Communicating with older adults about sexual issues: How are these issues handled by physicians with and without training in human sexuality?

Abstract

Sexuality is an important part of health and emotional well-being throughout the entire life cycle, including during old age (American Association of Retired Persons, 2010;DeLamater, 2012;Kasif & Band-Winterstein, 2017). Nevertheless, despite its importance and despite the evident changes that take place in sexual functioning during this period, little is known about how physicians discuss or approach the

Competence and Attitude of Family Physicians towards Sexuality Regarding Their Sexual Orientation, Age, or Having a Partner—Survey Study and Validation

“…It seems logical that the professionals with higher training in sexuality scored higher in the global score and the domains that defined the professional procedures on sexuality, family planning, and professional competence. However, contrary to several authors’ findings [ 6 , 12 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], we found no differences in the attitude of the professionals regarding their training in sexuality. We believe this is an exciting finding, as our interpretation is that if family physicians’ attitudes toward sexuality is the same, independently of their training in sexuality, it is because finally, professionals, whether trained in sexology or not, are at least beginning to be aware of the importance of adopting a proactive attitude to this issue.…”

“…The level of training in sexual health among professionals is usually related to a more excellent approach to patients’ sexuality in their clinical practice, and understanding the development of this training is a priority to improve the skills of professionals [ 6 , 12 ]. The lack of training, consequently, conditions low confidence to address these issues, a poor perception of available therapeutic options and an underestimation of the prevalence of these difficulties, so they can be infra-diagnosed [ 12 ]. There is often an assumption that the sexual sphere passes into the background or that its deterioration is expected when other diseases appear [ 10 ].…”

“…However, despite the modesty of doctors, most patients do not feel invaded when asked about sexual aspects, even when the reason for consultation is another [ 11 ]. These barriers could be overcome by improving the training of professionals, something the professionals have demanded [ 12 , 14 , 16 , 18 ]. Regarding recording the sexual clinical history, again, the studies find that elements such as intimacy or lack of time play against [ 3 , 6 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”

The Diagnostic Interview for Sexual Dysfunctions in Women for DSM‐5 and ICD‐11: Development and initial validation using a vignette‐based approach

“…Different authors have demanded to reduce this problem by using well‐validated, standardized instruments (e.g., McCabe et al., 2016 ; Simons & Carey, 2001 ). In clinical care, many practitioners (e.g., psychotherapists and physicians) feel insecure and ill‐equipped to diagnose and treat sexual dysfunctions (Levkovich et al., 2021 ; Zannoni et al., 2021 ). A valid, reliable, and easily applicable structured diagnostic instrument for sexual dysfunctions would help to reduce uncertainties in clinical care and enhance diagnostic validity in clinical research.…”

Addressing Sexual Problems in German Primary Care: A Qualitative Study

“…In addition, GPs with sexual medicine training are more likely to talk openly with their patients about sexuality than GPs without training. 3,6 Previous studies show that GPs prefer an open conversation about patient's sexual history rather than a structured approach (eg, according to ICD-10). 3,7 Younger GPs addressed sexual problems in practice more often by themselves than their older colleagues.…”