Abstract
Management of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is vital for women with breast cancer due to the devastating consequences, which include marital disharmony and reduced quality of life. We explore healthcare providers' (HCPs) perceptions and experiences in managing FSD for women living with breast cancer using a phenomenological approach. This qualitative study was conducted using a face-to-face interview method with HCPs from two tertiary hospitals in North East Malaysia. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and transferred to NVivo ® for data management. The transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three key barriers were identified through the thematic analysis: a scarcity of related knowledge; the influence of socio-cultural ideas about sex; and the specialty-centric nature of the healthcare system. Most HCPs interviewed had a very narrow understanding of sexuality, were unfamiliar with the meaning of FSD, and felt their training on sexual health issues to be very limited. They viewed talking about sex to be embarrassing to both parties that are both to HCPs and patients and was therefore not a priority. They focused more on their specialty hence limited the time to discuss sexual health and FSD with their patients. Therefore, interventions to empower the knowledge, break the socio-cultural barriers, and improve the clinic settings are crucial for HCPs in managing FSD confidently.
Highlights
A retrospective cohort study of 10, 230 Malaysian women with breast cancer reported that women younger than 50 had significantly better survival rates than women who were 50 years or older.[1]
Conclusion: interventions to empower the knowledge, break the sociocultural barriers and improve the clinic settings are crucial for healthcare providers (HCPs) in managing female sexual dysfunction (FSD) confidently
We explore HCPs’ perceptions and experiences of sexuality and sexual dysfunction in managing women living with breast cancer using the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the phenomenological approach
Summary
A retrospective cohort study of 10, 230 Malaysian women with breast cancer reported that women younger than 50 had significantly better survival rates than women who were 50 years or older.[1]. Boswell et al contended that mastectomy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy were significant contributors to arousal, desire and orgasmic difficulties as well as lower body image scores, which in turn lead to sexual dysfunction. 6 only fewer than half of these women received treatment for FSD.[6]
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Schedule a callMore From: Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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