Abstract

Sexual Health Research in Coastal and Rural Environments (SHORE)
Aim
The research aims to develop new understanding of situated patterns of sexual health behaviours and outcomes within a remote and disadvantaged coastal population on England’s East Coast.
Study Overview: The SHORE study is a collaborative case study between University College London (UCL), the Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health (LIIRH) and the School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln (UoL). The study aims to build new collaborative research partnerships between academics, policymakers, healthcare providers and coastal community stakeholders, to explore sexual health and disease determinants in one of England’s most deprived areas. The research will, with permission, incorporate NATSAL methodology, focusing on the study of sexually transmitted infections, their pathogenesis and epidemiology. The study seeks to develop new understanding of situated patterns of sexual behaviours and measures of sexual disfunction within an ageing, remote and disadvantaged coastal community. The SHORE study commenced in November 2022 and is led by Professor Ros Kane. It forms part of the Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health’s coastal and rural research portfolio. As the study is based in one of the UK’s most deprived coastal communities, this research provides a unique opportunity to observe and evaluate the prevalence and incidence of sexual health conditions and behaviours and associated contextual challenges impacting public health and the provision of sexual health services.
Milestone 1 will involve meetings with key community stakeholders to facilitate community engagement, participation, retention, and relevance. Milestone 2 will involve researchers from the UCL and UoL, who will conduct a scoping review investigating data and service provision pertaining to sexual health across the geography of the study. Milestone 3 will comprise a series of Town Hall meetings (conjunction with the SANDS study) to co-produce, with the Mablethorpe community, research tools, adapted from the existing NATSAL questionnaire to be applied to ascertain the prevalence of public health behaviours and determinants of health influencing the community’s risk and quality of life relating to chronic and infectious diseases and health. The SHORE research element will focus on rural healthcare challenges in relation to sexually transmitted infections and behaviours.