Why Has So Little Progress Been Made in the Practice of Occupational Therapy in Relation to Sexuality?

McGrath, Margaret; Sakellariou, Dikaios

doi:10.5014/ajot.2016.017707

Cited by 29 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Taken together, the results from earlier research, our own previous study, and the current study show that there has been a striking lack of progress made in shifting the practices of occupational therapists toward addressing clients' sexual health in a way that is consistent with their beliefs. This concern was also highlighted in the work of McGrath and Sakellariou (2016).…”

Section: Participant Beliefs and Impact On Practicementioning

confidence: 87%

“…Many have explained this gap as resulting from complex, interacting factors occurring at the macro, meso, and micro levels in occupational therapists' practice. It has been suggested that these factors reduce the likelihood that occupational therapist practitioners will identify and prioritize clients' sexual health issues (McGrath & Sakellariou, 2016). Consequently, a professional culture develops in which sexuality is routinely ignored.…”

Section: Participant Beliefs and Impact On Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Addressing clients’ sexual health in occupational therapy practice

Young¹,

Dodington²,

Smith³

et al. 2019

Can J Occup Ther

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Background. Sexuality is an important dimension of one’s health and well-being. Studies show that occupational therapists regard clients’ sexual health as a legitimate domain of practice but do not adequately address it in their clinical work. Purpose. This study aims to describe occupational therapists’ perspectives regarding clients’ sexual health. Method. This exploratory study surveyed Canadian occupational therapists using an online questionnaire that collected information on beliefs, knowledge, comfort, barriers, and facilitators with regard to addressing sexuality. Descriptive analysis was conducted on questionnaire data, and content analysis was used to organize respondents’ comments. Findings. While most respondents believed that addressing sexuality was within their scope, few actually did so in practice. Participants reported comfort with sexuality but identified lack of knowledge as a barrier to addressing clients’ sexual health. Implications. This study provided a greater understanding of factors that require consideration for occupational therapists to effectively meet clients’ sexual health needs.

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Section: Participant Beliefs and Impact On Practicementioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Participant Beliefs and Impact On Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing clients’ sexual health in occupational therapy practice

Young¹,

Dodington²,

Smith³

et al. 2019

Can J Occup Ther

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Despite sexual expression being recognized as an important part of the human experience and the fact that the occupational therapy profession has identified its unique role in addressing sexuality, little progress has been seen in practice (MacRae, 2013;McCabe, Taleporos, & Dip, 2003;McGrath & Sakellariou, 2016). The purpose of this study was to provide a picture of the current trends in the provision of sexuality education in occupational therapy curricula.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Functioning in Occupational Therapy Education: A Survey of Programs

Eglseder¹,

Webb²,

Rennie³

2018

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

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Despite the importance of sexuality to overall quality of life and well-being for individuals with disabilities, occupational therapy practitioners continue to under-address this issue. One possibility for the lack of attention in this area is the comfort and knowledge level of practitioners. In their seminal work, Payne, Greer, and Corbin (1988) surveyed occupational therapy programs in the United States in an effort to identify the amount of sexuality education provided. This study was aimed at identifying current trends in the provision of sexuality education for occupational therapy students. Despite the nearly 30-year gap in this area of research, and the societal changes related to sexuality, findings suggest that there has been little advancement in the area of sexuality in occupational therapy curricula. Implications for occupational therapy practice and future education are discussed. Comments The authors report no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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“…A compulsory inclusion of sexology and sexual health in the curricula would also make a statement to the students about the importance of sexual health promotion as being part of their future profession. Legitimizing of sexual health in healthcare professionals’ education may be especially important in professions where sexual health is a novel area, such as for example physiotherapy and occupational therapy [ 7 , 28 , 29 ], sending a clear message that healthcare professionals are expected to promote sexual health, and that this competence is part of the expected professional competence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does a 2-Week Sexual Health in Rehabilitation Course Lead to Sustained Change in Students’ Attitudes?—A Pilot Study

et al. 2018

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This pilot study aimed to explore if healthcare professional students participating in a 2-week elective course, Sexual Health in Rehabilitation (SHR), led to significant and sustained change in experienced competence and attitudes towards addressing sexual health in their future professions, when measured with the Students’ Attitudes towards Sexual Health-Danish version (SA-SH-D). Comparison-group design, using the SA-SH-D at baseline, after the 2 weeks course and 3 months after completing the course. Participation in the SHR course significantly changed the students’ attitudes; decreasing their fears of offending the patients and increasing their feelings of comfort in communicating about sexual health, and the results sustained during the follow-up period of 3 months. The results of the intervention suggest that a 2-week elective SHR course leads to sustained change healthcare students’ attitudes towards addressing sexual health in their future profession. Sexual health education positively changed the students’ attitudes, decreased their fears of offending the patients and increased their feelings of comfort in communicating about sexual health. The SA-SH-D is a useful tool to measure results of educational interventions aiming to change healthcare students’ attitudes towards addressing sexual health in their future profession. Future research is recommended regarding students’ attitudes towards addressing sexual health with persons living with disabilities. There is also a need to further research the effect of elective versus compulsory sexual health education in healthcare programs, to lessen the risk that healthcare students in their future profession will not be able to give equal care due to variation in competence and attitude.

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Why Has So Little Progress Been Made in the Practice of Occupational Therapy in Relation to Sexuality?

Cited by 29 publications

References 25 publications

Addressing clients’ sexual health in occupational therapy practice

Addressing clients’ sexual health in occupational therapy practice

Sexual Functioning in Occupational Therapy Education: A Survey of Programs

Does a 2-Week Sexual Health in Rehabilitation Course Lead to Sustained Change in Students’ Attitudes?—A Pilot Study

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