Terrence Higgins Trust teams up with Wiltshire College to launch sexual health app

HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust has teamed up with Wiltshire College to launch an innovative new smartphone app that will help students find information and advice about sexual health.

Students can download the app – which was commissioned by Public Health, Wiltshire Council – by searching for ‘No Worries’ in the app store on their smartphone. Through the app they will be able to access facts about sexual health, book appointments at the campuses’ on-site sexual health clinics and find local advice and counselling services.

The app’s ‘Fun and Games’ section will feature quizzes and an augmented reality function that will allow students to bring to life the cartoon characters displayed on posters across the college’s campuses. Students will also be able to download new characters throughout the year.

In October 2012 Terrence Higgins Trust and Wiltshire College launched three sexual health clinics on the college’s Lackham, Chippenham and Trowbridge campuses funded by Public Health, Wiltshire Council. The clinics employ trained Terrence Higgins Trust staff to provide tailored sexual health services for students, the majority of whom are aged 16 to 19. A fourth clinic, run by Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, operates on the college’s Salisbury campus. The new app will complement the clinics by giving students access to sexual health information on the go

Young people are one of the groups most at risk of sexual ill health. In 2012, 72 per cent of all chlamydia diagnoses in Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire were made among young people aged 15 to 24 years old.

Steve Jones, Regional Manager for Terrence Higgins Trust in the South West, said: “We were absolutely thrilled by the Wiltshire College students’ enthusiasm for the ‘No Worries’ app. There is so much misinformation about sexual health out there that it can sometimes be hard for young people to get the facts. Following the fantastic success of the new dedicated sexual health clinics at Wiltshire College, we wanted to give students a simple and appealing way to get clear, reliable information on the go.”

Di Dale, Principal and Chief Executive of Wiltshire College said “It is important to give young people access to accurate information in a format that they find easy to use. This is an exciting project that will make a difference to many students’ lives. It extends the work we do through our Sexual Health Clinics in college into the wider community and is an excellent example of partnership working in action.”

Maggie Rae, Corporate Director, Wiltshire Council, said: “The app adds to the already successful college based sexual health services, giving young people an excellent resource at their fingertips. The college and Terrence Higgins Trust working with young people have developed an innovative way of communicating sexual health and relationship information to young people.”

The app was commissioned by Public Health, Wiltshire Council and designed and developed by Wiltshire College, with Terrence Higgins Trust providing accredited information about sexual health.

The Wiltshire College clinics provide advice and information on sexual health, testing for sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea, free condoms, pregnancy testing and advice, contraception, rapid HIV testing and emergency contraception.

For more information about the ‘No Worries’ app, please visit www.wiltshire.ac.uk/studentlife