Are older people at risk of sexually transmitted infections? A new look at the evidence

Improving the sexual lives of older Australians: Perspectives from a qualitative study

“…the ‘Little Black Dress’ campaign run by Family Planning NSW) and international campaigns addressing sexual health among older people, Brown and colleagues argue that these ‘have generally been small ad hoc responses’ . However, as one participant highlighted, it is vital that efforts to normalise sex do not inadvertently create a perceived imperative for older people to remain sexually active, or feel undue pressure to do so . In this sense, it may be more productive to normalise the diversity of sexual expression and desire in later life, rather than only privileging and promoting the ‘sexy’ older person.…”

Sex, desire and pleasure: considering the experiences of older Australian women

“…The reluctance of health care providers to discuss issues pertaining to sexuality with older clients has been well documented in existing research. This silence contributed at least in part towards practitioners’ ageist assumptions that older individuals are asexual (Gott, 2001 , 2005 ; Gott & Hinchliff, 2003 ; Gott, Hinchliff, & Galena, 2004 ; Hinchliff & Gott, 2004 , 2011 ; Slinkard & Kazer, 2011 ). The lack of information provided to our participants is perhaps unsurprising in light of this.…”

Sexual behaviour and diagnosis of people over the age of 50 attending a sexual health clinic

“…While the strength of this study is the large sample of older people over a 10‐year period, the limitation is that the data are from a clinic‐based sample that are self‐selected and triaged patients who are not representative of the broader community. It is critical that population‐based studies on sexuality and sexual health include larger and more representative cohorts of older persons (70 years and older) in their sampling as future generation of older persons will be in relationships and sexually active [31]. Responsive education and public health campaigns must be informed by appropriate knowledge of this population gained through research.…”