Sexual health

There are specific areas within the Public Health Outcomes Framework that relate to sexual health, and which the new sexual health service has been designed to address, alongside the specific sexual health needs of Stockton-on-Tees residents and Teesside neighbours.  

Areas of focus include: 

• reduction in the under 18 conception rate 
• increase in prescribing of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) excluding injections (females aged 15 to 44)    
• increase in chlamydia detection rate    
• reduction in new STIs diagnosis (excluding chlamydia in the under 25s)  
• reduction in people presenting with HIV at a late stage of infection  
• increase in cervical screening uptake 
• increase in condom use 

Within Stockton-on-Tees there is a range of population need in relation to achieving improved sexual health outcomes. Ultimately, there would be a significant improvement to sexual health outcomes across the population with improved use of condoms. This presents an opportunity to consider how to encourage condom use across the population, but also to evaluate the Condom Distribution Scheme, to ensure groups at higher risk of poor sexual health outcomes are being reached.  

Although there has been a reduction in the number of teenage pregnancies, there are disparities in the population between the most and least deprived. Furthermore, new data which suggests that we are at risk of increased rates and the high proportion of under 25 repeat abortions suggest that there is work that needs to be done to ensure that young people in Stockton-on-Tees can make informed decisions and practice safe sex.