Outreach work is key to sexual health

The sexual health charity was commissioned by the government's Teenage Pregnancy Unit to produce guidelines on setting up an outreach service.

Adrian Kelly, teenage pregnancy co-ordinator at City & Hackney Primary Care Trust, welcomed the document's recognition of youth work's role.

"As integrated targeted youth support teams develop, this resource will provide a useful framework for mainstreaming strategies to reduce teenage conceptions and improve young people's sexual health," he said. "It's good to see the tried and tested methods of high-quality youth work being celebrated."

Sexual Health Outreach - Why, What and How says commissioners must give outreach services time to work and have an impact. Simon Blake, chief executive of Brook, said the guidance "gives practical advice around issues that need to be considered that are different to if they are developing policy for school-based education - such as the safety of outreach workers if they are out on the streets in the evening. And training so people understand the boundaries - that they are friendly but not a friend."

The guidance states that services must be well planned and open to change if they do not suit the local needs of young people.

Blake said outreach work sits on the outside of mainstream provision but some young people need services to be available where they are. The guidance sets out some case studies to give professionals inspiration.

"It gives permission to people to be creative and try things they wouldn't think of," he said. "It's an opportunity to see people are doing brilliant things and we must support that creativity."

David Kesterton, project manager for sexual health charity fpa's parents project Speakeasy, said: "Outreach work is an essential part of improving the sexual health of young people because it engages them in a way clinics cannot always do. Guidance for workers and evidence of good practice is very important for professionals in the field."

Blake said he hoped it would be used by commissioners to help them understand how outreach work can be a part of mainstream provision.

- www.cypnow.co.uk/doc.