Earlier this year, Durex provided HCPs with the chance to win a 'Catalyst Innovation Bursary'. With the opportunity to win a £2,500 cash injection to start a sexual health project, it was no wonder that Durex received a huge number of applications from forward thinking HCPs. Durex called upon a judging panel made up of representatives from Brook, FPA and the Department of Health to help decide who the winners should be. Catch up with the three lucky winners below, and find out how they are putting their Catalyst Innovation Bursary to use.

Congratulations to the winners! With an extra bit of funding support, it is clear that these HCPs are set to make a real impact on sexual health in their region; funding innovation today really can help people lead a healthier tomorrow.

DurexHCP hopes to bring you more updates on how these innovation projects have made a significant difference at a later date.

Making health issues more palatable to the African community

3.64 people per 1000 are diagnosed with HIV

Christine Hill is a Health Promotion Specialist in Slough. She works closely with the African community where 3.64 people per 1000 are diagnosed with HIV locally. This means that a significant proportion of people are reluctant, afraid or unaware that they need to be tested, and Christine is determined to change that...

"The African community are ill at ease to talk about HIV..."

"The African community are ill at ease to talk about HIV because this is a taboo subject that carries significant stigmatisation in Africa. The fear of social isolation is strong and many are unaware that treatment for HIV in the UK is available. Helping people understand that treatment exists is part of my role as a health promotion specialist," she explains.

So, how exactly do you disseminate information about HIV to a community that is reluctant to talk about a subject that is considered taboo? "Food!" Christine chuckles. "... This is a subject particularly close to the hearts of the African community. They really enjoy talking about foods they love, spices they use and discovering regional differences in African cuisine, from Zimbabwe to Tanzania and Somalia. It is an excellent, non-threatening talking point that can then be used to raise other issues important to the community," she says.

Food for thought...

Christine was awarded the Durex Catalyst Innovation Bursary to fund an 'African Taste Sensation' event for the local African community. People will be served different African BBQ foods and encouraged to share their culinary tips. They will also be asked to suggest new lubricant flavours that might appeal to the African community. Simultaneously, Christine's objective will be to provide people with information about sexual health services in their area. The aim of the event is to encourage people to revise any negative judgements they might have around HIV and consider getting tested.

"It's not about lectures. It's about highlighting to people there are services and treatments available and that there is help and support out there"

"It's not about lectures. It's about highlighting to people there are services and treatments available and that there is help and support out there," she adds.

While the link between condoms and food might not be immediately obvious, Christine was awarded the bursary due to her unique idea of using people's taste buds to make them think about sexual health. "Durex's range of flavoured condoms and lubricants works well with the taste themed event. It provides an ideal opportunity to raise a subject that there would be very little opportunity to broach normally. I anticipate that this will work so well that we will be coming up with our own ideas for condom flavours!"

"HIV does not need to be a badge of shame."

The event is set to bring the African community together and promises to get to the heart of promoting sexual health services and advocating HIV testing. "HIV does not need to be a badge of shame. People have sex and it is important that they aren't made to feel guilty or shameful to talk about it. It is even more important that they don't feel shameful about talking about the issues around sexual health. If they can learn some new cooking tips along the way... even better!" she says.

Dramatically improving condom confidence

Jill Hellings is a Social Work Team Leader who has worked closely with young people living with & affected by HIV for the last five years. For her, helping young people to overcome the stigma of living with HIV is a driving force behind the work undertaken at the Manchester based peer-support project for young people living with HIV.

"We provide a forum for young people living with HIV to share their experiences with others in a supportive and understanding environment."

"We provide a forum for young people living with HIV to share their experiences with others in a supportive and understanding environment. The issues around relationships, sex and condom use frequently arise," Jill explains. She is particularly concerned with how best to support and empower young people living with HIV when it comes to wanting to engage in a healthy sex life with their partner(s).

"While many health promotion models currently aim at helping young people to understand the risk of contracting STI's (including HIV) through unprotected sex, it is important to consider that there are already young people who are already living with HIV, who want to be able to experience fulfilling and healthy sexual relationships. Our aim is to communicate that it is okay to have safer sex using condoms" she says.

The project was awarded a Durex Catalyst Innovation Bursary not only for its imaginative way of encouraging young people with HIV to talk confidently about condoms, but also for helping others to practically broach the subject of condoms before having sex.

"We felt we needed an imaginative way to make condoms sexy"

"We felt we needed an imaginative way to make condoms sexy, so that young people are intrigued, open and confident when talking about them. Drama was a great way to do this, as role-play allows young people to explore sensitive issues in a non-threatening, non-personal way," she adds.

Lights, camera, action!

The bursary will fund two drama workshop days for young people living with HIV. They will then act out and record a short 'advert' or 'vox pop' for the Children's with HIV Association's (CHIVA) website. The advert, dubbed the 'Innovation Project', will show examples of how to approach the subject of condoms and explore how to put one on correctly.

"It's about teaching young people to be condom confident,"

"It's about teaching young people to be condom confident," Jill explains.

Jill has the full backing of the young people who attend the support group and they are keen to get involved. The drama workshop days will be run by a drama worker and a member of Brook, and promises to sensitively explore the issues that young people living with HIV face when broaching the subject of condom use. "Above all, we want to improve knowledge and develop their confidence. Filming a 'vox pop' not only engages the young people in a creative way, it will show any other young person visiting the CHIVA website that there are practical ways to tackle the subject of condom use with confidence and ease." she says.

Using Gaydar to promote positive sexual health and sexual health services

Poor engagement with gay and bisexual men in the Forth Valley region

Dr. Kirsty Abu-Rajab is a Consultant for the GUM department for Central Sexual Health, NHS, Forth Valley in central Scotland. Findings from a recent local HIV needs assessment described poor engagement with gay and bisexual men in the Forth Valley region. "While there are large well known sexual health services in neighbouring Edinburgh and Glasgow, we felt more needed to be done to promote services in the localised Forth Valley area," Kirsty explains.

"We needed a way to encourage the gay community to engage with sexual health services."

It is widely accepted that city areas tend to be more open and receptive to the needs of gay people. In Forth Valley however, there is little or no 'gay scene' to speak of, and gay men may find it hard to network in person, meaning they miss out on 'word of mouth' information about sexual health services. This also affects their ability to access condoms and information and protect themselves against HIV. "We needed a way to encourage the gay community to engage with sexual health services. It was important to communicate that services were available locally and that they didn't need to drive 30 minutes out of town to access condoms. We also needed a way to help gay men who were reluctant to engage with their local services for fear of being outed in the community," she adds.

Kirsty applied for the Durex Catalyst Innovation Bursary to help the clinic continue an ad-hoc project that started in 2009 to tackle these sexual health issues head on. "In the absence of a gay scene, we piloted an internet trial on Gaydar; a social networking site for gay men. This involved creating an online profile and joining gay men in the Falkirk and Stirling chat rooms. We now log in to offer advice and provide information on where to attend sexual health clinics and obtain condoms," she explains.

Simple but effective

The bursary was awarded to help the clinic continue in this important work and will be used to fund a doctor, nurse or health promotion specialist to log into Gaydar for two hours on Wednesday night when the chat room is at its busiest. The judges were impressed with this simple, but innovative way of bringing the healthcare professional directly to a group that may be experiencing social isolation.

"The pilot was received very well by the men talking to us on the site. While we can't diagnose a rash or take a swab over the internet, we refer people on to a clinic or reassure them on any questions they have about practicing safe sex. It is also an opportunity to stress how vital condoms and lubricants are in protecting their health."

"The Durex Catalyst Innovation Bursary means that we can go on to meet the need..."

Having secured funding for the next year, Kirsty is optimistic about the future. "The Durex Catalyst Innovation Bursary means that we can go on to meet the need and make sure that this isolated group has access to services and condoms. It might also help us to secure funding from the NHS in the future if they see this service is adding value by protecting people's health."

About the bursary winners...

Christine Hill has a varied background and currently networks within the Slough area as a Health Promotion Specialist.

Jill Hellings has worked as a social worker for fifteen years and has been involved with the Manchester based project for the last five years.

Dr. Kirsty Abu-Rajab is a Consultant for the GUM department and Lead Clinician for sexual health in NHS Forth Valley in central Scotland.

Article release date: 20th August 2010