THE SEXUAL HEALTH HELP CENTER - A SERVICE FOR YOUNG-PEOPLE

Background The Sexual Health Help Centre (SHHC) was opened in 1995 to provide treatment, advice and information on family planning and sexua l health issues for young people under the age of 20 years, in a way w hich is open and non-threatening. This paper describes an evaluation c onducted during the first 9 months of service operation, Methods Young people's experience of the SHHC were elicited, and compared with thei r experiences of conventional family planning services in Glasgow. Res ults The SHHC has been successful in attracting young people for help with family planning problems and provides a more acceptable environme nt than conventional family planning services. However, a greater numb er of young men and young people under the age of 16 should be encoura ged to attend the service, Conclusion Young people are more likely to visit family planning services if they are offered a wide range of fam ily planning and sexual health services in a non-judgemental, non-thre atening environment.