BMJ 1996;312:1419-1420 (1 June)

Letters

Image of various providers of sexual health care varies

EDITOR,--Sue Stuart-Smith's editorial on teenage sex1 offers a sobering challenge to those who provide sexual health care for young people.2 Stigma can be a powerful barrier to attendance at a service; conversely, however, image can be harnessed to focus marketing strategy. We present data from a large group of young students that show considerable differences in the market appeal of NHS providers of sexual health care with different names: genitourinary medicine clinics, sexual health clinics, family planning clinics, and general practitioners.

Students passing an unnamed stall at a freshers' fair at University College London in 1993 were asked to complete a questionnaire. Altogether 1000 of the 1018 questionnaires collected were completed: 466 were from men and 539 from women. The students' mean age was 20.9 (range 17-72) years; 86% were aged under 24.

The students were asked to imagine themselves in different scenarios covering a range of sexual health needs--for . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Teenage sex
Sue Stuart-Smith
BMJ 1996 312: 390-391. [Extract] [Full Text]

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