Læknablaðið - 15.07.1995, Blaðsíða 14

530
LÆKNABLAÐIÐ 1995; 81
quest patients to attend and can institute com-
pulsory examinations and isolation. Most of
the compulsory care is related to HIV disease.
Youth centres
The youth centres are a central part of the
present fight in Sweden against STDs and
abortions. The first clinic started in 1975 based
on a holistic concept of the teenager as an
individual with particular needs in the transi-
tion from child to grown-up. The number of
clinics increased rapidly during the 80s and
there are now 176 youth centres with at least
the minimum staffing of a midvife, a physician
and a social worker.
The youth clinics are usually located outside
hospitals, and preferably down town were the
youngsters have easy access. They are intend-
ed for young people up to the age of about 20.
The basic staffing is midwives with special
training in contraceptive counselling, licensed
to prescribe contraceptive pills and insert
IUDs. Depending on local conditions special-
ists from different fields are involved.
The issues are contraceptive counselling and
prescription, primary prevention through in-
formation by visiting school classes also partic-
ipation in teaching in the schools in the catch-
ment area.
Chlamydial screening
Chlamydial screening has been introduced
in most counties in Sweden. In short Chlamy-
dial testing is performed whenever possible on
all sexually active individuals up to the age of
30. Most often extra money is allocated to
relive the individual physician or clinic from
the costs of culture. In this way particularly
great numbers of young wornen have been
screened for Chlamydial disease and through
these women a great number of men can be
reached through contact tracing. The youth
clinics have played an important role in this
work.
However the medical society can never solve
the problem of sexually transmitted diseases
single-handed. Views in society of sexuality
and sexual behaviour have great impact on
STDs. Differences between countries are also
great and imply that individual solutions have
to be found. Sweden has a strong belief in
information and during the 80s emphasis have
shifted from technical and medical matters to
sex roles, moral and ethics, with the basic view
that human sexuality is a powerful gift that has
to be handled with care and respect for the
partner.