Sexual Health and Teenage Pregnancy Campaign

Posted by Michelle West on 7 April 2010

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