scholarly journals Measuring the impact of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health in the UK: web-panel surveys with qualitative follow-up

The Lancet ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 398 ◽  
pp. S46
Author(s):  
Nigel Field ◽  
Emily Dema ◽  
Andrew J Copas ◽  
Soazig Clifton ◽  
Anne Conolly ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Emily Dema ◽  
Andrew J Copas ◽  
Soazig Clifton ◽  
Anne Conolly ◽  
Margaret Blake ◽  
...  

Background: 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. Methods: Natsal-COVID Wave 1 data collection was conducted four months (29/7-10/8/2020) after the announcement of Britain’s first national lockdown (23/03/2020). This was an online web-panel survey administered by survey research company, Ipsos MORI. Eligible participants were resident in Britain, aged 18-59 years, and the sample included a boost of those aged 18-29. Questions covered participants’ sexual behaviour, relationships, and SRH service use. Quotas and weighting were used to achieve a quasi-representative sample of the British general population. Participants meeting criteria of interest and agreeing to recontact were selected for qualitative follow-up interviews. Comparisons were made with contemporaneous national probability surveys and Natsal-3 (2010-12) to understand bias. Results: 6,654 participants completed the survey and 45 completed follow-up interviews. The weighted Natsal-COVID sample was similar to the general population in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, rurality, and, among sexually-active participants, numbers of sexual partners in the past year. However, the sample was more educated, contained more sexually-inexperienced people, and included more people in poorer health. Conclusions: Natsal-COVID Wave 1 rapidly collected quasi-representative population data to enable evaluation of the early population-level impact of COVID-19 and lockdown measures on SRH in Britain and inform policy. Although sampling was less representative than the decennial Natsals, Natsal-COVID will complement national surveillance data and Natsal-4 (planned for 2022).


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijayan Sharmila ◽  
Thirunavukkarasu Arun Babu

: Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was first reported from China in December 2019, and World Health Organization declared the outbreak as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. The number of confirmed cases is rising alarmingly in most countries across all continents over the past few months. The current COVID-19 pandemic has an immense impact on Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) with disruptions in regular provision of Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services such as maternal care, safe abortion services, contraception, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Other aspects that merit attention include probable increase in domestic violence, sexual abuse, and effects of stigma associated with coronavirus infection on SRH clients and health care providers. Furthermore, as the coronavirus infection is relatively new, only minimal data is available to understand the impact of this disease on SRH, including coronavirus infection complicating pregnancies, and in people with STI/HIV-related immunosuppression. There is a serious necessity for the medical fraternity to generate psycho-social and clinico-epidemiological correlations between coronavirus disease and SRHR outcomes. The article reviews the hidden impact of coronavirus pandemic on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women, particularly in India


Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 840-840
Author(s):  
Rachael E. Hough ◽  
Clare Rowntree ◽  
Rachel Wade ◽  
Nicholas Goulden ◽  
Chris Mitchell ◽  
...  

Abstract Despite the substantial improvements made in the outcomes of paediatric ALL, with ‘cure' rates now in excess of 90%, survival in teenage and young adult (TYA) patients has remained inferior. The reasons for this are likely multifactorial, including tumour biology, toxicity, compliance, access to clinical trials and protocol (adult or paediatric) used. We report the toxicity profiles observed in children, teenagers and young adults treated on the UK intensive, minimal residual disease (MRD) directed ALL protocol, UKALL2003. Of a total of 3126 patients treated, 1520 patients were under 5 years old, 767 were aged 5-9 years, 610 aged 10-15 years and 229 aged 16-24 years, with a median overall follow-up of 4 year and 10 months. The risk of serious adverse events (SAEs) was higher in patients older than 10 years (56% in 10-15 year olds, 53% in 16-24 year olds) compared to those aged 9 or younger (30% in under 5 years and 31% in 5-9 years)(p<0.0001), with no difference in the those aged 16-24 compared to younger teenagers (p=0.5). The incidence (per number of patients in each group) and distribution of toxicities according to age group is summarised in the table.Table 1Age in years<55-910-1516-24AllTotal number of patients1520767610229 NB: 56 pts≥20 years3126Infection n (%)328 (21.6%)130 (17.0%)145 (23.8%)72 (31.4%)675 (21.6%)Asaparaginase n (%)57 (3.8%)57 (7.4%)64 (10.5%)31 (13.5%)209 (6.7%)Methotrexate n (%)100 (6.6%)74 (9.6%)123 (20.2%)33 (14.4%)330 (10.6%)Steroid n (%)54 (3.6%)37 (4.8%)141 (23.1%)52 (22.7%)284 (9.0%)Vincristine n (%)34 (2.2%)11 (1.4%)22 (3.6%)7 (3.0%)74 (2.4%)Other SAEs94 (6.2%)42 (5.5%)90 (14.8%)25 (10.9%)251 (8.0%) The incidence of certain toxicities including viral infection (5.3%), asparaginase hypersensitivity (1.9%) and vincristine neurotoxicity (2.1%) appeared equivalent across all age groups. Avacular necrosis was seen predominantly in adolescents (83% of 147 events in 10-19 year olds) and was rare in those younger than 10 years (n=18) or older than 20 years (n=7). Asparaginase thrombotic events increased in frequency with increasing age (1.5% in under 5 years, 3.3% in 5-9 years, 4.4% in 10-15 years and 8.3% in 16-24 year olds)(p<0.0001). All other toxicities were more frequently observed in over 10 year olds compared to patients aged 9 or younger, with no difference between 16-24 year olds and 10-15 year olds. The impact of age on SAEs associated with intensive ALL chemotherapy varies according to specific toxicities. In general, toxicity is higher in those over 10 years compared to younger patients, with no excess toxicity in those aged 16-24 compared to 10-15 years. However, specific toxicities may increase with increasing age (thrombosis), be restricted to adolescence (AVN) or be unrelated to age (vincristine neurotoxicity, asparaginase hypersensitivity). Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


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