School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Nurs Res. 2012 Jan-Feb;61(1):51-7. doi: 10.1097/NNR.0b013e31823a8600.
Sexual health is an important component of quality of life, yet practitioners do not routinely query older adults about their sexual health concerns.
The aims of this study were to ascertain whether older adults (a) have unanswered questions about their sexual health; (b) are asked about their sexual health, disease, and medications that could affect their sexual health and their knowledge of STDs and HIV/AIDS; (c) would welcome a care provider initiating the conversation about their sexual health; (d) would be comfortable with discussing their sexual health with a nurse; and (e) identify some barriers to discussing sexual health for the older adult.
This was a quantitative cross-sectional study that used a 24-item investigator-developed survey which was distributed to residents of retirement communities and participants in fitness classes in the Puget Sound, Washington, region.
A total of 101 surveys were completed. The participants' average age was 81 years (range = 62-96 years); 70.3% were women (n = 71) and 25.7% were men (n = 26). When asked what sexual health meant, participants said it encompassed physical pleasure with one's partner or oneself and psychological and physiological health; 47.1% (n = 41) want to be asked about their sexual health at their healthcare visit, and 86% (n = 78) reported that they were comfortable discussing sexual health and were not embarrassed or offended. Male respondents preferred discussing with a physician rather than a nurse (52.2%, p = .01, n = 12), whereas female respondents indicated that they were willing to talk with either a physician or a nurse (56.9%, p = .01, n = 37).
The results of this study have the potential to inform treatment approaches, improve outcomes, and enhance communication with older adults regarding issues of sexual health that impact quality of life.
性健康是生活质量的一个重要组成部分，但从业者通常不会询问老年人有关其性健康问题的担忧。
本研究旨在确定老年人是否存在以下问题：(a)对其性健康存在未解答的疑问；(b)是否被问及与性健康、疾病和可能影响其性健康的药物相关的问题，以及他们对性传播疾病和艾滋病病毒/艾滋病的了解程度；(c)是否欢迎医疗服务提供者主动提出有关其性健康的话题；(d)是否愿意与护士讨论其性健康问题；以及 (e)确定一些老年人在讨论性健康方面的障碍。
这是一项使用 24 项由调查员开发的问卷进行的横断面研究，问卷分发给华盛顿普吉特海湾地区退休社区的居民和健身班的参与者。
共完成了 101 份调查问卷。参与者的平均年龄为 81 岁（范围=62-96 岁）；70.3%为女性（n=71），25.7%为男性（n=26）。当被问及性健康的含义时，参与者表示它包括与伴侣或自己的身体愉悦以及心理和生理健康；47.1%（n=41）希望在医疗就诊时被问及性健康问题，86%（n=78）表示他们愿意讨论性健康问题，并且不会感到尴尬或受到冒犯。男性受访者更愿意与医生而不是护士讨论（52.2%，p=0.01，n=12），而女性受访者表示他们愿意与医生或护士交谈（56.9%，p=0.01，n=37）。
本研究的结果有可能为治疗方法提供信息，改善结果，并加强与老年人就影响生活质量的性健康问题进行沟通。
