Chapter 6: Strengthen the role and impact of ill health prevention
Sexual health and reproductive health
Nationally, diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) fell by 7% from 2013 to 2017. There has been a significant decline in new HIV diagnoses, thanks to a sustained long-term effort and more recently the introduction in some areas of PrEP2. There has also been a fall in genital warts, due to HPV vaccinations, and chlamydia, since the introduction of the chlamydia screening programme. However, trends for syphilis and gonorrhoea have increased.
(Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. (2023) Public health profiles.)
In Gateshead, our detection rate for chlamydia is higher in females - 1,610 per 100,000 - than males - 1,052 per 100,000. Interestingly, the female rates are lower in Gateshead compared with North East and England but are substantially higher for males living in Gateshead when compared with the North East and England. The difference in the rates by gender could be because more females are coming forward to be tested.
(Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. (2023) Public health profiles.)
In Gateshead, the conception rate for under 18s is higher than the national average, but lower than regional rates. For under 16s, the rate is higher in Gateshead than the national average but similar to regional rates. The percentage of children born to teenage mothers (12-17 years old) is also higher in Gateshead compared to the national average. There are however a very small number of children born to teenage mothers in Gateshead (20 in 2020/21), so any small change can disproportionately increase the percentage reported.
(Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. (2023) Public health profiles.)
Contraceptive service engagements 2020 (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. (2023) Public health profiles.)
| Gateshead | North East | England | |
| Total prescribed long-acting reversible contraceptives, excluding injections, rate per 1,000 females | 36.2 | 28.9 | 34.6 |
| Under 25s individuals attend specialist contraceptive services rate per 1,000 (females) | 119.8 | 106.5 | 97.6 |
| Total abortion rate per 1,000 | 15 | 16.4 | 18.9 |
Engagement with sexual health services in Gateshead has historically been good and above national and regional averages. In 2020 during the pandemic, there was a significant, but expected, decline in face-to face attendances, although we did see an increase in service demand remotely.
Gateshead also has a lower abortion rate compared with the North East and national figures.
When we consider sexual health and reproductive health, the responsibility is usually on the female rather than the male.
(Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. (2023) Public health profiles.)
91% of under 25s attending specialist contraceptive services in 2020 were females.