The Policy of Italian Society of Andrology (SIA) in promoting sexual health

Abstract

SIA, the Italian Society of Andrology, since the foundation, in 1976, promotes the development of the issue of male reproduction and sexual health in Italy, based on the recommendations of WHO. SIA promoted and developed several projects: Constitution of a Committee for the Prevention in Andrology; carrying out the Andrology Prevention Week, (Settimana della Prevenzione Andrologica - SPA), that in seven years, since 2000, allowed over 25000 of Italian male to be examined by an andrologist; many CME courses devoted to over ten thousand workers in health services, like medical doctors, chemists, biologists etc. and many other intervention. In the field of education, editorial activity of SIA consists in publishing Giornale di Medicina della Riproduzione e della Sessualita, that quarterly provides to scientists a complete information and education for the associated and by means of the web site ( www.andrologiaitaliana.it ) to everyone interested in this and a news magazine Io Uomo (Me a man), written for common people, printed in 150,000 copies and freely distributed in 25,000 chemistries. But, certainly, SPA is the event with the bigger impact in approaching men and to bring out conditions often unknown or underestimated or real pathologies, such as diabetes or varicocele or genital inflammation. Every year, for a week, over 400 members of SIA, distributed in 250 medical centres offer to the general population the opportunity, absolutely free of charge, to expose troubles and doubts about sexuality and, after complete physical examination, to receive counselling and suggestions, but not therapies such as hormones or PDE5-I. This campaign, sponsored by the majors pharmaceutical companies, is supported by press releases, TV and newspaper advertising. The main aspect is that participants to SPA approached for the first time an andrologist in the 75,6% of cases.