Background The COVID-19 pandemic led to the implementation of various non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) as the Singapore government escalated containment efforts from DORSCON Orange to Circuit Breaker. NPI include mandatory mask wearing, hand hygiene, social distancing, and closure of schools and workplaces. Considering the similar mode of transmission of COVID-19 and other pathogens related to acute respiratory infections (ARI), the effects of NPI could possibly lead to decreased ARI attendances in the community. This study aims to determine the year-on-year and weekly changes of ARI attendances across a cluster of polyclinics following the implementation of NPI. Methods The effect of the nation-wide measures on the health-seeking behaviour of the study population was examined over three periods: (1) 9 weeks prior to the start of Circuit Breaker (DORSCON Orange period), (2) 8 weeks during the Circuit Breaker, and (3) 9 weeks after easing of Circuit Breaker. Data on ARI attendances for the corresponding periods in 2019 were also extracted for comparison and to assess the seasonal variations of ARI. The average weekly workday ARI attendances were compared with those of the preceding week using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results ARI attendances dropped steadily throughout the study period and were 50–80% lower than in 2019 since Circuit Breaker. They remained low even after Circuit Breaker ended. Positivity rate for influenza-like illnesses samples in the community was 0.0% from the last week of Circuit Breaker to end of study period. Conclusions NPI and public education measures during DORSCON Orange and Circuit Breaker periods appear to be associated with the health-seeking behaviour of the public. Changing levels of perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits and barriers, and widespread visual cues based on the Health Belief Model may account for this change. Understanding the impact of NPI and shifts in the public’s health-seeking behaviour will be relevant and helpful in the planning of future pandemic responses.

Sleep norms vary between individuals, being affected by personal, communal, and socioeconomic factors. Individuals with sleep time which deviate from the population norm are at risks of adverse mental, cardiovascular, and metabolic health. Sleep-related issues are common agenda for consultation in primary care. This study aimed to determine the sleep time, pattern, and behavior of multiethnic Asian individuals who attended public primary care clinics in an urban metropolitan city-state.Standardized questionnaires were assistant-administered to adult Asian individuals who visited 2 local public primary care clinics in north-eastern and southern regions of Singapore. The questionnaire included questions on demographic characteristics, self-reported sleep time, patterns, and behavior and those originated from the American National Sleep Foundation Sleep Diary. The data were collated, audited, rectified, and anonymized before being analyzed by the biostatistician. Individuals with 7 h sleep time or longer were deemed getting adequate sleep. Chi-squared or Fisher exact test was used to test the association between the demographic and behavioral variables and sleep time. Next, regression analysis was performed to identify key factors associated with their sleep time.A total of 350 individuals were recruited, with higher proportion of those of Chinese ethnicity reporting adequate sleep. Almost half (48.1%) of those who slept <7 h on weekdays tended to sleep ≥7 h on weekends. More individuals who reported no difficulty falling asleep, had regular sleep hours and awakening time, tended to sleep adequately. Those who slept with children, studied, read leisurely, used computer or laptops in their bedrooms, drank caffeinated beverages or smoked had inadequate sleep. Those who perceived sufficient sleep and considered 8 h as adequate sleep time had weekday and weekend sleep adequacy.Sleep time varied according to ethnicity, employment status, personal behavior, and perception of sleep sufficiency. Awareness of sleep time and pattern allows the local physicians to contextualize the discussion of sleep adequacy with their patients during consultation, which is a prerequisite to resolve their sleep-related issues.

IntroductionEarly diagnosis of prediabetes based on blood sampling for the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is crucial for intervention but multiple barriers hinder its uptake. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and precision of a self-administered capillary OGTT for type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in high-risk individuals.Research design and methodsParticipants with history of gestational diabetes or prediabetes were recruited in primary care. Due to their prediabetic status and previous diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus, a proportion of participants had previous experience doing OGTT. They self-administered the capillary OGTT and concurrently their venous glucose samples were obtained. They filled a questionnaire to collect their demographic information, views of their capillary OGTT, and their preferred site of the test.ResultsAmong 30 participants enrolled in this feasibility study, 93.3% of them felt confident of performing the capillary OGTT themselves, and 70.0% preferred the test at home. Older, less educated participants found it less acceptable. Mean capillary glucose values were significantly higher than venous glucose values, with mean difference at 0.31 mmol/L (95% CI 0.13 to 0.49) at fasting, and 0.47 mmol/L (95% CI 0.12 to 0.92) 2 hours post-OGTT. Capillary and venous glucose measurements were correlated for fasting (r=0.95; p<0.001) and 2-hour-post-OGTT (r=0.95;p<0.001). The Fleiss-Kappa Score (0.79, p<0.0001) indicated fair agreement between the two methods. The capillary OGTT had excellent sensitivity (94.1%) and negative predictive value (NPV=91.7%) in identifying prediabetes or T2DM status, vis-a-vis to venous glucose samples.ConclusionSelf-administered capillary OGTT is feasible and acceptable, especially among younger adults, with excellent sensitivity and NPV compared with plasma-based OGTT.