Abstract
Sexual difficulties are common and can negatively impact health and well-being. A wide range of support is available, but there are multiple barriers to accessing help. Interactive digital interventions (IDIs) for sexual difficulties have the potential to provide a convenient, wide-reaching, and cost-effective source of support, but little is known about who might use them. We explored the potential reach of IDIs by assessing the prevalence of help-seeking among people with distressing sexual difficulties, including who seeks which sources of help. Data came from sexually active men and women, ages 16 to 74, participating in Britain’s third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) (N = 11,637). Help/advice was sought by less than half of those with distressing sexual difficulties, and help-seeking was associated with younger age in women but not men. The most popular sources of support were family doctor (47.5% to 54.8%), Internet (22.0% to 25.6%), and family/friend (20.7% to 41.8%), with older participants (≥ 35), particularly men, preferring to seek help from a family doctor, and younger participants (<35) preferring to seek help from the Internet or family/friend. Despite a paucity of good digital support sites for sexual function, the Internet is a common source of help. As Internet access continues to increase, so too does the potential for well-designed IDIs to support those with sexual difficulties.
Highlights
Help-Seeking for Sexual Difficulties and the Potential Role of Interactive Digital Interventions: Findings From the Third British
We explored the potential reach of Interactive digital interventions (IDIs) by assessing the prevalence of help-seeking among people with distressing sexual difficulties, including who seeks which sources of help
There are multiple individual and systemic barriers to accessing face-to-face help, including not knowing where to seek help, a severe lack of specialty services, long waiting lists for existing specialty services, high costs for private services, and discomfort talking about sex with health professionals (Adegunloye & Ezeoke, 2011; Akre, Michaud, & Suris, 2010; British Psychological Society (BPS), 2006; Hinchliff, Gott, & Wylie, 2009; Medical Foundation for HIV and Sexual Health (MEDFASH), 2008)
Summary
Help-Seeking for Sexual Difficulties and the Potential Role of Interactive Digital Interventions: Findings From the Third British. HOBBS, MITCHELL, GRAHAM, TRIFONOVA, BAILEY, MURRAY, PRAH, AND MERCER (Mitchell et al, 2016) One of these criteria, distress, is typically used to differentiate mild and transient difficulties from more severe problems and provides a means of identifying people who may seek help/advice. There are numerous international policy commitments to the integration of digital technologies in health care systems (Department of Health, 2012a, 2012b, 2014; Department of Health and Human Services, 2011, 2015; European Commission, 2018) to meet health care’s “triple aim” of better care, better outcomes, and less cost (Berwick, Nolan, & Whittington, 2008) This is key given that health care budgets are severely constrained in most countries
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