Peer to Peer Chlamydia Testing

As an innovative part of HALE's sexual health work, we recruit young people to encourage other young people to be tested for Chlamydia. This has proven to be very successful, reaching the third highest number of tests taken in Bradford after our first three visits to Shipley College. Shipley’s supermarket Asda has also agreed to become a venue.

The young people are trained by staff from NHS BACs (Bradford and Airedale Chlamydia Screening) and, once trained, they are paid for their time. HALE now has a pool of 12 young people who test at secondary schools, Shipley College and Asda supermarket in Shipley. There are also plans to test at Leeds/Bradford airport.

The success of this work is due primarily to our partnership with the BACs team and to the young people themselves, who are able to engage with their peers in a way which is neither threatening nor embarrassing.