SH:24 economic evaluation of a redesigned sexual health service
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Economic and epidemiological evaluation of SH:24, a redesigned complete sexual health service
IRAS ID
169251
Contact name
Paula Baraitser
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
London has the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections and HIV in the UK and Lambeth and Southwark are hotspots of infection within London. This project will assess whether a new way of providing NHS sexual health services in Lambeth and Southwark (SH24) including online, telephone and clinic services will improve the health of the population and save money. SH24 will offer several novel components including the option to obtain a test for infection online, with nurse support available by telephone or instant messaging. We think that offering these services online will help make it easier for people to obtain testing when they want or need it. We also think it will save the NHS money as some people may be able to get tested and obtain all the information they need without needing to see a doctor in a clinic. This project will analyse the information collected about the number of tests done online and in clinics and the number of people diagnosed with infections together with information about how much it costs to provide these different types of service. We will see if we are correct that the new service improves the sexual health of people in Lambeth and Southwark and whether it costs less than the current services.
This change to service organisation is taking place anyway and this piece of research is being conducted to analyse routinely collected data on service use to evaluate the impact of these service changes, notably provision of online STI testing and repeat contraceptive prescribing.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 1
REC reference
15/NS/0031
Date of REC Opinion
8 Apr 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion