Abstract
IntroductionOftentimes the older adults are assumed to be asexual as few studies explore into the sexuality of this age group worldwide and even in Nigeria. It is an important aspect of quality of life which is often neglected by people in this age group, attending physicians and the society as a whole. The study was aimed at determining the perception of older adults about sexuality, identify the factors that could militate against sexuality and fill any void in information in this regard.MethodsDescriptive study conducted in one hundred older adults. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to consenting participants between 1st of September 2013 and 31st of March 2014.ResultsMean age of respondents was 66.42± 5.77 years. Seventy-eight percent of the male respondents considered engaging in sexual activity as safe compared to 45.8% of the female respondents. More of the women (33.3%) regarded sexuality in the older adults as a taboo when compared to the men (5.4%). However, the men were more favourably disposed to discussing sexual problems than the women with their spouses (42% vs 20%) and Physicians (23.2% vs 0.0%). Major factors responsible for sexual inactivity were participants’ medical ailments (65%), partners’ failing health (15%) as well as anxiety about sexual performance (25%) in the men and dyspareunia (25%) in women.ConclusionThere is an urgent need to correct the misconception about sexuality in this age group especially among the women and for the physicians to explore the sexual history of every patient.
Highlights
Oftentimes the older adults are assumed to be asexual as few studies explore into the sexuality of this age group worldwide and even in Nigeria
Several reasons have been adduced to be responsible for the declining sexuality in the older age group, some of which are the lack of interest, loss of a partner, medical and mental disabilities as well as financial constraints [6,7]
A higher proportion of the men in this study still engaged in sexual activity which they found pleasurable when compared to the females
Summary
Oftentimes the older adults are assumed to be asexual as few studies explore into the sexuality of this age group worldwide and even in Nigeria. It is an important aspect of quality of life which is often neglected by people in this age group, attending physicians and the society as a whole. The society seems not to encourage sexual relationship in the older adults as very few people could imagine their parents or grandparents still engaging in sexual activity Research into this topic among Nigerians has limited models, with the few publications in this regard emphasizing mostly the sociological import [8,9]. It is imperative to examine the perception of this group about sexuality and identify reasons that could militate against sexual activity in the older adults
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