Huso Yi

• PhD, MS
• National University of Singapore

Background: Low-wage dormitory-dwelling migrant workers in Singapore were disproportionately affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. This was attributed to communal living in high-density and unhygienic dormitory settings and a lack of inclusive protection systems. However, little is known about the roles of social and geospatia...

Background Mobility restriction is the most effective measure to control the spread of infectious disease at its early stage, especially if a cure and vaccine are not available. When control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) required strong precautionary measures, lockdowns were necessarily implemented in countries around the globe. Public...

Access to appropriate healthcare among disadvantaged populations in countries with universal healthcare requires a critical understanding of the relationships between poverty, social exclusion and health in the local context. The qualitative study explored the experiences of healthcare utilization in an inner-city impoverished community living in s...

Globally, the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) falls disproportionately on underserved populations. Migrants and refugees are particularly vulnerable due to economic instability and systemic poverty. Despite the myriad of health risks faced by migrants and refugees, access to appropriate healthcare is hindered by structural, cultural and...

Background Healthy aging in place is affected by what the neighborhood provides for older adults. The mixed-methods ethnographic study explored the built environmental and contextual effects of urban parks and traditional local coffeeshops (kopitiam) on health practices among older adults in Singapore. Methods A door-to-door survey with 497 older...

Background Mobile app–based interventions are viable methods of delivering perinatal care support to parents. A mobile app–based intervention entitled Parentbot–a Digital Healthcare Assistant (PDA) was developed and evaluated via a randomized controlled trial. PDA aimed to provide informational, socioemotional, and psychological support to parents...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259546.].

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted migrants in Malaysia, raising concerns about the effectiveness of public health measures. This study aims to investigate challenges faced by migrant populations in complying with public health measures during the pandemic. Methods We conducted 29 in-depth interviews with stakeholders between Ap...

BACKGROUND Mobile app–based interventions are viable methods of delivering perinatal care support to parents. A mobile app–based intervention entitled Parentbot–a Digital Healthcare Assistant (PDA) was developed and evaluated via a randomized controlled trial. PDA aimed to provide informational, socioemotional, and psychological support to parents...

Background Parents experience many challenges during the perinatal period. Mobile app–based interventions and chatbots show promise in delivering health care support for parents during the perinatal period. Objective This descriptive qualitative process evaluation study aims to explore the perinatal experiences of parents in Singapore, as well as...

Globally, COVID-19 had an immense impact on mental health systems, but research on how community mental health (CMH) systems and services contributed to the pandemic mental health response is limited. We conducted a systematic review and meta-ethnography to understand the roles of CMH services, determinants of the quality of CMH care, and dynamics...

Background Individual appraisals of personal well-being consider a spectrum of constructs including the reflections on the degree to which one’s life is ultimately secure, meaningful, or valued in the context of dynamic changes in their bio-psycho-social environments. Standardized questionnaires for well-being evaluate an ideal state of health whic...

BACKGROUND Parents experience many challenges during the perinatal period. Mobile app–based interventions and chatbots show promise in delivering health care support for parents during the perinatal period. OBJECTIVE This descriptive qualitative process evaluation study aims to explore the perinatal experiences of parents in Singapore, as well as...

Objectives Project organisations reflect a modern and non-bureaucratic form of organising public-sector activities, which promises innovation, entrepreneurship, and order and control to bring about change. This study seeks to investigate the project organisation Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) Region Health System (RHS)'s approach to impleme...

BACKGROUND Diabetes is a serious public health concern worldwide. Despite public health efforts encouraging early screening and improving knowledge of effective interventions for those at increased risk of T2D, the incorporation of preventative behaviours into an individual’s daily life remains sub-optimal. Solutions tailored for the local populati...

Background Diabetes is a serious public health concern worldwide. Despite public health efforts encouraging early screening and improving knowledge of effective interventions for those at increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), the incorporation of preventative behaviors into an individual’s daily life remains suboptimal. Successfully and accurate...

Background Increasing evidence shows low-wage migrant workers experience a high prevalence of mental health disorders and adverse health outcomes. Significant disparities in health services usage among migrant workers create added vulnerability to health complications. However, much remains unclear about how vulnerabilities are constructed in migra...

Containment measures in high-risk closed settings, like migrant worker (MW) dormitories, are critical for mitigating emerging infectious disease outbreaks and protecting potentially vulnerable populations in outbreaks such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The direct impact of social distancing measures can be assessed through wearable contac...

Objective: To describe the development procedure of a mobile application-based parenting support program with integrated chatbot features entitled Parentbot - a Digital healthcare Assistant (PDA) for multi-racial Singaporean parents across the perinatal period. Methods: The PDA development process was guided by the combined information systems r...

Background Increasing evidence shows low-wage migrant workers experience a high prevalence of mental health disorders and adverse health outcomes. Significant disparities in health services usage among migrant workers create added vulnerability to health complications. However, much remains unclear about how vulnerabilities are constructed in migra...

Background Therapeutic lifestyle changes can reduce individual risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) by up to 58%. In Singapore, rates of preventive practices were low, despite a high level of knowledge and awareness of T2D risk and prevention. The study explored the context of the discrepancy between knowledge and practices in T2D prevention among adults...

Resilience is learnable and broadly described as an individual’s adaptive coping ability, its potential value for stress reduction must be explored. With a global coronavirus pandemic, innovative ways to deliver resilience training amidst heightened mental health concerns must be urgently examined. This systematic review aimed to (1) evaluate the e...

Thailand is a popular host nation for international migrant workers, particularly those from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. Thailand has introduced approaches to protect their rights for health and social welfare, using various mechanisms over many years. However, the implementation of these policies is dynamic and has been influenced by national...

Purpose Multimodal prehabilitation aims to prepare frail older patients for major surgery. The objective of this review is to determine the benefits of pre-operative multimodal prehabilitation compared to standard care in older patients. Methods Data sources included MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL and PsychINFO. They were searched from inception...

Objective To examine how multiple dimensions of mental and social health, in addition to physical health, were associated with frailty among older adults. Design A door-to-door sampling household community-based survey. Setting Thirty-two public housing blocks within a residential town in Singapore’s central region. Participants 497 residents ag...

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted schooling for children worldwide. Most vulnerable are non-citizen children without access to public education. This study aims to explore challenges faced in achieving education access for children of refugee and asylum-seekers, migrant workers, stateless and undocumented persons in Malaysia during the pandemic. In-d...

Objectives Follow-up colonoscopy after a positive faecal immunochemical test (FIT) in any colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programme is integral. However, many individuals who had a positive FIT declined colonoscopy subsequently. This study aims to uncover the predictors on completion of colonoscopy using the Health Belief Model (HBM) between indi...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed challenges that medical students face when healthcare systems are under intense pressure. There is a need to assess medical students’ education needs in pandemic preparedness. The objective of this mixed-methods study was threefold: (1) to assess COVID-19 perceived efficacy, susceptibility, and anxiety...

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can benefit from greater social integration through positive peer relationships. The study aimed to understand children’s views toward autism as well as experiences of interactions between children with ASD and typically developing (TD) peers. After ethnographic observations in a mainstream primary schoo...

Background Although an integral part of ethical and quality health care, little is known about the informed decision making of Chinese women with different socioeconomic backgrounds within the context of antenatal testing. Methods To explore women's viewpoints on informed decision making regarding antenatal screening, a Q‐methodology study that co...

Objectives: Community engagement is critical for healthy aging. However, how gender plays a role in mental health promotion of late life is less understood. The study objectives were to examine the association between community engagement and mental health and the effect of gender on this association in older adults. Methods: A door-to-door intervi...

Problem: Parents of children with chronic kidney disease face tremendous burdens of care, having to adopt dual roles as parents and informal healthcare providers, delivering home-based clinical care, despite lacking proper qualification and training. Eligibility criteria: A systematic review of qualitative studies was conducted to identify sources...

Background With increasing life expectancy, it is important to understand the role of non-physical aspects of health in frailty prevention. The study aimed to examine how multiple dimensions of mental and social health, in addition to physical health, were associated with frailty in the population of older adults. Methods A cross-sectional door-to...

Objective To examine attitudes toward prenatal testing and termination of pregnancy (TOP) among parents and obstetric providers in relation to their views on raising a child with disability. Methods An explanatory sequential mixed methods study. A survey among 274 parents and 141 providers was followed by interviews with 26 parents and 10 provider...

Background: While parents of children with developmental disabilities show greater parenting burden and distress compared with their counterparts, little is known about to what extent developmental polymorbidity in children escalates and magnifies the risk of parental distress. Aims: This study investigated the co-occurrence of developmental dis...

This mixed-methods study aimed to explore the experiences of screening, assessment, diagnosis, and intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among 249 parents of children with ASD in Hong Kong. Participants completed a survey and responded to open-ended questions regarding their experiences and views of ASD service provision. The quantitative...

In Singapore, a densely urbanised Asian city state, more than 80% of the population stays in public housing estates and the majority (90%) own their own homes. For the needy who cannot afford home ownership, public rental flats are available. We were interested in exploring social-environmental factors that are associated with loneliness among elde...

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) reported higher stress than those of typically developing children. The role of child problem behaviors in the relationship between autism spectrum symptoms and parenting stress is little known. A total of 731 parents of 177 children with ASD and 554 typically developing children in primary s...

Background Ethiopia has recorded substantial progress in maternal health recently. However, poor utilization of maternal health care services is challenging further improvement. Although male partners are decision-makers in households, the impact of their involvement on maternal health care services has not been well studied. Thus, the objective of...

Prenatal genetic technologies now are being implemented in LMICs and while there is much research on the ethical, legal and social implications of such technologies in Western countries, there is a paucity of such research in LMICs, which have diverse cultural, religious, political, financial and health service contexts. This study aimed to explore...

Background: Cell-free fetal DNA sequencing based non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for Down syndrome (DS) has become widely available. In Hong Kong, obstetric providers in the public sector refer women identified at high risk of having a child with Down syndrome to obstetric providers in the private sector for NIPT. Little is known about how th...

The concept of informed choice for antenatal screening consists of Western ideologies, encapsulating individualistic approaches, and may be valued differently by people from countries with more collectivist cultures. This study aimed to explore perceptions of informed choice in antenatal screening in women from China, Hong Kong and Pakistan. A Q-me...

Background: While non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for fetal aneuploidy is commercially available in many countries, little is known about how obstetric professionals in non-Western populations perceive the clinical usefulness of NIPT in comparison with existing first-trimester combined screening (FTS) for Down syndrome (DS) or invasive prenata...

Background While non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for fetal aneuploidy is commercially available in many countries, little is known about how obstetric professionals in non-Western populations perceive the clinical usefulness of NIPT in comparison with existing first-trimester combined screening (FTS) for Down syndrome (DS) or invasive prenatal...

Background: Despite its prominence, intimate partner violence (IPV) against women has received little attention in Ethiopia. And as many of sub-Saharan African countries, maternal health care services utilization remains poor. Full access and utilization of maternal health care services is a key to significant reduction in maternal and child morta...

Individual autonomy in antenatal screening is internationally recognised and supported. Policy and practice guidelines in various countries place emphasis on the woman's right to make her own decision and are related to concepts such as self-determination, independence, and self-sufficiency. In contrast, the dominant perspective in Chinese medical...

Background: Cell-free fetal DNA-sequencing-based noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for fetal aneuploidy was introduced in late 2011 in Hong Kong. While the clinical benefits of NIPT as an easy, accurate, and procedurally risk-free test at an early gestational stage are recognized, little is known about its ethical implications in antenatal care....

Timely and appropriate care for children with autism spectrum conditions is affected by the interaction between healthcare professionals and parents. Despite the importance of the parent–professional partnership, there is a dearth of cultural-specific data on parent–professional partnership in the Chinese context. We conducted 10 in-depth life-hist...

A newly introduced cell-free fetal DNA sequencing based non-invasive prenatal testing (DNA-NIPT) detects Down syndrome with sensitivity of 99% at early gestational stage without risk of miscarriage. Attention has been given to its public health implications; little is known from consumer perspectives. This qualitative study aimed to explore women's...

A community-based needs assessment among men who have sex with men (MSM) in South Africa found that 27 % (n = 280/1,045) of MSM had never been tested for HIV. The most frequently reported reasons for not having been tested were the perception of not being at risk (57 %) and fear of being tested (52 %). This article explores factors associated with...

While individual determinants of HIV risk among MSM have been widely studied, there is limited understanding of how relational characteristics determine sexual risk. Based on data collected among 300 South African men who have sex with men (MSM) and using cluster analysis, this study developed a typology of four partnership types: the "Race-Economi...

Female sex workers (FSWs) in China are exposed to multiple work-related harms that increase HIV vulnerability. Using mixed-methods, we explored the social-ecological aspects of sexual risk among 348 FSWs in Beijing. Sex-work harms were assessed by property stolen, being underpaid or not paid at all, verbal and sexual abuse, forced drinking; and for...

This study examined whether social vulnerability is associated with HIV testing among South African men who have sex with men (MSM). A community-based survey was conducted with 300 MSM in Pretoria in 2008. The sample was stratified by age, race and residential status. Social vulnerability was assessed using measures of demographic characteristics,...

The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and preliminary validity of a newly developed 16-item measure to assess maladaptive responses to the stress of being at risk for HIV infection among HIV-negative gay men. The measure consisted of three factors: (a) fatalistic beliefs about maintaining an HIV-negative serostatus, (b) r...

This ethnographic study explored how cultural belief systems shaped sexual risk practices among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Guangzhou, China. A specific focus was on how these men's sexual practices varied across sexual venues and among different partners in order to better understand sociocultural facilitators and barriers to condom use in...

The objective of this study is to assess (1) whether beliefs about trust and condom use affect sexual risk behaviour, and (2) if beliefs about trust and condom use impact sexual risk behaviour directly or if this relationship is mediated by other determinants. The Information-Motivation-Behavioural Skills model was used as a framework for the media...

Background: Religious institutions have significant influence and reach in US Asian and Pacific Islander immigrant communities and, therefore, have the potential to address growing concerns around HIV. However, few Asian immigrant religious organizations are engaged in HIV-related educational or stigma-reduction activities even though a high propor...

This study examined how disengagement coping with HIV risk mediated the association between internalized homophobia and unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) and how sexual encounters in public venues (public sex) and drug use moderated the association between disengagement coping and UAI among HIV-negative gay men. Disengagement coping included fatal...

Migrant female sex workers (FSWs) are one of the most at-risk populations for HIV in China. This study demonstrates how multiple risk factors are situated and vary by types of sex work environments in a sample of 348 migrant FSWs in Beijing. Participants reported high rates of clients' refusal to use condoms (76%), unsafe sex with both clients (32%...

To investigate the characteristics of South African men who have sex with men (MSM) who (1) have been tested for HIV and (2) are HIV positive. Data were collected from 1045 MSM in community surveys using questionnaires that were administered either face-to-face, by mail or on the internet. The mean age of the men was 29.9 years. The race distributi...

Throughout the US, high-visibility drug markets are concentrated in neighborhoods with few economic opportunities, while drug buyers/users are widely dispersed. A study of Pittsburgh Syringe Exchange participants provides data on travel between and network linkages across neighborhoods with different levels of drug activity. There are distinct raci...

The present study describes complex drug and sexual risk in a group of male sex workers (n = 79) who were recruited in the context of a larger study of young heroin users in Hanoi, Vietnam (n = 1270). Male sex workers were significantly more likely than male non-sex workers to be migrants (P < 0.001) and to have unstable housing (P < 0.001), to hav...

This paper describes injection risk in an out-of-treatment population of young heroin users in Hanoi, Vietnam, including use of a soft-tissue portal known as a "cay ma" (injection sac). Data from a large cross-sectional survey (N=1270) are used to describe the prevalence of this practice and its association with disease. Additionally, data from an...

This study assessed relationships between residual risk behavior (risk behavior among persons participating in effective HIV prevention programs) and HIV infection. Structured interviews and HIV tests were obtained from participants in six large U.S. syringe exchange programs. Program characteristics were obtained through interviews with the direct...

This article describes a study of resilience among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Resilience is defined as positive adaptation in the context of hardship. Using targeted sampling to capture the diversity and range of this hidden population, we recruited 569 YMSM ages 17-28 years old and examined a subset of 134 YMSM who had experienced sev...

To develop a preliminary epidemiological description of a men who have sex with men (MSM) "POZ Party," an emerging sex environment for HIV+ MSM. As part of a pilot study in New York City in 2003, data were collected using a brief, behavioural intercept survey at entry to POZ Party events. Domains include demographic characteristics, history of HIV...

HIV prevention programs and clinicians have a need to identify clients' attitudes toward unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). This study reports on the development of the Unprotected Anal Intercourse Attitudes Inventory (UAI-AI), a multi-factorial measure designed to assess gay and bisexual men who are HIV-negative or untested. This self-report meas...

The objective of this paper is to profile the role of homelessness in drug and sexual risk in a population of young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Data are from a cross-sectional survey collected between 2000 and 2001 in New York City (N = 569). With the goal of examining the import of homelessness in increased risk for the onset of drug and sex...

The objective of this article was to examine drug and sexual risk in four salient groups of men who have sex with men (MSM) in New York City (NYC): (1) nonhomeless young MSM (YMSM), (2) homeless YMSM, (3) adult MSM Speed users, and (4) HIV-positive "POZ Party" MSM. Lifetime and current exposure to drugs, drug injection, and selected drug-sex intera...

This paper describes findings from a study of young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in New York City. Using a cross-sectional design and a community-based targeted sampling approach, a total of 569 YMSM were recruited during 2000 and 2001 for a structured survey interview. High rates of lifetime exposure to a variety of club drugs (including metha...

An exploratory study of self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual Asians and Asian Americans surveyed respondents (60 women and 254 men) using a questionnaire in four languages from nineteen different sources in Korea, Japan, China, and the US. Respondents were compared in terms of country of residence, whether they immigrated to the US, having a...

This article reviews the statistical evidence of LGBT violence in the United States and in the world. In the United States the statistics are from Amnesty International and the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. Statistics and other information about LGBT violence in other countries of the world come from many different sources. R...