Education Needs of Nurses Regarding Sexuality of the Elderly and the Influencing Factors

Abstract

Purpose: This study is a descriptive survey research to investigate the education needs of nurses regarding the sexuality of the elderly and the influencing factors. Methods: A total of 231 subjects were included in the study by convenient sampling among nurses who were working in general hospitals or convalescent hospitals located in S city and I city from April 10, 2014 to April 30, 2014. A research tool used to collect data was a selfreporting questionnaire which was composed of 62 questions which involved general characteristics, sex-related characteristics, education needs tool developed by Kim, and sexual knowledge and sexual attitude tool modified by Park and Park. SPSS version 15.0 was used for data analysis by frequency and percentage, mean and standard deviation, ttest, ANOVA, Duncan's method as a post hoc, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and multiple regression. Results: The score of education needs, sexual knowledge, and sexual attitude of nurses regarding the sexuality of the elderly was 29.78±4.48/40, 18.97±5.58/29, and 39.03±5.17/52, respectively. In general characteristics, there was a statistically significant difference in education needs (t=2.90, p=.004) and sexual attitude (t=3.13, p=.002) by gender only. In sex-related characteristics, education needs (F=18.99, p=.001; F=27.29, p〈.001; F=12.66, p〈.001), sexual knowledge (F=10.10, p〈.001; F=7.23, p=.001; F=4.84, p=.009), and sexual attitude (F=7.04, p=.001; F=9.53, p〈.001; F=11.58, p=.001) were significantly higher in the group who answered “I need sex education,” “I am willing to have sex education,” and “I want to maintain sexual function when I become an elderly man/woman.” The education needs of nurses had a positive correlation with sexual attitude (r=.41, p〈.001) and sexual knowledge (r=.35, p〈.001). The factors influencing education needs were sexual attitude (β=.351), which was the most influential, and sexual knowledge (β=.272). The explanatory power of these two factors was 24% for education needs. Conclusion: During the nursing of the elderly, nurses needed to understand the sexuality of the elderly to have a positive view of their sexual needs and to provide appropriate nursing intervention in order to improve the health and quality of life of the elderly by assessing their sexual needs. To achieve this, the development of continuous and systematic education programs including assessment skills with competence and confidence based on adequate sexual knowledge and sexual attitude related to the elderly was necessary.