The effect of a midwife-based counseling education program on sexual function in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of a midwife-based counseling education program on sexual function in postmenopausal women. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 52 eligible postmenopausal women. Participants’ sexual function was assessed using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). The women were randomly allocated into two groups: (1) the intervention group, in which the participants received a midwife-based counseling education program in 4 sessions held at 10-day intervals, with each session lasting for 70 minutes; (2) the control group, in which the participants only received routine care. Data were collected 1 week before the start of the sessions, 2 weeks after the end of the sessions, and 2 months after the last follow-up. Results: No statistically significant differences were reported between the groups in terms of personal and sociodemographic characteristics and sexual function before the intervention; the total FSFI score was 17.05 (±4.54) in the intervention group and 16.66 (±3.62) in the control group. After the program, in the first and second follow-ups, the scores reached 27.18 (±4.61) and 28.20 (±4.43) in the intervention group and 16.06 (±3.94) and 16.32 (±2.98) in the control group. Significant improvements were observed in the total score of sexual function and all the FSFI domains in the intervention group, but not in the control group (P 
Source: Menopause - Category: OBGYN Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research