'Hospital on wheels', a safe place for sexual health services?

Washington D.C. [U.S.A.]: It has come to light that young adults consider the Mobile Health Units (MHUs) as a safe place that provides a portable and convenient method for bringing healthcare to communities.

According to a new study, MHUs or 'Hospital on wheels' provide a portable and convenient method for bringing healthcare to communities.

Led by the University of Chicago, the study was carried by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation (Ci3) in Sexual and Reproductive Health department.

The team conducted interviews and surveys with medical staff and adolescent patients on UChicago Medicine's Comer Children's mobile health unit.

The pilot study found that the majority of the patients surveyed, predominantly Black and Latino adolescents, ages 14 to 21, from several urban neighbourhoods in Chicago, expressed interest in learning about sexual health through the MHU.

More than half of them said that they were likely to obtain birth control on an MHU.

Also, 92 percent of the youth reported they would recommend the MHU to friends, while 88 percent found it to be private, and 93 percent found it as a safe place to obtain sexual and reproductive health care.

In addition, the MHU medical staff expressed interest in being trained to provide contraceptive and sexual health services.

The findings are published in the March 2018 issue the Journal of School Health.