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Journal article
"What Is Normal?": A Qualitative Exploration of Health Practitioners' Reports of Treating Patients Presenting with Unpleasant Sexual Experiences
Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol.53, pp.4099-4116
2024
Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs
Abstract
Sexual health, including sexual pleasure, is fundamental to holistic health and well-being, and is considered an area of priority health in Australia. Despite the importance of sexual functioning, women experience significant gaps in sexual well-being compared to men and often do not seek medical care or treatment. Health practitioners are central to the identification and treatment of sexual dysfunction, including fostering sexual well-being for patients. Despite this, minimal research has explored health practitioners' experiences in treating reports of unpleasant sex. This study aimed to explore health practitioners' experiences, responses, and confidence in treating patients presenting for unpleasant sexual experiences. An online, mixed-methods survey was completed by 96 participants. Thematic analysis identified 11 core themes. These themes included five patient centred themes (health risks, diverse sex acts, painful vaginal intercourse, relationship breakdown and violence, unwanted sex) and six health practitioner centred themes (communication and counselling, what is normal, ongoing care and follow up, emotional response, limited practical training, and highly prevalent). Participants described a complex sexual health landscape, with social contexts impacting women's sexual experiences and engagement in treatment. Additionally, health practitioners reported the need for a biopsychosocial approach to understanding and responding to unpleasant sexual experiences for patients, while simultaneously reporting limited education in this area. Findings reflect the need for health practitioners to be cognisant of matters related to sexual function, consent, coercion, client engagement, and treatment pathways, identifying a need for greater education and holistic approaches to sexual healthcare across medical settings.Sexual health, including sexual pleasure, is fundamental to holistic health and well-being, and is considered an area of priority health in Australia. Despite the importance of sexual functioning, women experience significant gaps in sexual well-being compared to men and often do not seek medical care or treatment. Health practitioners are central to the identification and treatment of sexual dysfunction, including fostering sexual well-being for patients. Despite this, minimal research has explored health practitioners' experiences in treating reports of unpleasant sex. This study aimed to explore health practitioners' experiences, responses, and confidence in treating patients presenting for unpleasant sexual experiences. An online, mixed-methods survey was completed by 96 participants. Thematic analysis identified 11 core themes. These themes included five patient centred themes (health risks, diverse sex acts, painful vaginal intercourse, relationship breakdown and violence, unwanted sex) and six health practitioner centred themes (communication and counselling, what is normal, ongoing care and follow up, emotional response, limited practical training, and highly prevalent). Participants described a complex sexual health landscape, with social contexts impacting women's sexual experiences and engagement in treatment. Additionally, health practitioners reported the need for a biopsychosocial approach to understanding and responding to unpleasant sexual experiences for patients, while simultaneously reporting limited education in this area. Findings reflect the need for health practitioners to be cognisant of matters related to sexual function, consent, coercion, client engagement, and treatment pathways, identifying a need for greater education and holistic approaches to sexual healthcare across medical settings.
Details
- Title
- "What Is Normal?": A Qualitative Exploration of Health Practitioners' Reports of Treating Patients Presenting with Unpleasant Sexual Experiences
- Authors
- Rachael Sharman (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - PsychologyAndrew Allen - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - PsychologyKirstyn van Niekerk - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - PsychologyAlexandra Coles (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of HealthRamesh Manocha (Author) - The University of SydneyTherese Foran (Author) - UNSW Sydney
- Publication details
- Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol.53, pp.4099-4116
- Publisher
- Springer New York LLC
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10508-024-02994-3
- ISSN
- 1573-2800; 0004-0002
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- Data can be made available upon reasonable request.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health; School of Health - Psychology; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991065213302621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Psychology, Clinical
- Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
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