The North East London Sexual Health and HIV Network is a joint
initiative of adult HIV and sexual health service providers and
commissioners in North East London, with links across acute,
community-based and voluntary services. It covers:
- Seven primary care trust (PCT) areas – City & Hackney,
Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Barking & Dagenham,
Redbridge and Havering
- Five hospitals – Homerton University Hospital Foundation Trust,
Barking, Havering & Redbridge NHS Trust, Barts & the London
NHS Trust, Newham University Hospital NHS Trust and Whipps Cross
University Hospital NHS Trust
A sector-wide website was already in existence for the Network –
http://www.nelnet.nhs.uk/index.asp
and was separated into
two areas:
- For patients
- For GPs and health professionals
The core purpose of Network members is to improve and protect
the sexual health of the population that they serve. Key to
delivering this is well-signposted information about local
services, combined with clear unambiguous messages to encourage
health promoting behaviours. In order to raise awareness, North
East London Sexual Health and HIV Network is looking to improve
access to this information via the web.
The existing website was identified as being unsatisfactory on a
number of levels – it was limited in content and rather rudimentary
in design, it was not particularly intuitive to navigate around and
was very static. The North East London Sexual Health and HIV
Network commissioned a complete overhaul of this website into a
much more comprehensive, dynamic, attractive and user-friendly
design.
In addition, the Network required a new brand identity, to be
launched via the website and to feature in a campaign to promote
responsible sexual health and services in the North East London
area.
Recent figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show that
there was a six per cent increase in the total number of new STIs
diagnosed in 2007 compared to 2006. Campaigns have tried to warn
people about the serious complications that can result from
sexually transmitted infections (STIs) but it seems people are
still taking risks with their sexual health. A substantial number
of young people remain undiagnosed, untreated and unaware of the
risk they pose to their own health and that of their sexual
partner.
While just one in eight of the population are aged 16 to 24, this
age group accounts for around half of all newly diagnosed STIs in
the UK – 65 per cent of all Chlamydia; 55 per cent of all genital
warts and 50 per cent of gonorrhoea infections diagnosed in GUM
(Genito-Urinary Medicine) clinics last year. Sexual health
messages also need to reach young gay men; with HPA data
revealing that there has been a substantial increase in the
number diagnosed with an STI over the past decade.
There has been more than a doubling of HIV diagnosed between 1998
and 2007 and almost a tripling of gonorrhoea diagnoses. With the
rising tide of STI diagnoses, strategies are urgently needed to
improve the UK’s sexual health.
Working together with the seven PCTs that make up North East
London Sexual Health and HIV Network, we undertook a Discovery Day
to develop a brand for a new online destination for the North East
London community to go to for clear information about sexual
health, the sexual health risks of certain lifestyle choices, and
the sexual health services available in the area. The result was a
new brand name for sexual health services in North East London –
SHO-me (Sexual Health Online in North East London).
We developed a brand identity for SHO-me. Once the brand was
developed work began on the website – SHO-me.nhs.uk. The challenge
was to develop an inclusive website environment that clearly
communicated the purpose of the network as well as appealing to the
diverse North East London audience which is made up of many
demographics, cultures and ethnic groups. Merchant was responsible
for developing, designing, building and populating the site. The
structure is simple to navigate and the
information is presented simply and sensitively.
The site was developed on an Immediacy CMS (an Alterian product)
with integrated Google open source technology. The website
includes:
- A to Z glossary of sexual health terms
- Sexual health quiz to test your knowledge and expel any sexual
health myths
- Ability to search local services by type and locality
- Advice on contraception and the opportunity to directly compare
different forms of contraception
- A facility to directly email a doctor confidentially with any
sexual health question
- There is also an ‘EXIT’ button that allows the user to quickly
leave the website to avoid potential embarrassment
Merchant developed a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategy,
the initial implementation of which included a Google Adwords PPC
campaign and Meta data (title tags, keywords and page descriptions)
which was inserted throughout the website. The launch of the
website was supported through an integrated campaign including:
- Public relations
- Press coverage in local publications
- Branded promotional material
- Leaflet distribution
- Outdoor advertising including bus sides and posters
- SHO-me road show – a sexual health unit touring North East
London offering free sexual health checks
The campaign launched at the end of November 2008 to a strong
response that exceeded all expectations. The website had over 6,000
unique visitors in the first six weeks with a high level of enquiry
forms being submitted to the network’s Sexual Health Consultant.
The road show team recorded in the region of 5,200 interactions
with members of the public within the same time scale, with 3,285
of these benefiting from either free sexual health checks or
contraception. It was a highly successful and cost effective
campaign, which achieved its objectives and was well received by
the local community.
With on-going search engine optimisation work and further
development being carried out on the website, the North East London
Sexual Health and HIV Network has set the standards for making
health information more accessible to local communities.
Following the success of the campaign, the website was entered for
the Health and Social Care Awards resulting in winning the London
regional award for Innovative Health and Social Care
Technology.
Dr Jose Figueroa, Deputy Director of Public Health said:
‘Since the initial launch of the website, SHO-me has been a
great success, with over 5000 people visiting the site within the
first month. Sexual health is often perceived as a taboo, if not
embarrassing subject for some people so we needed to develop an
interactive resource for the local community to access information
quickly and simply. Merchant Healthcare Marketing really captured
the essence of what we were trying to achieve and the campaign has
raised our awareness, and motivated people to get tested for STIs
not just in our local area, but with other local PCTs.’