14472 Synthesis Report 10pp

This report analyses sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from an economic perspective. While the costs of STIs are substantial, the majority of economic research around sexual health has been on HIV and AIDS. This report presents an overview of the epidemiology of the five most common STIs in the UK and North West, and sets out the changes in sexual behaviour and incidence of STIs. There is a brief introduction to welfare economics and the different forms of economic evaluation and subsequently the costs of STIs are described and evidence on the effectiveness of interventions examined. Finally, current policy is assessed and issues for the North West sexual health networks are identified and actions recommended. 1