National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles

[3] Natsal-4's Principal Co-investigators are Pam Sonnenberg and Cath Mercer, both professors at University College, London.

[4] Natsal's findings are widely used in research and policy making, and have influenced public health policy in areas such as: The National Sexual Health & HIV Strategy in England; the Scottish Sexual Health Strategy (2005-) and the Welsh Sexual Health Strategy, The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (2000-2010), the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP), the national human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme in 2008/9, the statutory provision of personal, social, health and economic education (PHSE) education in schools in 2009, Sexual health campaigns such as "Sex: worth talking about" in 2010, and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on long acting contraception (2006).

[5] The first Natsal survey was carried out in 1990, in response to the urgent need of understanding sexual practices in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

[6] The Principal Investigator of Natsal-1, Natsal-2 and Natsal-3 was Anne Johnson, a professor at University College, London,[7] and co-leader Kaye Wellings, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

[8] The Natsal-3 survey revealed, among other things, that British people are having sex less often than they did 20 years ago,[9] but that same-sex experiences between women were growing more numerous.