The Department of Health Information Research will be carrying out a nationwide sexual health survey to, for the first time, get a snapshot of adults’ behaviour, awareness and attitudes towards sexual health.

The survey, that will be in the form of a self-filled questionnaire, will target 1,200 people in Malta and Gozo between the ages of 16 and 40, explained department statistician Dorothy Gauci.

Do date Malta has an understanding of sexual behaviour in school children, through a series of studies. However, the adult population remains unstudied.

This study will look into sexual activity, sexual orientation age of first intercourse, number of partners, use of contraception, sexual violence, sexual education and awareness about sexually transmitted infections, among other things. Further research projects will look into other adult groups and other aspects of sexual health.

A team of 11 researchers will start working on the project towards the end of this month and results are expected to be completed in the third quarter of the year.

This is the first of a series of research studies required to better understand what is going on in the field of sexual health. The findings will help guide policy makers.

The need to carry out more research was one of the recommendations listed in the Sexual Health Strategy launched last year.