A condom distribution scheme in Nottinghamshire, which includes sex education, has helped bring down the teenage conception rate.
The C Card scheme was developed by the local Teenage Pregnancy Partnership in 2004 and is an example of promising practice identified by C4EO.
"One issue was that young people had difficulty accessing free condoms," says Nottinghamshire County Council's teenage pregnancy co-ordinator Sue Jablonskas.
"There was an informal scheme with youth workers giving out condoms in youth centres but we wanted to formalise that."
The county council's teenage pregnancy team went on to co-ordinate the scheme as part of efforts to meet a government target of halving the teen conception rate by 2010.
"We wanted to ensure young people could access free condoms safe in the knowledge that they were going to be treated with respect and not be judged," says Jablonskas. "We also wanted to build in sex education."
All young people go through a 40-minute registration process with a trained worker.
More than 290 sites are set up to deliver the scheme and to date more than 25,800 young people have been registered. The current age range is 13 to 19 but most are 15 to 17, the target group for reducing conceptions in under-18s. More than half are male.
The scheme is seen as highly cost-effective and has helped services build better relationships with young people.
"If young people have a positive experience of talking about sexual health, they feel they can trust that service and raise other issues," says Jablonskas.
One key to success was making the scheme open to all to avoid stigmatising certain groups at the same time as ensuring particularly vulnerable young people could access it easily.
The teen conception rate in Nottinghamshire in 1998 was 46.4 (per 1,000) but the latest available statistics show that dropped to 34.6 in 2009 – a 25.5 per cent reduction.
KEY POINTS
- Getting senior-level commitment and support is important
- Involve young people from the beginning or you risk creating barriers that stop them accessing services
- Analyse local data and knowledge to ensure you are reaching those at risk
- Provide multi-agency training for services delivering the scheme and ensure they have access to admin support and expert advice
