Sexual expression and dementia. Views of caregivers: A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE

To measure the attitudes of health professionals in nursing homes towards sexuality and sexual expression in cognitively impaired and cognitively intact residents.

DESIGN

Postal survey.

PARTICIPANTS

The staff (administrators, clinicians, social workers and others) of 300 randomly selected nursing homes located in three states. Of these, 114 representatives responded.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

A measure of attitudes towards resident sexuality developed during a prior study.

RESULTS

Results suggest that respondents held a generally positive orientation towards residents' sexual expression which was expressed with respect to cognitively impaired residents as well as to those who were cognitively intact. Possibly because of the small sample size and resulting low statistical power, statistical analyses failed to demonstrate any significant differences among the groups of residents: administrators, clinicians, social workers, and undifferentiated 'others'. However, while non-significant, there was a consistent tendency for administrators to be relatively more conservative than were the other groups. Almost all respondents agreed that additional staff training should focus specifically on dealing with resident sexual expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the sample reported generally positive attitudes towards resident sexuality and sexual expression.