“I wish I’d told them”: a qualitative study examining the unmet psychosexual needs of prostate cancer patients during follow-up after treatment

O'Brien, R., Rose, P., Campbell, C., Weller, D., Neal, R.D., Wilkinson, C., Mcintosh, H. and Watson, E. (2010) “I wish I’d told them”: a qualitative study examining the unmet psychosexual needs of prostate cancer patients during follow-up after treatment. Patient Education and Counseling, 84(2), pp. 200-207. (doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.07.006)

Abstract

<b>Objective</b> To gain insight into patients' experiences of follow-up care after treatment for prostate cancer and identify unmet psychosexual needs.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 35 patients aged 59-82 from three UK regions. Partners were included in 18 interviews. Data were analyzed using constant comparison. <p></p> <b>Results</b> (1) Psychosexual problems gained importance over time, (2) men felt they were rarely invited to discuss psychosexual side effects within follow-up appointments and lack of rapport with health care professionals made it difficult to raise problems themselves, (3) problems were sometimes concealed or accepted and professionals' attempts to explore potential difficulties were resisted by some, and (4) older patients were too embarrassed to raise psychosexual concerns as they felt they would be considered 'too old' to be worried about the loss of sexual function.<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> Men with prostate cancer, even the very elderly, have psychosexual issues for variable times after diagnosis. These are not currently always addressed at the appropriate time for the patient.Practice implications Assessments of psychosexual problems should take place throughout the follow-up period, and not only at the time of initial treatment. Further research examining greater willingness or reluctance to engage with psychosexual interventions may be particularly helpful in designing future interventions

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: NOTICE: this is the author's version of a work that was accepted for publication in Patient Education and Counseling. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Patient Education and Counseling, 84(2), 2010. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.07.006
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: O'Brien, Dr Rosaleen
• Authors: O'Brien, R., Rose, P., Campbell, C., Weller, D., Neal, R.D., Wilkinson, C., Mcintosh, H., and Watson, E.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > General Practice and Primary Care
• Journal Name: Patient Education and Counseling
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0738-3991
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2010 Elsevier
• First Published: First published in Patient Education and Counseling 84(2):200-207
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher