Facebook bid in battle for sexual health of teens (From Thisisdorset)

Facebook bid in battle for sexual health of teens

1:00pm Monday 16th June 2008

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FACEBOOK and Bebo have become the new battlegrounds in the fight to lower teenage pregnancy and STI rates in Poole and Bournemouth.

In a pioneering approach, Bournemouth and Poole Teaching Primary Care Trust are to use social networking sites to connect the area's teenagers with sexual health education.

Banners on the popular websites will link to the PCT's established F-risky site, which offers free postal chlamydia testing kits as well as vital advice on contraception, pregnancy and STIs.

Sue Meakin, the PCT's sexual health manager, said they were leading the way in ensuring sex education "moves with the times".

She said: "Facebook and Bebo are fantastic for us.

"We have to look at where our target age range is accessing information and that's not libraries any more.

"To engage them, we have to make it as interesting and interactive as possible."

In keeping with the multimedia approach, F-risky offers e-mail, text and phone advice, with negative chlamydia test results even texted out straight to mobile phones.

F-risky currently receives around 2,000 hits a month and other PCTs are now taking an interest in the innovative approach.

The PCT hope the use of the social networking sites will act as a gateway to reach more teenagers, enabling them to tackle problems such as STIs and contraception from closer quarters.

Ms Meakin said: "The more people we get being screened for chlamydia, the more we are going to be able to provide advice and contraception to.

"It's important we get people to come forward and make sure we make inroads to reduce infection."

National chlamydia rates in the 15-24 age group are now as high as one in 10 locally and nationally.

Teenage pregnancy in Poole stands at 32.9 per 1000 girls, though this represents a decline of 24 per cent since 1998, with a national target of a 45 per cent reduction by 2010.

For more information, visit f-risky.co.uk.

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