Sexual Situations in Spanish Long-Term Care Facilities: Which Ones Cause the Most Discomfort to Staff?

Abstract

This study aimed to explore which kinds of residents’ sexual expressions cause the most discomfort to staff and to determine the situational circumstances that might be related to this perception of discomfort. The sample was made up of 1895 front-line care staff employed at 152 Spanish long-term care facilities. Participants’ answers to an open-ended question regarding the sexual situation that caused them the most discomfort were content-analyzed. Results showed that most participants were able to mention at least one sexual situation that had caused them discomfort. Moreover, the range of sexual situations mentioned by our participants clearly goes beyond the typical behaviors associated with inappropriate sexual behaviors in dementia. Situational circumstances were related to participants’ perception of discomfort. Our results suggest the importance of including sexual issues on the formal training of staff and developing explicit guidelines and institutional policies regarding sexual expression in long-term care facilities.