Only 16% of talkhealth members have used sexual health services in the past 12 months, but overall their experiences have been 'positive' 

Last month, we ran a survey all about sexual health and contraception. Broadly, the results show that talkhealth members engage positively with their sexual health however there's evidence that you need extra support and education on the services that are available to you.

The survey brought to light (and broke) lots of stigmas about sex with a chronic health condition. Although the majority of the respondents live with a chronic condition, only 10% of people said that sex is not important to them at all. This highlights the importance of sexual encounters for people living with a range of health issues. 

Other key findings include:

- 30% of people say that their age has not effected the importance of sex, however 1 in 3 people note that it has become less important as they have gotten older. 

- 40% of people get their sexual health information from their GP, whilst 53% use the internet. Of those visiting a health service: 
+ 63% visited for contraception
+ 52% visited for smear tests 
+ 25% visited for pregnancy testing 
+ 20% visited because of a sexually transmitted infections 

- 82% of respondents have used contraception and the majority of them are confident of their knowledge on the different options available to them. However, less than 1% of people use Femidoms. The most popular forms of contraception are: 
+ Condoms
+ Oral contraceptive 
+ Contraceptive implant