Healthcare Attitudes Towards Sexuality Among Older Adults
Introduction: Sexual relationships can be a positive part of close relationships between people with dementia and their partners. Sex can be a positive experience that they can still share. Unfortunately, relatively little is known about sexuality and dementia and what we do know often comes from research involving White people with “traditional” gender identities (Dementia, UK). We, therefore, know very little about sexuality amongst people with dementia and from minority ethnic groups. Enjoyment of sexuality is nevertheless considered a fundamental human right. Unfortunately, people with dementia in residential care settings are often denied this right. Sometimes, this is because of a lack of knowledge, misconceptions, and stereotypes. A common stereotype is that older people are sexless and undesirable, although research shows that many people remain sexually active well into old age (Alzheimer Europe,2022).
Methodology: 105 healthcare professionals from the Czechia and 45 from the UK successfully completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic factors such as gender, age, education, and length of practice in the healthcare environment. The chi-square test was used as a statistical method.
Results: 140 females and 10 males participated in the study, with a mean age of 55. The highest education was a university degree. Our hypothesis was confirmed that the age of the participants is correlated with positive attitudes towards sexuality among older adults.
Conclusion: Training in the sexuality of older adults is an important aspect of university life for nursing students, and mandatory training should be implemented as induction training, especially in long-term facilities. Therefore, there is still a gap in policies and guidelines on how to deal with this topic in long-term facilities.