Sexual well-being needs of patients with chronic illness expressed in health care : A scoping review

© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd..

AIMS: To systematically identify and summarize the needs of chronically ill people concerning their sexual well-being in peer-reviewed published literature, to enable healthcare professionals to provide support in self-management satisfying the needs.

DESIGN: A scoping review was performed according to the framework of (JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. JBI Global Wiki, 2020). Findings are reported in line with the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews.

REVIEW METHODS: A literature search and thematic analysis were conducted.

DATA SOURCES: Full research was carried out in 2022 in the search engine BASE and the following databases: Scopus, MEDLINE, Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index and CINAHL. Peer-reviewed articles published after 2011 were included.

RESULTS: Fifty articles could be found. Seven categories of needs could be identified. People with chronic diseases want their providers to initiate discussions about sexual concerns and treat them trustfully and respectfully. Most of the patients would like the issue of sexuality to be included in routine care. They perceive their medical specialists and psychologists as preferred providers to talk to about this issue. Nurses are seen as primary contact persons but in a smaller number of studies.

CONCLUSION: Although the scoping review included different types of chronic diseases, the needs of chronically ill patients concerning their sexual well-being are not very different. Healthcare professionals, especially nurses, who are often the first point of contact for people with chronic illnesses, should take the initiative for open discussions about sexual issues. That requires a new understanding of the role of nurses, training and further education.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Providing patient education and facilitating an open discussion about sexuality require further training in the new understanding of the role of the nurse and the concept of sexual well-being.

IMPACT: What problem did the study address? Chronic diseases have an impact on patients' sexuality. Patients want to be informed about sexual issues, but providers often do not address them. What were the main findings? Patients with a chronic condition expect providers to initiate discussions about sexual well-being, regardless of the type of chronic disease. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? The research will impact healthcare professionals', especially nurses', future educational standards and ultimately patients.

REPORTING METHOD: PRISMA extension for scoping reviews.

NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Not required as it was a literary work (scoping review).

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:32

Enthalten in:

Journal of clinical nursing - 32(2023), 19-20 vom: 15. Okt., Seite 6832-6848

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Igerc, Irina [VerfasserIn]
Schrems, Berta [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Chronic disease
Health personnel
Interprofessional education
Journal Article
Nurse-patient relation
Nurses' role
Nursing care
Nursing education research
Review
Self-management
Sexual health
Sexuality

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 25.09.2023

Date Revised 25.09.2023

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1111/jocn.16773

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM358246814