Clients' views on a piloted telemedicine sexual health service for rural youth

Sexual Health ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameryn C. Garrett ◽  
Maggie Kirkman ◽  
Marcus Y. Chen ◽  
Rosey Cummings ◽  
Candice Fuller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Rural Youth ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Online Video ◽  
Telemedicine Service ◽  
Telephone Consultation ◽  
Sexual Health Service ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infections ◽  
Rural Access

Background Given the high rate of sexually transmissible infections among young people and limited rural access to specialist healthcare, an Australian telemedicine service was piloted. Clients’ views were investigated. Methods: All clients aged 15–24 were given a questionnaire. A sub-sample was interviewed. Results: The service was used by 25 rural youths aged 15–24; 18 returned the questionnaire, 4 were interviewed. All had a telephone consultation. They reported being satisfied with the service; most preferred the telemedicine service to consulting a doctor in person. Conclusions: Online video consultations for sexual health may not yet be accep to young people in Australia.

scholarly journals The sexual behaviours of adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years involved with the juvenile justice system in Australia: A community-based survey

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243633
Author(s):  
Lorraine Yap ◽  
Jocelyn Jones ◽  
Basil Donovan ◽  
Sally Nathan ◽  
Elizabeth Sullivan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Youth Health ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Sexual Behaviours ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infections

Objectives To overcome key knowledge gaps in relation to justice involved and vulnerable young people and their sexual health and to compare this group with their peers from other youth health surveys in Australia to determine the extent of the issues. Methods Young people, aged between 14 and 17 years, who had ever been or were currently involved with the criminal justice system were purposively sampled. The survey was anonymous and delivered using Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI). Results A total of 465 justice involved MeH-JOSH young people, aged between 14 and 17 years, participated in the study: 44% Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) and 37% not attending school. Of the total valid responses, 76% (n = 348) reported having ever had sex, with sexual initiation at a median age of 14 years. We compared these data with their peers in other Australian surveys and found that young people in our study had a higher engagement in sex and start having sex at a younger age, reporting more sexual partners at all ages. Conclusions The sexual behaviours of young people involved in the justice system in this study suggest they may be at a greater risk for sexually transmissible infections than their age-matched peers in the general population. Policymakers should elevate them to a priority population for targeting sexual health services and health promotion.

Changing pattern of sexually transmissible infections and HIV diagnosed in public sexual health services compared with other locations in New South Wales, 2010–14

Sexual Health ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Bourne ◽  
Meeyin Lam ◽  
Christine Selvey ◽  
Rebecca Guy ◽  
Denton Callander
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infections ◽  
Annual Proportion ◽  
Priority Population

Background In Australia, testing and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs) is usually managed in general practice, while publicly funded sexual health clinics (PFSHC) attract people at higher risk for infection. The proportion of HIV and STI diagnoses in New South Wales (NSW) occurring in PFSHC stratified by priority population was investigated. Methods: From 2010 to 2014, NSW notification frequencies for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, infectious syphilis, and HIV were compared with the number of diagnoses in PFSHC. The annual proportion of diagnoses at PFSHC was calculated and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests assessed trends. Diagnoses from PFSHC were also organised by priority population, including gay and bisexual men (GBM), people living with HIV, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people who use injecting drugs, sex workers and young people. Results: The annual proportion of HIV and STIs diagnosed at PFSHC increased (all P < 0.001): chlamydia from 12% to 15%, gonorrhoea 23% to 38%, infectious syphilis 21% to 40% and HIV 22% to 30%. Overall, the majority of all infections diagnosed at PFSHC were among GBM, with the proportional distribution of chlamydia increasing from 32% to 46% among GBM (P < 0.001) and decreasing among young people (50% to 40%; P < 0.001). There were no other significant changes by population or infection at PFSHC. Conclusions: Increasing proportions of STI and HIV are being diagnosed at NSW PFSHC, mostly among GBM. PFSHC reorientation to priority populations continues to make a large and increasing contribution to STI and HIV control efforts in NSW.

scholarly journals Safeguarding teenagers in a sexual health service during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. sextrans-2021-055055
Author(s):  
Sarah Bekaert ◽  
Liz Azzopardi
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Sexual Health Service ◽  
Low Threshold ◽  
Assessment Standards ◽  
Community Practitioner

ObjectivesThe first aim was to examine how the COVID-19 restrictions on movement impacted on teenagers’ access to a local sexual health service (SHS). The second aim was to audit whether safeguarding assessments were carried out for those accessing the service remotely.MethodsApril–September 2020 consultation numbers for teenagers aged 17 years and under were compared with the 2019 equivalent. Service safeguarding assessment standards were reviewed for teenagers receiving telephone consultations for the first 6 months of lockdown, April–September 2020.ResultsThere was a reduction in contact with the service of 100% for those aged 13 years and younger, 52% for those aged 14 and 15 years and 31% for those aged 16 and 17 years for the compared months. A safeguarding assessment was either carried out by the service or accounted for by a partner community practitioner for all contacts with the service by young people 15 years or younger. 96% of safeguarding assessments were carried out for those aged 16–17 years.ConclusionsThere was a reduction in consultations for all age groups examined in the 6 months following lockdown. This adds to the evidence that restrictions during lockdown are barriers to young people accessing SHSs. For those who did have a consultation, safeguarding assessments were consistently carried out. Nevertheless, due to reduced contact overall, it is likely that some safeguarding issues remain undisclosed. Multiagency safeguarding networks and telephone consultations with a low threshold for promoting an in-person consultation facilitated access to the SHS and a robust safeguarding pathway during the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Risk perceptions, misperceptions and sexual behaviours among young heterosexual people with gonorrhoea in Perth, Western Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roanna Lobo ◽  
Josephine Rayson ◽  
Jonathan Hallett ◽  
Donna B Mak
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Condom Use ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Sexual Partners ◽  
Sexual History ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infections

Background Notification rates of gonorrhoea in Australia for heterosexual young adults rose by 63% between 2012 and 2016. In Western Australian major cities, there was a 612% increase among non-Aboriginal females and a 358% increase in non-Aboriginal males in the ten-year period 2007–2016. A qualitative public health investigation was initiated to inform appropriate action. Methods Eighteen semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with non-Aboriginal heterosexual young adults aged 18–34 years living in Perth, Western Australia, who had recently been notified to the Department of Health with gonorrhoea, to explore the context of their sexual interactions and lifestyles which could have predisposed them to contracting gonorrhoea. Data were thematically analysed. Results Common themes were having several casual sexual partners, limited communication between sexual partners about condom use or sexual history prior to engaging in sexual activity, inconsistent condom use, normalisation of some sexually transmissible infections amongst young people, and poor understandings and assessment of sexually transmissible infection risk. Conclusions The findings support public health interventions that focus on communication between sexual partners and shifting of risk perceptions in sexual health education programs, ensuring accessibility of quality sexual health information, increasing condom accessibility and acceptability, and on strategies for addressing misperceptions of young people in relation to sexually transmitted infections.

Transgender people attending a Sydney sexual health service over a 16-year period

Sexual Health ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria L. Hounsfield ◽  
Eleanor Freedman ◽  
Anna McNulty ◽  
Christopher Bourne
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sex Work ◽  
Health Centre ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
Risk Behaviours ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Transgender People ◽  
Sexual Health Service ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infections

Background: Previous studies have concluded that transgender people are a marginalised and stigmatised group, with high rates of sexually transmissible infections (STI), sex work, injecting drug use and multiple sexual partners. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Australia to focus on the sexual behaviour and sexual health needs of transgender people attending an urban sexual health clinic. Methods: A retrospective case note review was undertaken of the transgender attendees of the Sydney Sexual Health Centre between 1990 and 2006. Demographics, gender characteristics, risk behaviours, sexual health morbidity, psychosocial information and other significant features of the transgender population were assessed. Results: Forty clients were identified as transgender, of whom 36 (90%) were male-to-female and four (10%) were female-to-male. Seventeen (43%) had a history of sex work, 16 (40%) had injected drugs, 14 (35%) had had unprotected anal or vaginal sex in the past 3 months. Twenty (50%) clients had histories of a STI, including three (7.5%) that were HIV positive, and two were co-infected with hepatitis C. Genital warts and chlamydia were the most common diagnoses made during the study period. Physical examination was inadequately documented in 53% of first visits. Psychosocial morbidity was common. Conclusions: Transgender clients presented infrequently at this clinic. Although half reported few risks, the other half reported multiple risk behaviours and had most STI. These findings suggest that there needs to be improved sexual health service for transgender clients at our clinic.

scholarly journals Evolution of a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) service in a community-located sexual health clinic: concise report of the PrEPxpress

Sexual Health ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolo Girometti ◽  
Sheena McCormack ◽  
Emma Devitt ◽  
Keerti Gedela ◽  
Nneka Nwokolo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Health ◽  
Good Clinical Practice ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
Nurse Prescribing ◽  
Concise Report ◽  
Sexual Health Service ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infections ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Exposure Prophylaxis

Screening and treatment of sexually transmissible infections, including HIV, are free in the UK nations; pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) became free in England in October 2017 through the PrEP Impact trial. Doctor-led PrEP clinics started at 56 Dean Street in September 2015, with the drug purchased privately at full price. The service was expanded to other staff to support initiation and monitoring of increasing numbers of attendees purchasing PrEP from online pharmacies. Nonetheless, when the clinic was given a target of 1700 for the PrEP Impact trial, it was clear this could not be achieved in a timely manner through 56 Dean Street alone. To prepare for the trial, all staff with HIV testing competencies were trained in good clinical practice and trial-specific procedures, and a patient group directive was approved to facilitate nurse prescribing and dispensing. Electronic pro formas to capture eligibility for starting or continuing PrEP were adapted for the Dean Street Express clinic, with some information collected directly from service users using touch screens. These interventions, together with an update to the 2016 information leaflet developed by the community, enabled enrolment and follow-up of 1700 participants in 4 months. PrEP advice and monitoring were easily accommodated in the 56 Dean Street sexual health service, but did require additional training and approval for nurse prescribing and dispensing drug in order to achieve the target, which still fell short of the demand.

Key informant perceptions of youth-focussed sexual health promotion programs in Australia

Sexual Health ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Newton ◽  
Louise Keogh ◽  
Meredith Temple-Smith ◽  
Christopher K. Fairley ◽  
Marcus Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Program Evaluation ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infections ◽  
Health Promotion Programs ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Literacy Knowledge

Background This paper explores key informant (KI) perceptions of the barriers to effective sexual health promotion programs in Australia and suggests strategies to overcome these barriers. Three types of sexual health promotion programs were explored in this study: those targeting all young people (under 30), Aboriginal young people, and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Methods: The study utilised a qualitative approach and involved 33 semistructured interviews with sexual health professionals involved in funding or delivering Australian sexual health promotion programs or working clinically with individuals diagnosed with sexually transmissible infections. Results: Fourteen barriers to effective sexual health promotion programs were identified. Barriers included: difficulties associated with program evaluation, lack of involvement of the target community, the short-term nature of programs, problems with program resources and concerns about the content of programs. Additional barriers to programs targeting Aboriginal and CALD young people were also identified and included: a lack of cultural sensitivity; a failure to acknowledge differences in literacy, knowledge, and language skills; stigma and shame associated with sexual health; and the continued use of programs that lack inclusivity. KIs suggested strategies to overcome these barriers. Conclusion: Sexual health promotion in Australia suffers from several barriers that are likely to impede the effectiveness of programs. In particular, poor or nonexistent program evaluation and lack of community involvement are among the key areas of concern. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be useful in informing and shaping future Australian sexual health promotions.

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