Abstract
Research examining the effects of spinal cord injury on sexuality has largely focused on physiological functioning and quantification of dysfunction following injury. This paper reports a systematic review of qualitative research that focused on the views and experiences of people with spinal cord injury on sex and relationships. The review addressed the following research question: What are the views and experiences of people with spinal cord injury of sex, sexuality and relationships following injury? Five databases were relevant and employed in the review: CINAHL (1989–2016 only), PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, for research published between 1 January 1980 and 30 November 2019. After removing duplicates, 257 records remained and were screened using a two-stage approach to inclusion and quality appraisal. Following screening, 27 met the criteria for inclusion and are reported in the paper. The review includes studies from fifteen countries across five continents. Two main approaches to data analysis summary and thematic synthesis were undertaken to analyze the qualitative data reported in the papers. The analysis revealed four main themes: sexual identity; significant and generalized others, sexual embodiment; and; sexual rehabilitation and education.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundSpinal cord injury is an injury between the foramen magnum to the cauda equine, caused by traumatic injury [1] or spinal cord damage i.e. non traumatic injury or dysfunction to the spinal cord
The review reported in this paper has analyzed 27 papers that focus on sex, sexuality and relationships for people with spinal cord injury, focusing on qualitative accounts of their views and experiences
We identified four main themes: sexual identity; significant and generalized others, sexual embodiment; and; sexual rehabilitation and education
Summary
Spinal cord injury is an injury between the foramen magnum to the cauda equine, caused by traumatic injury [1] or spinal cord damage i.e. non traumatic injury or dysfunction to the spinal cord A recent systematic review suggests that the most common cause of spinal cord injury are motor vehicle accidents and falls [3], data varies by geographical location [1]. 40 million people worldwide annually are affected by spinal cord injury [1]. Spinal cord injury affects mostly men (80% in comparison to women, 20%) [6], with young men aged between 15 and 30 [4] or 20–35 [1] most affected. Research evidence suggests that the average age at injury is increasing [5,6,7]
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