Sexual Health Update

21 December 2004
Issue 4

Kia ora tatou katoa, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Kia orana, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Ni sa bula, Taloha ni and greetings. We're a month into the No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba campaign and reaction has been very positive - both from young people and the public. Comment from the media has largely been factual - often quoting information provided by the Ministry of Health. A number of newspapers took the angle of approaching young people on the street to see what their reaction to the campaign slogan was - the outcome was about 50 percent liked it and 50 percent didn't. Many of those approached were outside our core priority age group of 15 to 19 years, and many had not seen the commercial or associated campaign materials, so it's little wonder the slogan didn't mean a lot to them!

Interestingly, the most frequent comment was about the slogan itself - No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba. The talk-back lines have been running hot with older adults reminiscing about how 'hubba hubba' was used in the 1940s to describe a particularly attractive person. Letters to the editor have also followed this theme, as well as some media articles.

Because No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba was developed in close consultation with 15 to 19 year olds it has been fairly easy to demonstrate that young people do understand the campaign message. We have been surprised though at the focus on the campaign slogan rather than campaign content.

The campaign commercials will continue to run on television, radio and cinema over the summer holiday season, and No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba will also be promoted in print, outdoors and at events.

We're pleased that there has been such a wide acceptance of the 'always use a condom' message. Early indications are that the campaign has met our objectives of raising awareness of our high rates of sexually transmitted infections and the need for sexually active young people to use condoms. This will contribute towards achieving the overall campaign goal of increasing safer sex in order to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections in 15 to 19 year old New Zealanders, particularly Mäori and Pacific youth.

A big thank you once again to everyone who was involved in the development of the campaign, and to those of you who are promoting it over summer. Best wishes for a happy Christmas and safe and restful New Year.

Sally Hughes
Project Manager, Sexual Health Campaign
Ministry of Health

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In this issue:

- No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba features at Sex in the Park

- Youth rally a great success in Kawerau

- Campaign evaluation

- Campaign resources

- The Hubba Hubba website

- Events diary

- Campaign signage and merchandise

- Hubba Hubba media

- Cleo Safe Sex Guide

- Te reo Maori media

- Young people urged to stay safe this holiday period

- Resources for Pacific parents

- Pacific radio campaign

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No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba features at Sex in the Park

Community and Public Health's Maria Smoler reports on another successful Sex in the Park event.

The third Sex in the Park youth event was held on Saturday 27 November in Bromley Park, Christchurch. It was once more linked with World AIDS Day as well as the Ministry of Health's sexual health campaign, and promoted safer sex messages to young people. The music this year had a definite hip hop theme which fitted in perfectly with the No Rubba No Hubba Hubba message.

The hip hop music helped draw in young Mäori and Pacific Island youth. The performers this year were Mäori Platoon, Akademics, Sound Squad, Aviatour, The Insurgents and a breakdance group, Rockafella. Our Sexual Health Warrant of Fitness tent was very popular again. It was run this year by local Public Health Nurses and the Family Planning Association's PEP team, who were able to give one-on-one advice to young people and also test their sexual health knowledge. The Sex and Ladders walk-on board game also attracted lots of players.

The Hubba Hubba condom pouches were a sought-after item for the young people attending and were a great way of getting them interested. We are still receiving requests for them. Other attractions were a graffiti wall, competitions and touch rugby; with a bouncy castle and kite-making workshop for younger children. One of the greatest successes of Sex in the Park has been the way it has brought together a strong team of agencies and individuals who combined to make the event happen.

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Youth rally a great success in Kawerau

This report was supplied by event organisers Natasha Manuel and JJ Renetti of Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau Hauora.

A big crowd turned out to support the Hauora Youth Rally, an event usually held each year for the youth of Kawerau. A mix of rap, singing, break dancing, hip hop and many other forms of entertainment kept the crowd entertained. The first No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba graffiti wall was sent to support the event. Having the sexual health resources - especially the pouches - as well as the graffiti wall fitted in really well with the theme for rangatahi in Kawerau.

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Campaign evaluation

The No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba campaign will be evaluated by an independent research company.

Prior to the launch of the campaign, a survey of the sexual health attitudes and knowledge of the target audience was carried out. This survey will be repeated in an identical way, using a robust sampling procedure. The survey will again focus on sexual health attitudes and knowledge, rather than on subjective responses to the campaign itself. The difference between the two surveys will indicate the effectiveness of the campaign. An evaluation report will be produced in April 2005 and will include findings, conclusions and recommendations.

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Campaign resources

Don't forget that several resources have been developed to support the campaign messages, and are available free of charge from the Ministry of Health. They are: Talking with your teenager/rangatahi about safer sex - A5 booklet for parents/caregivers (English and te reo Mäori) No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba - A6 booklet for teens about safer sex No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba - A3 campaign poster. You can order free copies of these resources from the Ministry of Health's storage and distribution centre by: emailing moh@wickliffe.co.nz telephoning 04 496 2277 writing to Ministry of Health Publications, c/- Wickliffe Press, PO Box 932, Dunedin. Please provide a physical address, contact details and a phone number.
The Hubba Hubba website The new Hubba Hubba website - www.hubba.co.nz - is proving extremely popular, with over 700,000 hits received since the campaign was launched on 22 November. The site contains information about sexual decision-making, safer sex and STIs, as well as contact numbers for sexual health services. Visitors to the site are given the opportunity to rehearse decisions about sexuality and sexual health through interactive scenarios using the characters from the television commercial. They have the opportunity to see what the consequences are of different courses of action, such as not using a condom.

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Events diary

The No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba campaign will have a presence at the following events over summer:

Date	Event	Where	Contact
21 December	Christmas Party	Opotiki	Paula Pirihi
24 December	Waipu Christmas Parade	Waipu	Wendy Baker
31 December	Ua Rawa	Tolaga Bay	Wally Tukukino
Dec/January	Camp sites	Nelson	Jodie Betts
Dec/January	SHOTS	Gisborne	Tina Ahuriri
January	Summer Carnival	Queenstown	Gaylene Hastie
January to March	Health Promotion Events/KISST	Whangarei	Tracey Tana
17-22 January	Waka Ama Nationals	Lake Karapiro	Wendy Baker
21 January	Big Day Out	Auckland	Amanda Schultz
21 January	Video night	Nelson	Sally Wood
22-23 January	Youth leadership	Nelson	Sally Wood
1 February	FPA Orientation Week Events and Valentine's Day promotion	Tauranga	Bronwyn Courtney
1 February	Rangatahi Whanau Beach Day	Tauranga	Bronwyn Courtney
1 February	High school 7th form camps/peer support	Tauranga	Bronwyn Courtney
3-6 February	Leadership Camp for Youth	Whakatane	Annie Rogers-Marshall
6 February	Te Wananga O Aotearoa orientation	Whangarei	Wendy Baker
8 February	Summer Hummer	Wairarapa	Tracey Winmill
13 February	Big Gay Out	Auckland	Amanda Schultz
14 February	Valentine's Day	Hamilton	Julia Drury
19 February	Street Party	Wellington	Sarah Helm

National events will include Edgefest - in Auckland on 12 March, Hamilton on 13 March, Wellington on 18 March and Christchurch on 19 March. No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba will have a huge presence at Edgefest, which will include graffiti artists and break dancing. The Edgefest events are being supported by local sexual health providers with hubba-branded giveaways. Thanks to everyone who has indicated their support for these activities.

The Kapa Haka Festival which is running from 24 to 27 February will be supported by Greg Noda and his team from the Family Planning Association.

Outdoor cinema is taking place on 25 and 26 February in South Auckland and West Auckland.

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Campaign signage and merchandise

A big thank you to everyone who has forwarded their regional event information. As you can see the event calendar is packed over the next couple of months so the No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba message will be well and truly out there!

There are a range of signage options available to providers for their events and activities. These include flying, back drop, and free standing banners. Please note all signage must be returned on the completion of your event unless prior arrangement has been made. This is because we have limited signage and we need to keep it moving from event to event.

Event tees (pictured) and satchels are proving popular - we have limited stock of these resources so our aim is to ensure they are distributed evenly among the events. Apologies if we are not able to meet all requests. We are getting very close to allocating all the remaining condom pouches - so be quick with any final orders.

For further information about signage or resources contact Trevor Shailer on 04 384 1907, or email trevor@grahamstrategic.co.nz.

Event tees

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Hubba Hubba media

The campaign will have a strong presence in the media over summer. The television commercials will continue to run on TV2, TV3, Juice, C4 and Maori TV, and cinema ads begin selected screenings from 23 December.

Hubba Hubba commercials are currently being played on a number of radio stations including The Rock, ZM, Channel Z, The Edge, More FM, Flava, Nui, and Atiawa. Te reo Maori commercials are being played on iwi stations.

Hubba Hubba posters being 'pasted up' around the country, along with bus shelter advertising. The campaign also features in Tearaway and New Zealand Performance Car, and can be seen on the MSN Messenger, Hotmail, New Zealand Girl, Tearaway and New Zealand Performance Car websites.

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Cleo Safe Sex Guide

The latest issue of Cleo magazine features a special sealed section that discusses sexually transmitted infections, the risks of unprotected sex, the benefits of condom use, and contact numbers for help.

The safe sex guide will be available as a new campaign resource in early January.

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Te reo Maori media

Te reo versions of the radio and television commercials have been completed and are out on the airwaves - if you are intending to undertake sexual health radio promotions we'd encourage you to liaise with Trevor so we can ensure our promotions don't double-up. A bi-lingual resource for parents/caregivers that focuses on encouraging korero with the wider whänau is available from the Ministry of Health (see details earlier).

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Young people urged to stay safe this holiday period

Young people are being urged to remember the safer sex message over the holiday season.

"Holidays are all about relaxing and having fun", says Sally Hughes from the Ministry of Health.

"But it's important for sexually active young people to ensure they stay safe over the holiday period by using a condom if they have sex. It's a simple message - No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba."

Sally Hughes says that New Zealand has high chlamydia rates and it's all too easy for this infection to spread during the Christmas and holiday period.

"Young people have finished work or study and are into the party mood. It's easy to be carried away with the celebrations and forget to protect yourself."

However, she says, young people can pay a high price for taking risks with their sexual health.

"Sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia can have serious effects if left untreated. In the case of chlamydia, complications can include pelvic inflammatory disease, tubal scarring and subsequent pelvic pain, infertility and ectopic pregnancy.

"And because chlamydia often has no symptoms, young people may be unaware that they have been infected. Sometimes evidence of past infection is only detected when a couple is having problems conceiving."

She says that used correctly, condoms prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea and also reduce the risk of contracting herpes and wart virus infection.

The No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba campaign will continue to be promoted on television, radio, cinema, print, outdoors and at events over the holiday period. The campaign encourages sexually active young people to 'always use a condom'.

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Resources for Pacific parents

Final work is now underway to complete the adult brochures in four Pacific languages. We are translating brochures for parents on how to talk to their teenager about sex and sexuality in the Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands Maori and Niuean languages.

As many parents will know, this is not an easy subject to discuss openly with their teenager but it's even more sensitive in the different Pacific Islands' communities for cultural and religious reasons.

Pacific people are not brought up discussing this topic openly with their parents. Bearing this in mind, a lot of work has gone into making sure the brochures are culturally sensitive while at the same time providing the necessary information for parents.

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Pacific radio campaign

The Pacific radio campaign officially kicked off on Monday, 13 December on Niu FM between 6 and 7pm. In the Pac drive remix show, host Sela Alo asked Samoan doctor Aniva Lawrence about the medical side of sexually transmitted infections. Dr Lawrence spoke about their impact on young Pacific people, and gave some examples. Dr Lawrence works part-time at the Otahuhu College Health and Wellness Centre. The interview was informative and relaxed and Dr Lawrence did a great job.

The second part of the show concentrated on the social impact of STIs in the Pacific communities.

Cook Islands youth worker and former sexual health nurse Yvonne Kainuku-Walsh explained the challenges young Pacific people face in dealing with sex and sexuality and in talking with their parents about the issue. Yvonne currently works as a youth worker at the Centre for Youth Health in South Auckland. Again, this was a relaxed and well-presented interview.

No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba radio advertising has begun on Niu FM. We look forward to the article on Pacific people and STIs coming out in the next Spasifik magazine later this month.

Sexual Health Update can be accessed on the Ministry of Health website www.moh.govt.nz/publications/newsletters

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You can download Issue 4 of Sexual Health Update below in PDF format.

Sexual Health Update December 2004 (PDF, 583kB)

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Related information

Issue 1 of Sexual Health Update

Issue 2 of Sexual Health Update

Issue 3 of Sexual Health Update

Other Ministry of Health newsletters


New Youth Sexual Health Campaign Pulls No Punches 22 November 2004
A new television commercial has a strong message for teens, No Rubba, No Hubba Hubba. The commercial is part of the Ministry of Health's campaign to reduce high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in teenagers. The campaign was launched at Parliament today by the Minister of Health, Hon Annette King.

New sexual health campaign will encourage condom use 26 August 2004
The Ministry of Health is developing a sexual health campaign aimed at encouraging sexually active young people to protect themselves when having sex. With New Zealand's rapidly growing rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the campaign provides an exciting opportunity to promote safer sex messages and condom use.

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