Experiences of sexual well-being interventions in males affected by genitourinary cancers and their partners: an integrative systematic review

Abstract

Purpose Sexual well-being has been identified as an unmet supportive care need among many individuals with genitourinary (GU) cancers. Little is known about the experiences of using sexual well-being interventions among men and their partners. Methods This review was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and followed a systematic review protocol. Data extraction and methodological quality appraisal were performed, and a narrative synthesis was conducted. Results A total of 21 publications (reporting on 18 studies) were included: six randomised control trials, seven cross-sectional studies, three qualitative studies, and five mixed methods studies. Sexual well-being interventions comprised medical/pharmacological and psychological support, including counselling and group discussion facilitation. The interventions were delivered using various modes: face-to-face, web-based/online, or telephone. Several themes emerged and included broadly: (1) communication with patient/partner and healthcare professionals, (2) educational and informational needs, and (3) timing and/or delivery of the interventions. Conclusion Sexual well-being concerns for men and their partners were evident from diagnosis and into survivorship. Participants benefited from interventions but many articulated difficulties with initiating the topic due to embarrassment and limited access to interventions in cancer services. Noteworthy, all studies were only representative of men diagnosed with prostate cancer, underscoring a significant gap in other GU cancer patient groups where sexual dysfunction is a prominent consequence of treatment. Implications for cancer survivors This systematic review provides valuable new insights to inform future models of sexual well-being recovery interventions for patients and partners with prostate cancer, but further research is urgently needed in other GU cancer populations.

Sexual health problems of patients with cancer: A bibliometrics study and visualization analysis via CiteSpace

“…Bibliometric analysis has been widely used in cancer-related fields, and the fruitful works carried out by researchers are conducive to the formulation of related policies and clinical guidelines [ 31 , 32 ]. However, although researchers have carried out a large number of systematic evaluations and meta-analyses to explore the current research status of sexual health in patients with cancer, there is still a lack of an overview of the growth trend and a summary analysis of research priorities and potential innovative research directions in this field [ 22 , 33 ]. This study used bibliometrics to classify existing studies on sexual health problems in patients with cancer.…”