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Health Professions Students’ Perceptions of Sexuality in Patients with Physical Disability

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Abstract

Sexual dysfunction is a common concern among individuals with physical disabilities but often unaddressed by health care professionals, with many reporting lack of sufficient training and perceived lack of competence. The present study sought to examine educational factors and how they relate to health professions students’ attitudes around the sexual health needs of individuals with physical disabilities. This was part of a larger study of 479 health professions students from training programs in the Southeast who completed a survey of attitudes and beliefs about sexual health topics. Significant differences were found across student field on the main outcome measure (attitudes related to sexual health of patients with disability). Differences were also found in quantity and quality of sexual health education across student field, with psychology students reporting the lowest quantity and quality of education. Item analysis of the main outcome measure revealed significant differences across student field on most items, with dentistry students generally reporting the most negative attitudes. Implications for health care providers working with patients with physical disabilities are discussed, and suggestions for implementing sexual health curriculum in training programs are provided.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge Brittany Ange, M.S., Margo Villarosa, M.S., Jeff Campbell, M.S., and Matthew Decker, Ph.D. for their contributions to this project. We would also like to acknowledge the Educational Innovation Institute at Georgia Regents University as our funding source.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA, USA

    Abbey K. Valvano, Lauren M. Penwell-Waines & Lara M. Stepleman

  2. Department of Psychology, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA, USA

    Lindsey M. West

  3. General Mental Health Clinic, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Christina K. Wilson

  4. Center for Healthcare Studies, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Kathryn R. Macapagal

  5. Department of Biostatistics, Georgia Regents University, Augusta, GA, USA

    Jennifer L. Waller

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  1. Abbey K. Valvano
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  2. Lindsey M. West
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  4. Kathryn R. Macapagal
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  5. Lauren M. Penwell-Waines
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  7. Lara M. Stepleman
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Correspondence to Abbey K. Valvano.

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Valvano, A.K., West, L.M., Wilson, C.K. et al. Health Professions Students’ Perceptions of Sexuality in Patients with Physical Disability. Sex Disabil 32, 413–427 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-014-9347-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-014-9347-7

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