World first in sexual health as My Contraception Tool launched

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:32:00 +0100

Sexual health charities Brook and FPA today launched My Contraception Tool (v1.0) a unique, evidence-based web tool designed to support people's contraceptive choices by evaluating their preferences and priorities as well as their physical needs. This new web tool is expected to fundamentally change contraceptive consultations - empowering people's choice and giving invaluable support to busy health professionals.

Eighteen months in development, and launched simultaneously on both organisations' websites, the tool combines specialist software1, research2, expertise in decision making3 and sexual health and months of user involvement and consultation. Using the latest research into every method of contraception, the circumstances, medical history and personal preferences are input by the user online. These data are then processed and each contraceptive method is ranked in order to suit individual needs.

Simon Blake, Brook's National Director, said:
"We wanted to help young people think about the kind of things they need to take into account when it comes to making contraceptive choices and this tool supports them in doing that. We hope it will give young people the confidence to have conversations with health professionals about the range of contraceptive choices available to them as well as beginning to understand the importance of making informed decisions."

Julie Bentley, chief executive of FPA, added:
"There are many medical and lifestyle considerations to think about when choosing a contraceptive method. And everybody benefits from having the most up to date information at their fingertips. My Contraception Tool is quick and easy to use. It will open up the range of options to women of all ages and give health professionals another facility to use during contraceptive consultations."

The tool is designed for use by men and women of any age who want to use contraception and is linked to further information about each contraceptive method as well as a wealth of information on other aspects of sexual health.

People can log on to My Contraception Tool at www.brook.org.uk/mycontraceptiontool or www.fpa.org.uk/mycontraceptiontool
and answer questions about their lifestyle, medical history and their priorities in terms of contraception.

As the tool provides a hierarchy of methods based upon the preferences of the user the results can be printed and taken to help initiate conversations with a healthcare professional.

Health professionals can use the tool either by going through the surveys with people during consultations, talking through the options and discussing their advantages. Alternatively, the result sheet can be printed out by the person at home and used to form the basis of a contraceptive consultation.

My Contraception Tool is backed by some of the country's leading professional health representative organisations.

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing commented:

"We are delighted to see Brook and FPA launch such an easy-to-use, invaluable resource which will quickly and easily help people to make informed decisions about their sexual health. It is important that people are aware of the wide range of choice there is about contraception so they can find a method which best suits their needs."

Dr Ewen Stewart from the Royal College of General Practitioners' Sex, Drugs and HIV Group said:

"Discussing sexuality and contraception with patients can sometimes be uncomfortable for healthcare professionals. My Contraception Tool acts as a conversation starter that will help GPs and Practice Nurses to discuss contraceptive choice, allowing people to make the right choice of method for themselves."

My Contraception Tool was developed by a team of specialists from Brook, FPA, Maldaba Ltd. (www.maldaba.co.uk), and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (www.lshtm.ac.uk).

Sexual Health and Teenage Pregnancy Campaign

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:30:00 +0100

March/April 2010

Campaign update
Due to restrictions around communicating during the election period this will be the last stakeholder update until a new government is formed.
However, we will be updating the stakeholder website right up to the election period so please check back on a regular basis to ensure you are fully aware of the 'Sex.Worth Talking About' campaign resources.

Sex. Worth Talking About and the pre-election period
There are conventions governing how the public sector, including the NHS, can communicate once an election has been called. The two key principles are to avoid competing with Parliamentary candidates for the attention of the public, and to avoid acting in a way which could be interpreted as promoting a particular political party.

As soon as a General Election is annouced the Sex. Worth Talking About (SWTA) campaign will be put on hold until a new government is in place. There will be no SWTA TV, radio or press advertising during this time and the public relations, digital and partnership marketing activities will also be scaled back to a minimum.

At the start of March, NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson issued a guidance letter to the NHS regarding communication throughout an election period. Updated guidance to the NHS will be issued as soon as the election is called. Within the NHS, if you are planning any communications activity throughout the election period, whether as part of an ongoing project or as a new programme, you should consult with your PCT communications team or with the Director of Communications at your relevant Strategic-Health Authority to ensure compliance with pre-election guidance.

Similar conventions exist for other public sector bodies who should consult their local compliance teams for advice.

Professionals Update

Stakeholder website
The NHS Sexual Health Professional website has been updated. On it you will now find a news page to keep you up to date, FAQs, marketing materials, examples of best practices and ideas to help you make the most of the national campaign at a local level.

Chemist & Druggist Roundtable
The results of a recent Chemist and Druggist magazine roundtable are available to view on their website. This includes a feature article and a series of short videos.
During the roundtable an expert panel discussed the role of the community pharmacy in offering contraceptive choice and chlamydia testing and treatment; offering their top tips for implementing a successful sexual health service.

Campaign leaflets and posters ready to order
Sex. Worth Talking About resources, inlcuding posters, can be ordered via the Department of Health order line.
Printed posters featuring all nine of the Contraception. Worth Talking About and Chlamydia. Worth Talking About print adverts are available, just type in keywords 'contraception' or 'chlamydia'. They are strictly limited to 15 copies of each poster per organisation.

Coming Soon
Credit card sized leaflets for young teenagers and young people as well as an A5 sized leaflet for healthcare professionals are also available. These materials have been prepared with input from either young people or healthcare professionals to help facilitate joined up conversations around sexual health, relationships, contraception and chlamydia testing.
Full details, including order codes, will be published on the site next week.

Consumer campaign activity
A series of partnership marketing activities have taken place across the country as part of the Sex. Worth Talking About campaign. If you would be interested in hosting one of these activities after the election please email stakeholder@bluerubicon.com

FE College condom distribution
Condoms have been distributed throughout a number of Further Education colleges throughout England. The condoms are packaged to look like 'erasers' with the strap line 'No Mistakes' to make them fit naturally within the education environment.

Association of Colleges Sexual Health guidance
A sexual health guidance pack for Student Support Officers in FE colleges has been developed to help college leaders understand what the SWTA campaign is about. The guide is designed to help leaders communicate the sexual health issues involved in the campaign with their students, and to provide ideas about how to run a sexual health campaign. The guide encourages Student Support Officers to speak to local experts e.g. TPC's, about how they can most effectively do all of these things. It will be circulated to Principals, Vice Principals, 14-19 Directors and Managers, Directors of Student Services and College nurses.

Hair & Beauty salon leaflets
A contraception leaflet has been distributed via regional hair/beauty salons and fashion outlets. The leaflet communicates the 15 methods of contraception and encourage women to talk to their doctor or nurse to find the one that meets their needs. Reception to the leaflets so far has been very positive and we already have a number of hair salon chains signed up to distribute our leaflets including Punky Fish and Headmasters.

NUS university activity
Forty universities throughout the country ran a 'Sweet Lovin' condom promotion at their student unions before breaking for the Easter holidays. Each university distributed condoms that looked like lollipops. This activity was supported by posters and flyers.

National pub activity
Nearly 100 venues across the country have now agreed to display posters and stickers carrying the strapline 'Keys, Cash, Condoms' to promote condom carrying. There are two creative routes (one for men and one for women) and they are for display in pub washrooms. Pub partners involved in this work include Marstons and Atmosphere Bars and Clubs.

For further information about these activities or to discuss how you might develop these after the election, please email stakeholder@bluerubicon.com

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World first in sexual health as My Contraception Tool launched

Sexual Health and Teenage Pregnancy Campaign