Levkovich Inbar, Gewirtz-Meydan Ateret, Karkabi Khaled, Ayalon Liat
The Division of Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, The Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 6 Hashachaf St., Bat-Galim, 35013, Haifa, Israel.
The Louis and Gaby Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
BMC Fam Pract. 2018 Jun 11;19(1):86. doi: 10.1186/s12875-018-0770-1.
Sexual functioning among older adults has received little attention in research and clinical practice, although it is an integral part of old age. As older adults tend to consume health services and to visit family physicians more frequently, these care-providers serve as gatekeepers in the case of sexual concerns. The present study evaluated the perceptions of family physicians regarding sexuality in older adults.
Qualitative interviews with 16 family physicians were conducted. We used in-depth, semi-structured interviews.
Three main themes emerged: 1. Family physicians described having difficulty in raising questions about sexuality to older patients. 2. Family physicians tended towards the biological side of the spectrum, focusing on the patient's medical problem and asking physiological questions. 3. Family physicians mainly related to medication administered to their male patients, whereas a minority also described the guidance they provided to older individuals and couples.
The study shows that family physicians tend not to initiate discourse with older patients on sexuality, but rather discuss sexuality mostly in conjunction with other medical conditions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
尽管性功能是老年人生活中不可或缺的一部分，但在研究和临床实践中，老年人的性功能很少受到关注。由于老年人往往更频繁地使用医疗服务并就诊于家庭医生，在涉及性方面的问题时，这些医疗服务提供者充当着把关人的角色。本研究评估了家庭医生对老年人性行为的看法。
对16名家庭医生进行了定性访谈。我们采用了深入的半结构化访谈。
出现了三个主要主题：1. 家庭医生表示难以向老年患者提出有关性方面的问题。2. 家庭医生倾向于关注生理层面，专注于患者的医疗问题并询问生理方面的问题。3. 家庭医生主要关注给男性患者开的药物，而少数医生也描述了他们为老年人及老年夫妇提供的指导。
该研究表明，家庭医生往往不会主动与老年患者谈论性问题，而是大多在讨论其他医疗状况时顺带提及性问题。文中还讨论了该研究对研究和实践的启示。
