Discussing Sexual Health with Adolescent and Young Adults with Cancer: a Qualitative Study Among Healthcare Providers

This study aims to gain insight into perspectives of healthcare providers in facilitating AYAs ’ needs regarding sexual health. A qualitative study was performed. Six doctors and eight nurses from eight Dutch hospitals, specialized in AYA care, participated in semi-structured interviews. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Interv iews with the healthcare providers revealed five themes concerning the discussion of sexual health: (1) being responsible for bringing up the topic of sexual health, (2) finding optimal timing to discuss sexual health, (3) acquiring knowledge to enable discussion of sexual health, (4) facilitating c ommunication about sexual health, and (5) providing informative material for AYAs. To facilitate discussing sexual health, clear defined responsibilities within the team and sufficient knowledge are important. Self-report questionnaires, material to hand out, a checklist for healthcare providers, an d knowledge of different communication strategies are helpful when discussing sexual health. By applying such means, communication with AYAs might be improved.
Source: Journal of Cancer Education - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research