Sexual Health Guide Presentation- "Take Charge of Your Health: What you need to know about sexual health care services"

It’s about honesty. It’s about knowledge. It’s about time.

Overview of the Sexual Health Guide Alyson Kristensen, Partnership for Prevention





• Few materials for a general audience on talking to health care providers about sexual health.

• Existing materials primarily for specific audiences.– Teens/Young adults–MSM, WSW, trangendered

• HCAG decided a “patient” guide was needed to address this gap.

Why this guide?





• We want this guide to:– Educate men and women of all ages about

sexual health and the preventive services they need

– Empower them to take control of their sexual health

–Motivate them to seek out necessary services

– Help them communicate with a provider about issues affecting their sexual health

What will this guide achieve?





• Action steps for achieving good sexual health

• Information on recommended preventive sexual health services for men and women

• Tips on how to talk with a health care provider

• Resources• Boxes that highlight

specific issues

What is in the guide?





• What is Sexual Health and How Do I Achieve It? – Repeats key messages developed by the NCSH

• What are Preventive Sexual Health Services?– Introduces the concept of preventive services– Gives brief overview of screenings, vaccines, and

counseling services– Notes that many are available at no-cost under

health reform law or for low-cost at local clinics

What is in the guide? (cont.)





• What Sexual Health Services Do Women/Men Need?– Screenings, vaccines, and counseling services

recommended by USPSTF and CDC• Two services for men not recommended, but considered important by

the HCAG (Intimate partner violence, contraceptive counseling)

– WSW and MSM• Created call-out box for WSW to motivate them to seek out these

services. No specific recommendations for WSW. • Included MSM recommendations in text.

– Tables that summarize the recommended services by age

– Boxes that define what it means to be “at risk”






• What Types of Health Care Providers Address Sexual Health?– Describes the types of providers that can address

sexual health and where they can be found

• How Can I Talk With My Health Care Provider About Sexual Health?– Suggests conversation starters– Provides sample questions someone might ask their

provider about different sexual health topics– Lists questions a provider might ask a patient (using

the 5 Ps)






• What to Look for in a Sexual Health Care Provider– Describes what a good

provider should and should not do.

– Box that emphasizes good sexual health is within one’s control.

• Where to Learn More– National resources on

various sexual health topics






• Audience-tested in Fort Lauderdale in August– Very positive response overall–More to come on what we learned

• Content is nearly final. May still need tweaking.

• Need to think about alternative formats – Shorter –More accessible to consumers

Where are we in its development?

Sexual Health Guide Presentation- "Take Charge of Your Health: What you need to know about sexual health care services"

Health & Medicine