Advertising sexual health services that provide sexually transmissible infection screening for rural young people - what works and what doesn't

Sexual Health ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepa G. Gamage ◽  
Candice A. Fuller ◽  
Rosey Cummings ◽  
Jane E. Tomnay ◽  
Mark Chung ◽  
...  

Background ‘TESTme’ is a sexually transmissible infection (STI) screening service for Victorian young people living in rural areas. We evaluated the effectiveness of advertising for this service over an 11-month pilot period. Methods: The advertising that was used included websites, a Facebook page, posters, flyers, business cards, wrist bands and professional development sessions for health nurses that occurred throughout the pilot period. We also used once-off methods including advertisements in newspapers, student diaries and short messages to mobile phones. Results: Twenty-eight clients had a consultation through TESTme. Twenty found the service through health professionals, six through the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) web page, one through the Facebook page and one through the student diary. The total direct costs incurred by the centre for advertising were $20 850. The advertising cost per client reached for each advertising method was $26 for health professionals, $80 for the MSHC web advertisement, $1408 for Facebook and $790 for the student diary. Other advertising methods cost $12 248 and did not attract any clients. Conclusion: Advertising STI health services for rural young people would be best to focus on referrals from other health services or health care websites.

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-83
Author(s):  
Prayas Gautam ◽  
Munawar Hussain Soomro ◽  
Suprich Sapkota ◽  
Koshish Raj Gautam ◽  
Aastha Kasaju

Background: Sexual behavior of young people is becoming one of the important social and major publichealth concerns in recent years. Despite the large population of young people, their needs receive limited programmatic and policy attention. Youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services are lacking despite the existence of national guidelines that call for youth-friendly services. The aim of this study was to determine the barriers to utilization of sexual health services among young people of Badi community of Nepal.Materials & Methods: This qualitative study included the young people, 15-24 years of age among the Badi community in district Dang Nepal. We conducted 22 in-depth interviews by using the interview guideline among the young people. Written and verbal informed consent was taken from each research participants before data collection.Results: Fourteen of the participants were males and eight were females. Participants were divided into two age groups: 15-19 and 20-24 and there were eight and fourteen participants from each group respectively. Rural participants were not satisfied with the services provided to them. We observed that discrimination, beliefs of society and feeling of shame towards family norms, lack of information about existing services, poor gender friendly services,lack of privacy and confidentiality and poor availability of the services pose the barriers to utilization of the sexual health services.Conclusions: Communities should be provided with educational programs on sexual health through community based organization and the establishment of youth friendly service centers with easy access to communities in urban as well as in rural areas would encourage young people to use sexual health services more frequently.J MEDICINE JUL 2018; 19 (2) : 79-83


Sexual Health ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Pitts ◽  
A. M. A Smith ◽  
A. Mischewski ◽  
C. Fairley

Objectives: To describe how men narrate the process of bodily change as a trigger to presentation for a suspected sexually transmissible infection. Methods: The study was qualitative with 18 men presenting at a specialist sexual health centre in an urban setting. Results: All men gave narratives that included accounts of bodily changes prior to presentation. The nature, severity and persistence of those changes were unrelated to subsequent diagnosis. Men responded particularly to visual changes as cues to action. Conclusions: The men exhibited limited skills in understanding the significance and the specifics of bodily change as they may relate to a sexually transmissible infection. While these men identified a broad range of changes as potentially indicative of a sexually transmissible infection, their ability to act on visceral rather than visual cues appears constrained in that they were less able to respond to the feel of their body than the way that it looked.


Sexual Health ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Biggs ◽  
Jennifer Walsh

Background Publicly funded sexual health services (PFSHS) in NSW use triage to prioritise access for people at increased risk of infection and refer people at lower risk to General Practitioners (GPs). This study aimed to determine why people in Western Sydney attend a PFSHS in preference to their GP, whether they would be willing to see their GP for sexual health services and what factors were important when making this decision. Methods: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used for this study. Results: In total, 228/249 (92%) of all respondents had visited a GP in the previous 12 months; 192/249 (77%) knew the GP could perform sexually transmissible infection testing (STI) testing; 124/249 (50%) had ever had a STI check with a GP and 101/249 (41%) were willing to attend a GP service for STI-related care in the future. Factors relating to the health service staff and client comfort emerged as strong reasons for choice of health service. One-third of non-priority clients (33%) were unwilling to see a GP for STI testing in the future. Respondents raised concerns regarding perceived issues with confidentiality and lack of confidence in the GP’s expertise in sexual health. Conclusions: The underlying factors relating to sexual health care with the GP, whether real or perceived, need to be addressed in order for PFSHS to successfully triage out attendees who are at a lower STI risk.


Sexual Health ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margy Ewing ◽  
Phillip Read ◽  
Vickie Knight ◽  
Samantha Morgan ◽  
Mark Hanlon ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe NSW Sexual Health Infoline (SHIL) is a free and confidential sexual health information and referral line. The ability of Australian sexual health helplines to facilitate successful referrals has not been studied. In the present study, we sought to determine whether callers were successful in accessing the publicly funded sexual health services (PFSHS) or general practitioners (GP) they were referred to. Methods: Callers to SHIL who were directly referred to a PFSHS or GP for HIV and/or sexually transmissible infection testing from 3 January to 31 March 2012 were offered a follow-up phone call 1 week later. Results: Of 474 eligible callers, 190 (40%) agreed to disclose a first name and contact details and to be contacted by a study nurse on an agreed-upon date. One hundred and twenty (63%) callers were successfully contacted 1 week later; of these, 85% had attended or had a future appointment booked for testing. Conclusions: We conclude that among the study sample that was successfully followed up, most callers to the SHIL had attended or booked appointments to the services they were referred to.


The Lancet ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 388 ◽  
pp. S105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Shearn ◽  
Hilary Piercy ◽  
Peter Allmark ◽  
Julia Hirst

Sexual Health ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 288
Author(s):  
F. Kong ◽  
C. Kyle-Link ◽  
J. Hocking ◽  
M. Hellard

Chlamydia is the most common notifiable infectious disease in Australia with the number of notifications increasing 92% over the past 5 years. The "Sex and Sport" Project is piloting a community based chlamydia testing and treatment program reaching young people in a specific community setting, sporting clubs. This multifaceted approach utilises health education, population screening and collection of data on risk taking behaviour as the first steps in enhancing health and shaping future service provisions. The project's primary aim is to assess the feasibility of an outreach testing and treatment program. Secondary aims are to measure the prevalence of chlamydia and assess sexual risk behaviour in this population. Strong community collaborations and integration into local health services through the Primary Care Partnerships is important in the project's sustainability; in particular key community members respected by sporting clubs needed to be identified, capacity developed to deliver effective health promotion messages and improve young people's access to sexual health services. Additionally, local knowledge has guided overall program implementation and provides opportunities for capacity building to regionally based services. For example, poor access to sexual health services is being addressed by the participants being able to access services via telephone consultation with Melbourne Sexual Health Centre. Approximately 1000 Victorians aged 16-25 years from the Loddon Mallee region of Victoria will be tested between June and September 2007. This paper will report on the feasibility, challenges and possible solutions in establishing a community based outreach testing and treatment program.


Sexual Health ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiley D. Jenkins ◽  
Charlie Rabins ◽  
Mathilda Barnes ◽  
Patricia Agreda ◽  
Charlotte Gaydos

Background: In the USA, reported cases of chlamydia (Chlamydia trachomatis) continue to rise despite substantial funding for screening. National gonorrhoea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae) rates have remained relatively stable, with clusters associated with metropolitan areas. Rural areas are no exception, as every county in Illinois reported cases of chlamydia in 2007. Morbidity associated with infection remains a public health concern, with costs of $US2.5+ billion annually. Novel screening interventions must be examined for their ability to reach those at risk who are missed by traditional methods. Methods: The website Iwantthekit.org was modified to allow residents from 25 contiguous counties in Central Illinois to request a self-collected sample kit. Returned kits were tested for chlamydia and gonorrhoea. The initial study period was 12 months. Results: During the study period, 343 kits were requested from 20 counties and 39.9% were satisfactorily returned for analysis. Positivity rates for chlamydia and gonorrhoea were 5.8% and 1.2%, respectively, for females and 1.9% and 0% for males. Males comprised 37.7% of all internet samples (compared with 23.4% for traditional screening venues) and 40.4% of all internet samples submitted by whites (compared with only 17.2% of traditional screening). Conclusions: The female positivity rate was comparable to those seen in other screening venues and the method successfully engaged at-risk males. Overall, participation was low and the costs associated with the program outweighed the averted costs associated with the few cases identified. While this methodology resulted in sample requests from a wide area, it must be utilised by more individuals to become cost-effective.


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