Changes in attitudes, practices and barriers among oncology health care professionals regarding sexual health care: Outcomes from a 2-year educational intervention at a University Hospital

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the page Purpose: To examine the attitudes, practices and perceived barriers in relation to a sexual health care educational intervention among oncology health care professionals at the Landspitali-N...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European Journal of Oncology Nursing
Main Authors: Jonsdottir, Jona Ingibjorg, Zoëga, Sigridur, Saevarsdottir, Thorunn, Sverrisdottir, Asgerdur, Thorsdottir, Thora, Einarsson, Gudmundur Vikar, Gunnarsdottir, Sigridur, Fridriksdottir, N.
Other Authors: 1 Landspitali Natl Univ Hosp Iceland, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland 2 Univ Iceland, Saemundargata 2, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016
Subjects:
Hjúkrun
Krabbamein
Kynfræðsla
Sjúklingafræðsla
PEE12
ONC12
MAO12
URO12
NAA12
Oncology Nursing
Patients
Sex Counseling
Iceland
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2336/610694
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2015.12.004
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Summary:To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the page Purpose: To examine the attitudes, practices and perceived barriers in relation to a sexual health care educational intervention among oncology health care professionals at the Landspitali-National University Hospital of Iceland. Methods: The design was quasi experimental, pre- post test time series. A comprehensive educational intervention project, including two workshops, was implemented over a two year time period. A questionnaire was mailed electronically to all nurses and physicians within oncology at baseline (T1, N = 206), after 10 months (T2, N = 216) and 16 months (T3, N = 210). Results: The response rate was 66% at T1, 45% at T2 and 38% at T3. At all time points, the majority of participants (90%) regarded communication about sexuality part of their responsibilities. Mean scores on having enough knowledge and training, and in six of eight practice issues increased significantly over time. Overall, 10-16% reported discussing sexuality-related issues with more than 50% of patients and the frequency was significantly higher among workshop attendants (31%) than non-attendants (11%). Overall, the most common barriers for discussing sexuality were "lack of training" (38%) and "difficult issue to discuss" (27%), but the former barrier decreased significantly by 22% over time. Conclusions: The intervention was successful in improving perception of having enough knowledge and training in providing sexual health care. Still, the issue remains sensitive and difficult to address for the majority of oncology health care professionals. Specific training in sexual health care, including workshops, should be available to health care professionals within oncology. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Novartis Sanofi

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