Sexual Health | Approach to patient | Chemsex

Chemsex
Session Overview
Description
This session will cover chemsex related drugs, issues relating to chemsex and the basic approach to be taken with an individual presenting with a chemsex related drugs problem.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe the drugs related to chemsex
• Recognise the risks associated with chemsex
• Identify risk reduction strategies and psychological and drug support interventions for those experiencing chemsex related problems

Why do we need to know about drugs?

• Recreational drug use is common in the United Kingdom, with approximately 1 in 12 (8.4%) of all adults in England and Wales having used an illicit substance in 2015/16. Prevalence is highest in 16- 24-year-olds (1 in 5; 18% illicit drug use in the last year) [1](read details regarding the reference)
• Men who have sex with men (MSM) are more likely to engage in recreational drug use, with statistics sourced from the Crime Survey for England and Wales identifying 12% of MSM having used class A drugs in the past year versus 4% of heterosexual men, between 2011 and 2014 [2](read details regarding the reference)
• There are well established links between recreational drug use and risky sexual behaviour, including increased number of sexual partners and condomless sex [3](read details regarding the reference) [4](read details regarding the reference)
• A correlation between recreational drug use and both viral and bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) acquisition has been identified [5](read details regarding the reference) [6]