Evaluation of Sexual Health Sheffield's services in community settings : perspectives from young people aged 15-25 years.

This report details findings from an evaluation of Sexual Health Sheffield’s (SHS) services in community settings (also known as Community Engagement Services) from the perspective of young people aged 15-25 years. The evaluation was carried out during September 2014 to January 2015. Twenty nine young people aged 15-25 years who live in Sheffield or have used Sexual Health Sheffield’s services participated in the evaluation via interviews and focus groups. Experiences and utility of the services were contextualised in relation to geographic locality, social class, genders, sexualities, education/schooling and home/family circumstances. Community engagement services were widely regarded as excellent, with clear pointers to areas for further development in community and clinical settings. These include, more routine acknowledgement of the links between mental and sexual health, continued availability of free condoms, bolder promotion of services, and the recognition of sexuality and gender identities beyond binary categories. Sex and relationships education in school was reported as poor or non-existent, and community engagement services provided the only sources of education for a majority of participants.