Some Peoples’ Psychological Experiences of Attending a Sexual Health Clinic and Having an STI

14.10.00

Helen Holgate, Ex-Senior Health Adviser
Kingston Hospital
c/o SSHA Research Officer

If the research work is complete, when was it completed?

1996

If the research has been published, please give details:

Published in SSHA newsletter Spring 1999 and the Journal of the Royal Society, Vol 118, No.2 April 1998

Summary of research topic:

This study considers aspects of the experiences of a group of people attending a sexual health clinic and receiving the diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection (STI). The study was conducted in the form of action research using a qualitative approach. Participants consisted of eight attenders at a sexual health clinic who had been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection.

Counselling skills and techniques were used throughout semi-structured interviews to explore participants’ feelings about these issues. Thematic analysis was used to generate themes of importance to the participants.

Some people who had been to a sexual health clinic and received a diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection were found to experience feelings of anxiety, stigma and isolation.