Sexual Health Advice Centre

Abstract

This paper describes how some members of the Genito-Urinary Medicine Department of Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge surveyed local teenagers to ascertain whether they would be interested in attending a walk-in young persons sexual health clinic or accessing a sexual health website. Britain has the highest teenage birth rate in Western Europe and an increasing number of sexually transmitted infections in youngsters. A questionnaire was sent to all schools in the Cambridge area with nineteen responses. The results of the questionnaire showed that the majority of girls who answered expressed an interest in seeking advice at a teenage clinic, while the boys preferred to obtain information over the telephone or via a website. It is important for health professionals to be sensitive to the views of patients and potential patients, when it comes to providing new clinical services.