Training in sexology for medical and paramedical professionals: a model for the rehabilitation setting

Abstract

Rehabilitation sexology addresses the sexual difficulties of physically disabled people. Sexual dysfunction is prevalent among the patient population of rehabilitation clinics, which work with physical problems such as spinal cord injury, stroke and multiple sclerosis. However, the majority of rehabilitation professionals find sexuality and the sexual issues of their patients difficult to address. Two different surveys showed that 73% of patients, 59% of their partners and 67% of rehabilitation professionals considered sexuality an important topic to discuss. By contrast, only 12% of the professional staff considered themselves sufficiently trained to broach sexual problems with their patients. Motivated by these findings, we developed two different trainings for rehabilitation professionals. The first was discipline-specific, grouping individuals of the same discipline together, and the second was designed for the multidisciplinary rehabilitation team. The results of the training showed an increase in the health professionals' relevant knowledge, in their ability to recognise patients' sexual problems and in their skills in broaching and discussing sexual issues. These improvements had not diminished at the follow-up measurement. We consider this training method, developed for the rehabilitation setting, to be applicable in other settings, such as oncology and psychiatry.

A Multiple Timepoint Pre-post Evaluation of a ‘Sexual Respect’ DVD to Improve Competence in Discussing Sex with Patients with Disability

“…This is consistent with previous research highlighting the benefit of sexuality education for professionals more generally [21,[45][46][47][48][49][50][51].…”

“…This perceived topic sensitivity has been identified by previous research [28,29,37,59,60]. However, research indicates that most patients are not offended by discussions of sexuality [40,61], and do expect professionals to make inquiries about sexuality issues [21].…”

“…Many people report challenges in meeting a partner, along with worries about isolation and being unable to experience affection, touch, or intimacy [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Studies indicate that patients with physical disabilities are dissatisfied with the amount and quality of information and support around sexual function [21]. This is inadequate given that sexual satisfaction has been found to be a strong predictor of overall psychological wellbeing [14].…”

“…Furthermore, it has been argued that education should be provided early in the clinicians' career, before negative attitudes and stereotypes have been developed [42][43][44]. Evaluation studies provide evidence of the effectiveness of education in enhancing knowledge, skills, and comfort in addressing patients' sexual concerns [21,[45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. However, there are limited evaluations aimed at improving clinicians' ability to discuss sexuality when working with people with disabilities [25].…”

Health Care Students’ Attitudes Towards Working with Sexual Health in Their Professional Roles: Survey of Students at Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Programmes

“…In some research, health professionals (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, and doctors) considered themselves to have sufficient knowledge about sexual health, but experienced barriers limiting the implementation of knowledge in clinical practice (Haboubi & Lincoln, 2003;Ussher et al, 2013). Attitudes and/or beliefs about the importance of sexual health for persons with different types of physical, psychological, or sexual dysfunctions may affect how health care professionals interact with patients (Evans, 2013;Gianotten, Bender, Post, & Höing, 2006;Haboubi & Lincoln, 2003;Shakespeare, Iezzoni, & Groce, 2009). Patients want health professionals to take the initiative, and to be competent and confident in discussing sexual health concerns (Post et al, 2008;Taylor & Davis, 2006;Wittenberg & Gerber, 2009).…”