Sexual and reproductive health services

Sexual Health Promotion - Te Tai Tokerau - Northland

Auckland Regional Sexual Health Services - The Education Unit

An active team of Community Health Workers supports communities and schools with a collective aim to promote the effective use of barriers and condoms; normalize regular sexual health check-ups; bust down myths about anything relating to sex and stigma; and most importantly raise the ongoing awareness of STI’s and the services offered by ASHS and other sexual health organisations.

Services include:

• Delivering PSSP (Peer Sexuality Support Programme) to high schools across Auckland
• Providing free community self-testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea across Auckland
• Providing education sessions around STI’s, safer sex and other sexual health topics to priority organisations and communities that need support across Auckland
• Networking and collaborating with other sexual health services to support the wider region.

Programmes

Peer Sexuality Support Programme (PSSP)

PSSP is an almost 30-year school-based programme that is delivered in secondary schools throughout the Auckland region. PSSP aims to formalise already existing networks by training students to work in a support and leadership-based role for their school environment and with their peers.

The training involves a five-day experiential, overnight, residential hui (Term 1), in which students explore their own attitudes and values in relation to sexuality and sexual Health as well as those of others. They do this through workshop presentations on a range of topics where the students are provided with up-to-date and accurate information and access to resources which they can then use to assist others in their communities when they return to school.

The delivery of PSSP in school communities is youth-led and run. Therefore, PSSP Students within schools work alongside their school staff, school health services and the Education Unit to identify and design key health promotions or initiatives to meet their specific school community needs.

Community self-testing

The Education Unit offer self-testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea at community events and venues targeting our priority populations and communities (in conjunction with clinical support).

How does this work:

• The team show up with a range of appropriate testing kits
• You fill out a quick form writing down your best contact details
• You are given the testing kit to take with you into the closest bathroom to self-swab/self-urinate in yourself
• Once completed, you hand your samples back to us in a lab bag or pop your lab bag in a drop-box upon exiting
• We take all testing samples back with us to be processed for the labs.

Results from samples sent to the laboratory can take up to 10 days to return. If any of your results come back as positive (meaning you have an infection), we will contact you as soon as possible. If you are not contacted, your test was negative.

Community testing can be delivered in conjunction with an education session or as a stand-alone event or pop-up. This delivery of testing increases access and normalises the importance of regular sexual health check-ups. A range of venues and events we offer testing to include tertiary education providers, trade training programmes, the ‘Big Gay Out’ annual Event and more.

Sexual health promotion - Whanganui

Promoting positive and responsible sexual and reproductive health - Community and Public Health | Te Mana Ora