Sex and health promotion: the need for a new primary care initiative.

The adverse consequences of sexual behaviour are increasingly important. Half a million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases were reported in England in 1984 and at present there is one legal abortion for every five births. The services provided for the sexually active population are disparate and uncoordinated and it is time for a radical reappraisal of the care and advice they receive. The case is made for a new member of the primary care team, a ;sex education and health promotion nurse', who would ensure that all sexually active men and women are identified and are receiving the sex education and contraceptive services they need, provide pre-conception and fertility advice, run cervical and breast screening programmes, and counsel patients who have AIDS or who have had an abortion.