P105 The internet as a source of sexual health information; what do service users want?

Abstract

Aims A survey assessing patient understanding of, and views on, confidentiality and data sharing in sexual health. Methods Data were collected using a questionnaire distributed to 203 consecutive patients seen in our busy inner-city sexual health clinic and analysed using Microsoft Excel 2007. Results The 90 respondents demonstrated a good understanding of the definition of confidentiality (92%). Of the 54 respondents that were happy for information to be shared, 9% preferred this to be in paper format, 37% electronic, 54% were happy with both. 30% would be happy with medical record sharing between sexual health clinics, and 58% of these would prefer this information to be shared locally rather than nationwide. 50% agreed with the use of a shared database between our Trust's sexual health centres. Conclusion Patients understand the concept of confidentiality. Pertinent to the increasing use of electronic patient records, patients prefer the transfer of information to be in an electronic format. Opinions vary on data sharing practices, and at present, half of patients agree with the prospect of a shared database. Background Access to information is a key challenge in sexual health, with poor knowledge associated with poor outcomes. Internet interventions have been shown to improve sexual health knowledge, highlighting the potential of the web as a source of information. Aims To assess sexual health service users' use of the Internet to obtain sexual health information, and to use the data to inform the design of a local sexual health website. Methods 243 participants were recruited from a busy walk-in sexual health clinic in July and September 2011. A structured questionnaire assessed their use and rating of the Internet for various aspects of sexual health information (STIs, contraception, clinic information, homosexuality, virginity and body worries) and gauged opinion on the content of a local sexual health website. Results 62% of participants were female. 44% identified as black African, black Caribbean or black British and 42% were white. 44% were aged under 25. 67% of respondents use the internet for sexual health information. It was the most popular resource for information on STIs, clinic information and homosexuality (compared to doctor/nurse, friends, family, school, TV and magazines). The next most popular choices were doctor/nurse and friends. 67% stated they would use a local sexual health website with STIs, clinic information and contraception being the topics they would most like information on. "Detailed" and "Basic" information were highlighted as important aspects of website content. Only 19% selected "original design" as being important. Conclusions The internet is a popular source for sexual health information. For STIs it was selected over doctors/nurses indicating the need for good online information. Both basic and detailed information were requested highlighting the importance of a range of educational resources. Originality was not as important as having a site they could trust. These fin...