Local sexual habits under the lens

The Directorate for Health Information and Research is in the process of analysing and evaluating data collected from the first National Sexual Health survey.   

The National Sexual Health survey is a representative study among the population aged 16 to 40 assessing the population’s attitudes towards sexuality and sexual health, their knowledge about sexual health related issues and their sexual practices.   Fieldwork has been conducted over the first three months of 2012 among a representative sample of Maltese residents within the said age group.  

This study has collected detailed information on a number of important indicators addressing topics such as sexual education, sexual competence, sexual activity, risky behaviours, knowledge about sexually transmitted infections, knowledge and use of contraceptive methods and knowledge about treatment and screening facilities.  The information from this study will help develop targeted educational and health promotion campaigns and lead to the creation of user-driven sexual health services to meet the needs of the population.   

The implementation of this survey follows from and fulfills part of the research recommendations made by the National Sexual Health Strategy launched in 2011 by the Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care.