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The article details how the introduction of penicillin in 1943 as treatment for syphilis influenced venereology and sexual healthcare delivery systems in mid-20th century Great Britain. Topics discussed include the change in public perception that venereal disease is a public threat and deserves fewer resources for control, the drastic reduction in syphilis cases in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and the factors behind the rise in syphilis cases during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The article presents public awareness campaign posters depicting development of syphilis cures in Great Britain from 1941 to 1945.

The article describes how the introduction of penicillin revolutionized venereology care in Great Britain from 1944 to 1964.

Introduction: Sexual health is essential for general health and well-being. Sexual health services for middle-aged and older adults are not prioritised and optimising available services for this population is often overlooked. Not much is known about preferences for accessing sexual health services among middle-aged and older people or level of satisfaction with current services. The aim of this study is to explore preferences for seeking sexual health services among middle-aged and older adults in the UK. This study will use discrete choice experiments (DCEs) including initial qualitative interviews followed by the survey, which have been used as a tool to explore preferences in various health service delivery., Methods and Analysis: The project will be carried out in two phases. First, we will conduct in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20-30 adults (aged 45+), including disabled people, and those from sexual minority groups resident in the UK. Interviews will explore indications, preferences and factors related to accessing sexual health services. Themes and subthemes emerging from the analysis of the interviews will then be used to design the choice sets and attribute level for the DCEs. For the second phase, for the DCEs, we will design choice sets composed of sexual health service delivery scenarios. The software Ngene will be used to develop the experimental design matrix for the DCE. We will use descriptive statistics to summarise the key sociodemographic characteristics of the study population. Multinomial logit, latent class and mixed logit models will be explored to assess sexual health service preferences and preference heterogeneity., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval for both parts of this study was granted by the Research and Ethics Committee at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Findings from this study will be disseminated widely to relevant stakeholders via scheduled meetings, webinars, presentations and journal publications., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Objectives: Population-representative studies of the sexual health of middle-aged and older adults are lacking in ageing societies. This study aimed to identify latent patterns of sexual behaviours and health of people aged 45-74 years., Methods: We conducted a latent class analysis of the National Attitudes and Sexual Lifestyles Survey (Natsal-3), a nationally representative survey conducted in Britain in 2011., Results: Of the 5260 respondents aged 45-74 years, 48.86% of men and 44.91% of women belonged to the Content Caseys class who reported good sexual health. The Infrequent Indigos (30.94% of men, 44.38% of women) were characterised by a lack of sexual activity, reported some dissatisfaction, and were more likely to have a disability. The Low-Functioning Lees (11.65% of men, 8.41% of women) reported some more disability and had issues with sexual functioning and higher levels of distress. The Multiple-Partnered Morgans (8.62% of men, 2.30% of women) were characterised by a greater number of sexual partners and several risk behaviours., Conclusions: The use of these four classes can aid in improved targeting of tailored sexual health services to improve sexual function, sexual satisfaction, reduce distress and risky behaviours among middle-aged and older adults. These services should be inclusive of the disabled community., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)