Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
Reprod Health. 2020 Jun 3;17(1):86. doi: 10.1186/s12978-020-00928-5.
Different types of staff support individuals with intellectual disability (ID) in their daily life, in schools, leisure activities and in special accommodations. This study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of experiences and perceptions regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) among staff.
Data were collected in mid-Sweden in four focus groups with altogether 20 participants, 18 women and 2 men aged between 18 and 65 years. They had different professions and worked among youth and adults with ID aged 18-40 years in schools, accommodations and with leisure activities. Their working experience varied from 3 years to more than 20 years. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed with content analysis.
The participants generally described positive attitudes towards sexuality for people with ID, both among themselves and in society. However, many situations such as ensuring privacy, balancing between waiting and acting, issues around contraception and reproduction were difficult to address and participants had hesitations about childbearing. They described different strategies such as showing respect, enhancing self-esteem and decision making ability and using interprofessional support to cope with frustrating situations. They lacked a clear mandate from managers as well as written guidelines and policies. They requested education and support from peers, supervisors and other professionals.
Participants in the study were generally open-minded and accepting towards sexuality among young people with ID. They thought it was difficult to deal with reproduction/parenthood and felt unprepared and frustrated in certain situations. The participants requested a clear mandate from managers, organizational guidelines, more education and inter-professional support. We believe these findings can inform the development of policy and support the implementation of SRHR related guidelines to support staff working with young people with ID.
不同类型的工作人员在日常生活、学校、休闲活动和特殊住宿中为智障人士（ID）提供支持。本研究旨在更深入地了解工作人员对性与生殖健康和权利（SRHR）的经验和看法。
数据收集于瑞典中部，共进行了 4 次焦点小组讨论，参与者共计 20 人，年龄在 18 至 65 岁之间，其中 18 名女性，2 名男性。他们从事不同的职业，在学校、住宿和休闲活动中为 18-40 岁的智障青年和成年人提供服务。他们的工作经验从 3 年到 20 多年不等。访谈进行了录音、转录，并采用内容分析法进行分析。
参与者普遍对智障人士的性行为持积极态度，无论是他们自己还是社会。然而，许多情况，如确保隐私、在等待和行动之间取得平衡、避孕和生殖问题，都难以解决，参与者对生育问题犹豫不决。他们描述了不同的策略，如尊重、增强自尊和决策能力，以及利用跨专业支持来应对令人沮丧的情况。他们缺乏来自经理的明确授权，以及书面指导方针和政策。他们请求来自同行、主管和其他专业人员的教育和支持。
研究中的参与者对智障年轻人的性行为普遍持开放和包容的态度。他们认为处理生殖/生育问题很困难，在某些情况下感到准备不足和沮丧。参与者要求经理明确授权、组织指导方针、更多教育和跨专业支持。我们相信这些发现可以为政策制定提供信息，并支持实施与 SRHR 相关的指南，以支持为智障年轻人提供服务的工作人员。
