Wolford Laura Lin, Arratia Vanessa, Behn Nicholas, Power Emma
Communication Sciences and Disorders Department, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, USA.
Royal Rehab LifeWorks Ryde, Sexuality Service, Ryde, New South Wales, Australia.
Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2025 Mar-Apr;60(2):e70023. doi: 10.1111/1460-6984.70023.
Communication is critical to sexuality and sexual health. It is therefore reasonable to assume that acquired communication impairments would impact sexuality, but research is sparse. The research that does discuss these impacts can be difficult to find, as studies are spread across a wide variety of literature bases, and sexual topics are often combined with other concerns. Coupled with clinicians' discomfort in addressing sexual issues, this leads to a lack of clinical support for patients' sexual concerns.
This scoping review aimed to map and summarize the existing literature on sexuality and acquired communication impairments.
METHODS & PROCEDURES: Six databases were searched: CINAHL, PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus. To find studies from the literature on acquired communication impairments and their aetiologies that addressed sexuality and communication, a combination of sexuality and communication impairment terms was used. A total of 97 articles met inclusion criteria.
Across aetiologies and literature bases, acquired communication impairments have been found to negatively affect sexuality. However, researchers rarely evaluate the nature of the communication impairment or its effects on sexuality directly. People with communication impairments are more often systematically excluded from acquired disability research on sexuality. Using the reviewed literature, we present recommendations for including sexuality-related topics in communication disorder research and including people with communication impairments in sexuality-related research. We also present recommendations for speech-language pathologists to begin incorporating sexuality-related topics in their clinical practice.
CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The effects of communication impairments on sexuality are insufficiently researched. The literature that does exist points to substantial impacts. This area of research deserves more concerted attention so that clinicians may have guidance and support in addressing the issue with their clients.
What is already known on the subject Though researchers have long posited reasons why acquired communication impairments would logically affect sexuality and intimacy, the literature on the topic has been difficult to find. Such research is spread across disorder areas. Sexuality effects are often hidden amid multiple quality-of-life indicators, or communication impairment impacts are described as one of many independent variables. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This scoping review is the first of its kind to provide an overview of the research into communication impairments' effects on sexuality. It describes the effects that communication impairments can have on sexuality. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This scoping review will help clinicians to find relevant research for their clients' needs and help researchers conduct more thorough research in this area. It also provides clinical recommendations for helping clients with communication impairments access this important part of life.
沟通对于性和性健康至关重要。因此，可以合理地假设后天性沟通障碍会影响性，但相关研究较少。由于研究分散在各种各样的文献库中，且性话题常与其他问题结合在一起，所以很难找到讨论这些影响的研究。再加上临床医生在处理性问题时感到不适，这导致患者的性问题缺乏临床支持。
本范围综述旨在梳理和总结关于性与后天性沟通障碍的现有文献。
检索了六个数据库：护理学与健康领域数据库（CINAHL）、美国国立医学图书馆生物医学数据库（PubMed）、医学期刊数据库（MEDLINE）、心理学文摘数据库（PsycINFO）、科学引文索引数据库（Web of Science）和Scopus数据库。为了从关于后天性沟通障碍及其病因的文献中找到涉及性与沟通的研究，使用了性与沟通障碍术语的组合。共有97篇文章符合纳入标准。
在各种病因和文献库中，已发现后天性沟通障碍会对性产生负面影响。然而，研究人员很少直接评估沟通障碍的性质或其对性的影响。沟通障碍患者在关于性的后天性残疾研究中常常被系统性地排除在外。利用所综述的文献，我们提出了将与性相关的主题纳入沟通障碍研究以及将沟通障碍患者纳入与性相关研究的建议。我们还为言语语言病理学家提出了在临床实践中开始纳入与性相关主题的建议。
沟通障碍对性的影响研究不足。现有的文献表明存在重大影响。这一研究领域值得更多的共同关注，以便临床医生在与患者讨论该问题时能获得指导和支持。
关于该主题已知的情况 尽管研究人员长期以来一直在阐述后天性沟通障碍在逻辑上会影响性和亲密关系的原因，但关于该主题的文献很难找到。此类研究分散在各个疾病领域。性方面的影响往往隐藏在多个生活质量指标之中，或者沟通障碍的影响被描述为众多独立变量之一。本文对现有知识的补充 本范围综述首次全面概述了关于沟通障碍对性影响的研究。它描述了沟通障碍可能对性产生的影响。这项工作的潜在或实际临床意义是什么？本范围综述将帮助临床医生根据患者需求找到相关研究，并帮助研究人员在该领域进行更全面的研究。它还提供了临床建议，以帮助有沟通障碍的患者获得生活中这一重要部分。
