Perspectives of health care providers referring patients to a newly implemented sexual health program in a Canadian cancer center.

Abstract

Screening and discussion about sexual health concerns within cancer care are frequently impeded by lack of access to sexual health resources and lack of fluency with sexual health topics. To address this, a multi-disciplinary sexual health program was developed and piloted in a Canadian tertiary cancer center. The aim of this study was to assess referring health care providers' perspectives on the newly implemented oncology sexual health program. A brief online survey was administered system-wide to cancer care providers to query their perceptions of the pilot multidisciplinary sexual health program, the Oncology and Sexuality, Intimacy and Survivorship (OASIS) program. According to survey results, the OASIS program was perceived by health care providers as valuable, helpful for patients, and important for addressing gaps in clinical care. Additional comments indicated an ongoing need for increased access to information about the program and referral procedures. Survey results highlight the need for consistent program dissemination efforts to equip health care providers with accessiblepatient education materials and easily implemented referral procedures. Importantly,providers indicated that they were more likely to raise the topic of sexuality with patients because they had somewhere to refer patients who had sexual concerns. Overall, findings inform efforts to implement sexual health programming within cancer care institutions.