Attitudes of health and social service workers towards the sexuality of older adults
Authors:
Sedláčková Beji Kateřina; Nováková Martina; Holmerová Iva
Authors‘ workplace:
Centrum pro studium dlouhověkosti a dlouhodobé péče, Fakulta humanitních studií, Univerzita Karlova, Praha
Published in:
Geriatrie a Gerontologie 2024, 13, č. 4: 213-218
Category:
Original Article
doi:
https://doi.org/10.61568/geri/50-6431/20241226/139526
Overview
Health and social care workers ensure patients‘ overall well-being in nursing homes through extensive and comprehensive care involvement. Comprehensive well-being, both physical and mental, also includes the sexual needs of seniors, an area that was often taboo or overlooked as unnecessary or unnecessary in seniority. However, it turns out that the opposite is accurate. One of the tasks of professional caregivers should be to be actively involved in the process of attentive listening to the sexual concerns and problems of the elderly, correcting any potential misconceptions about sexuality in older individuals, supporting the self-esteem of residents of nursing homes and encouraging them to communicate their concerns openly. Older adults often deal with sexual health issues on their own rather than actively communicating with formal caregivers.
The presence of embarrassment, fear of ending the stay in a social facility and the feeling that the professional lacks interest or understanding all contribute to hesitancy in dealing with sexual matters during contact between seniors and staff.
The main aim of our study was to investigate the attitudes of formal caregivers in nursing homes towards sexuality in older adults using a non-standardized questionnaire of our design. The questionnaire was anonymous, and data collection took place in February and March 2024. The questionnaire was sent electronically via a social platform.
The results of this questionnaire survey show that the attitudes of caregivers to the sexuality of seniors are not significantly dependent on the length of experience in the field. A direct correlation was found between willingness to communicate and educational attainment, although statistically, it was less significant. Most respondents shared the opinion that older people do not have the opportunity to express themselves on the issue of sexuality in the conditions of a home for the elderly and that their sexuality is significantly influenced by the environment in which they live. All respondents agreed that sexuality in old age is natural, but only 56 % of respondents believed that it was necessary to talk about this topic with seniors. More than a quarter of respondents did not feel competent to speak to seniors about this issue.
These conclusions lead us to emphasise the need to further focus on this area of the lives of seniors, as sexuality is closely related not only to sex itself but also to relationships in general, and ignoring it can lead to feelings of loneliness or even to the development of depression syndrome, the incidence of which increases in old age.
Keywords:
senior, sexuality, formal caregiver, communication, loneliness, depression, interpersonal relationships, competence
Sources
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Korespondenční adresa: PhDr. Kateřina Beji Sedláčková, MHA Centrum pro studium dlouhověkosti a dlouhodobé péče Fakulta humanitních studií, Univerzita Karlova Pátkova 2137/5 182 00 Praha 8-Libeň e-mail: Kacka.sedlacka@seznam.cz |
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