Addressing Sexuality as Standard Care in People with an Upper Limb Deficiency: Taboo or Necessary Topic?

The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether professionals who work with people with an upper limb deficiency (ULD) received questions about sexuality from their patients and whether they addressed sexuality themselves, and to analyze their knowledge and comfort level, approach and attitudes towa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sexuality and disability 2013-06, Vol.31 (2), p.167-177
Main Authors: Verschuren, J. E. A., Geertzen, J. H. B., Enzlin, P., Dijkstra, P. U., Dekker, R., van der Sluis, C. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Amputation
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Communication (Thought Transfer)
Community and Environmental Psychology
Departments
Educational Needs
Hygiene
Original Paper
Patients
People with disabilities
Physical Disabilities
Physical Health
Psychology
Questionnaires
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation Centers
Rehabilitation Medicine
Sexual Behavior
Sexuality
Urology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether professionals who work with people with an upper limb deficiency (ULD) received questions about sexuality from their patients and whether they addressed sexuality themselves, and to analyze their knowledge and comfort level, approach and attitudes towards sexuality. An online questionnaire, including questions on self-perceived sexological competence and the Knowledge, Comfort, Approach and Attitudes towards Sexuality Scale (KCAASS) was used to asses these aspects. One out of three professionals had received a question about sexuality from their patients. Nearly one out of five professionals had addressed sexuality themselves. Professionals who received a question about sexuality from patients or addressed this issue themselves had significantly higher scores on self-perceived knowledge about sexuality and on self-perceived conversation skills compared to professionals who did not. The scores on the KCAASS Knowledge and Comfort of professionals who received a question about sexuality or addressed the issue of sexuality were significantly higher than those of professionals who did not. Sexuality is thus only scantly discussed by professionals working with patients with an ULD. Professionals indicated they do not feel confident nor comfortable enough to address this issue. They also experience a lack of appropriate knowledge to address sexuality with patients. Professionals reported a need for courses and training on both knowledge and conversation skills concerning sexuality. In addition, a protocol and necessary facilities need to be provided for the team working with people with an ULD in order to be able to address sexuality systematically.
ISSN:0146-1044
1573-6717
DOI:10.1007/s11195-013-9298-4