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Sexual health campaign for older adults

Sexual health campaign for older adults

Summary

Cardiff Council, in collaboration with Public Health Wales and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s Local Public Health Team, launched a new initiative promoting sexual health among older adults in June 2025.

The campaign took place in response to the recent increase in sexually transmitted infections within the older population, as well as the enduring stigma and stereotyping that still exists around the topic of older adult sexuality.

Specially designed Age Friendly Cardiff branded condom packets featuring myth-busting messages were produced. These packets, along with information flyers, are available for free at; Hubs, libraries, GP surgeries, Cardiff Council’s older adult community living schemes, community pharmacies and through partners such as Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Sexual Health Wales, Fast Track Cymru and the Hep C Trust.

The campaign aims to:

– Raise awareness of safe sex practices amongst older adults
– Encourage open conversations about sexual health in later life
– Reduce stigma and stereotypes surrounding older adult sexuality

Each packet also includes guidance on accessing sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing, reinforcing the message that sexual health matters—at every age.

Website: https://agefriendlycardiff.co.uk/your-health/sex-in-later-life/

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Other target group(s): Healthcare professionals

Sector(s): Education, Health, Information and communication

Desired outcome for older people:
Build and maintain relationships

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Ageism
  • Healthy behaviours (e.g. physical activity)
  • Inequities
  • Inclusion

Contact details

Name: Nicola Pitman

Email address: nicola.pitman@cardiff.gov.uk

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:
  • Social or health care provider

How collaboration worked: The project was funded by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s Local Public Health Team and supported by colleagues from Public Health Wales. The messaging and signposting information was approved by the Sexual Health Programme Lead in Public Health Wales.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were not directly involved

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: No

Do you plan to evaluate your age-friendly practice? Yes

Feedback:
Some informal feedback has been received from older adults. For example, positive feedback was gained from members of Cardiff’s Age-Friendly Forum when the project was discussed with them. Social media responses during the launch were mixed, which was expected. Some interesting discussions were prompted by the communications.

Expansion plans:
No current plans. If funding were made available, it would be good to think about other ways of raising awareness.

Looking back

Challenges:
Sometimes, conversations about this topic were not taken seriously, even amongst professionals. It was important to be persistent, and informed about why action was important, e.g. knowing about key data on sexually transmitted infections amongst the older population. Also, working in partnership with Cardiff and Vale’s Local Public Health Team and Public Health Wales was invaluable, to give more power to the messaging.