The public health campaign was implemented on the 23rd March 2010. The topic and target group were identified based on statistical results, studies and government initiatives. Various methods were used to implement the campaign and questionnaires were used to evaluate the activity.
IDENTIFICATION OF NEED AND TARGET GROUP Sexually transmitted infection (STI) was chosen as the topic for the campaign as it is a major public health problem in young people and is in line with the government’s 10 Year Plan (2010) to modernise sexual health and HIV services in the UK and address the rising prevalence of STIs and HIV. Surveillance data in the UK and findings of adhoc studies consistently show that the burden of STIs fall upon teenage women and men (16 – 24). As home to around 14, 878 undergraduate students from over 100 countries (Brunel University, 2010), majority of the population in ABC University is comprised of young people who fall within the age bracket of 18-24. These students are the target group for the public health intervention. While just one in eight of the population are aged 16-24 years old, this group account for around half of all newly diagnosed STIs in the UK (HPA, 2008). London has the highest burden of HIV in England, about one in every two syphilis diagnoses, one in four chlamydia and more than one third of all gonorrhoea infections in England are in London, and increasing teenage pregnancy rate (LHO, 2005). Young people are at increased risk of STIs, and other markers of sexual ill health because of a complex interaction of behavioural, socio-economic, health care provision and biological factors (Johnson et al, 1994). They are generally more sexually active, more likely to engage in promiscuous behaviours, change partners more often than older age groups and use barrier contraception inconsistently (HPA, 2009). In ABC university,