DNA in Men Who Have Sex With Men: Incidence or Reactivation?

Background: We aimed to assess whether sexual exposure may explain all incident anal human papillomavirus (HPV) detections among men who have sex with men (MSM).

Methods: A longitudinal study among MSM was conducted between 2010 and 2013 with visits every 6 months and up to 24 months of follow-up. Risk-factor questionnaires, blood samples, and anal and penile self-swabs were collected at each visit.

Road injuries, health burden, but not fatalities make 12- to 17-year olds a high risk group in the Netherlands.

Background: To explore the impact of road injuries for different age groups, this study compares the health burden of road injuries in young adolescents-12 to 17 years of age-to those for older age groups. Young adolescents are underrepresented in road fatalities. However, their inexperience, developmental stage and use of bicycles may expose them to high levels of road risk, but their physical resilience may help them survive injuries which in older age groups would be fatal.

An experiment on rider stability while mounting: Comparing middle-aged and elderly cyclists on pedelecs and conventional bicycles.

Pedelecs, popular among elderly cyclists, are associated with a higher injury risk than conventional bicycles. About 17% of these injuries are due to falls while (dis)mounting. Using instrumented bicycles, this study aimed to identify factors contributing to the stability of self-chosen mounting methods in four user groups: 30-45 versus 65+ years of age and males versus females.