Natsal goes beyond the loudest, most visible, or most extreme stories to provide a snapshot of the experiences of the general population of Britain.
Natsal helps people understand:
- How common or uncommon their experiences of sex are
- How experiences vary by sex, age, gender identity, sexual identity, ethnicity, education, deprivation and other factors
- Where people’s needs are shared and where they differ
- Who is being reached by services and who is not
- How personal experiences connect to wider social patterns
What has the impact of Natsal been?
Natsal findings have provided evidence to open up public dialogue about sex, informed policies and strategies to improve sexual health, supported the work of charities, and shaped changes to clinical practice and service delivery.
Natsal has provided the evidence-base for major sexual health interventions and for monitoring their impact, including:
- The National Chlamydia Screening Programme
- National Sexual Health & HIV strategies
- Enhanced HIV testing
- The HPV vaccination programme
- The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (2000-2010)
- Sex and relationship education in schools (PSHE education)
- The development and delivery of sexual health services
Why do we need Natsal-4?
Since Natsal-3, there have been significant individual-level, societal and technological changes, along with shifts in public health priorities and service delivery, which influence sexual attitudes, lifestyles and health outcomes.
As a result of this, Natsal-4, collected between 2022 and 2024 will provide updated data on sexual lifestyles in the context of today’s society. For the first time, Natsal-4 collected data on online sexual activities, including pornography use and sexting, as well as expanding measures of gender to include transgender and non-binary identities. Read more information about Natsal-4 here.