Sexual Health and HIV Services

Sexual health is an important area of public health. Good sexual health enables healthy relationships, planned pregnancies and prevention of disease. Most of the adult population of England are sexually active and access to quality sexual health services improves the health and wellbeing of both individuals and populations. The Government has set out its ambitions for improving sexual health in its publication, A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England.[1] Sexual ill health is not equally distributed within the population. Strong links exist between deprivation and STIs, teenage conceptions and abortions, with the highest burden borne by women, men who have sex with men (MSM), teenagers, young adults and black and minority ethnic groups. Similarly HIV infection in the UK disproportionately affects MSM and Black Africans. Some groups at higher risk of poor sexual health face stigma and discrimination, which can influence their ability to access services. An integrated sexual health service model aims to improve sexual health by providing easy access to services through open access 'one stop shops', where the majority of sexual health and contraceptive needs can be met at one site, usually by one health professional, working within a team, in services with extended opening hours and accessible locations. [1]Department of Health (2013) <i>A</i><i> Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England. (</i>http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2013/03/sex-health-framework/)