It's been a busy time of year for the Health Promotion Service at Charles Sturt University (CSU).

CSU health promotion officer Ms Kirsten Bourke said the Health Promotion Service runs three major programs each year - drug and alcohol awareness; sexual health; and mental health.

"During July and August the Health Promotion Service staged awareness days on each campus to increase students' awareness of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), relationship issues, sexuality issues, and general sexual health," she said.

"We posted related articles in various university magazines, Facebook sites and websites; provided sexual health-related merchandise and displayed posters around campus; liaised with community organisations that conducted sexual health clinics on campus; and provided the uni bars with sexual health-related commercials to display on TV's in bar areas."

Ms Bourke said that students are more likely to engage with sexual health information if it is presented in an interactive way, with games and activities designed to take away the stigma surrounding the issue.

"For example, on our awareness days, we included sexual health themed games such as 'how many oranges can you fit into a condom', 'STI fishing', 'how many condoms are in the jar?', 'sexual health themed snakes and ladders', 'condom line-up', 'what is your ideal date night?', a sexual health themed photo booth, and large polystyrene letters spelling sexual health," she said.

"We had a great response from students throughout the program. Participation surveys were collected from each event, with the majority of students rating the quality and value of the program from very good to excellent."

Several community organisations attended the awareness days to work together to reinforce knowledge and promote positive behaviour. These included the Greater Western Area Health Service, headspace, and Relationships Australia, as well as the CSU equity and diversity team and counsellors.

The CSU Health Promotion Service is currently preparing to launch its first mental health awareness promotion of the year, a 'Sock it to Suicide' project which will start on Monday 22 September.

"This will encourage people to add a bright coloured odd sock to a line which will remain in a central part of campus during September and October to raise awareness about suicide and the importance of good mental health," Ms Bourke said.

Connect with CSU Health Promotion Services on its Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/HealthPromotionAtCsu