Pornography use among adolescents and the role of primary care
There has been an increase in the number of adolescents encountering and consuming pornography, and this exposure is concerning for parents, teachers and the public. In this American paper, Jhe et al (2023) note that in a sample of 1000 adolescents, 66% of males and 39% of females had watched online pornography.
Given the steady rise in pornography use among adolescents, it is probable that primary care providers will encounter it in clinical settings, making it necessary for them to play an active role in screening, conducting assessments and providing guidance. Jhe et al (2023) assert that having an unbiased understanding of the impact and function of pornography use in adolescents is central to providing support through their sexual development, and primary care providers are often the first point of contact when adolescents experience issues with wellbeing, including physical or mental health concerns.
The authors have developed guidelines for primary care providers to integrate routine screening and counselling of pornography use as a part of adolescent primary care and offer recommendations on how to facilitate conversations that may arise between youth and parents. The guidance covers the impact of pornography on sexual health and wellbeing; motivation for pornography use; the role of primary care in sexual health education; clinical assessment of pornography use; and the role of parents in sexual health education.
Analysing Google Trends to identify increased global public awareness of nasal polyps
Nasal polyps are a common inflammatory disorder of the upper airways which has a negative impact on quality of life, and Google Trends is an online tool that provides realworld data on health informatics worldwide. In this Chinese study, Jin et al (2023) explored global public interest and awareness in nasal polyps through the internet by performing a Google Trends analysis, with a time range set from January 2007 to December 2021.
The authors found that public interest in nasal polyps focuses on the symptoms and treatment and changes with time. For those countries with seasonal variation, such as the UK, the maximum peak for the relative search volume occurred during the winter, and the minimum peak during the summer.
Overall, more searches were undertaken over the last decade, and the authors speculate that this is not only closely associated with the rapid development and wide application of the internet but may also reflect an increasing public interest or an increasing incidence rate of nasal polyps to some extent. However, a complete realworld epidemiological study that could reflect the global incidence of nasal polyps has not been undertaken.
Google Trends analysis can supply seasonal variation and geographical distribution information together with ‘a positive understanding for identifying the influence of geographic distribution and seasonal variation on health information and diseases.’
Safety strategies of women and children affected by domestic violence
Domestic violence is consistently recognised as a public health issue that affects women and their children disproportionally. In this Canadian study, Winfield et al (2023) sought to explore safety strategies used by mothers and children living with severe domestic violence. Thirty mothers who experienced severe or potentially life-threatening domestic violence, and five adults who experienced domestic violence in childhood, were interviewed.
Five major themes emerged as coping strategies: ongoing communication; appeasing the abuser; soothing activities; exposure reduction; and fostering independence. The authors’ findings suggest that children exposed to domestic violence are not powerless: ‘instead, they can and do oppose the abuser’s violence in ways that are useful for safety planning with mothers and children.’ The researchers not only found that mothers and their children reassured each other, kept each other safe, and planned to leave their abuser, but also that participating mothers and children engaged in ongoing communication with each other using code language and technology, even when their abuser was present.
These findings can inform service providers conducting safety planning with women and their children; previous studies have shown that including children in domestic violence safety planning has been undervalued; and children can participate in safety planning strategies.
Advances in non-pharmaceutical interventions for chronic pain
Unlike acute pain, chronic pain can persist after healing from an injury or disease has occurred, and according to Stark et al (2022) ‘it is imperative to consider chronic pain as a unique and separate condition.’ In their review, Stark et al (2022) evaluate device interventions for chronic pain, commenting on their benefits and future directions.
The review covers both invasive and non-invasive interventions, with examples of the latter including transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), a handheld device delivering low-voltage electrical current through adhesive electrodes that are applied to patients’ skin. The amplitude, frequency, duration and pattern of the electrical currents can be adjusted to provide analgesia specific to a patient’s needs.
Interestingly, there has been an increase in the use of mobile phone applications in chronic pain management, offering patients an out-of-clinic alternative and a degree of autonomy. Further, mobile phone applications ‘span a broad spectrum, ranging from instructions on self-acupressure to music intervention and artificial intelligence, to chat forums moderated by experts in pain management.’
The authors note that despite advances in alternatives to oral analgesics like opioids, there clearly remains a distinct need for persistent innovation combined with rigorous research and development processes that involve all affected parties.