Sexuality and the Chronicall Ill

Sexuality and the Chronicall Ill Older Adult Sexuality and the Chronically Ill Older Adult Many assume that older adults are no longer sexually active, so it stands to reason that they would feel this way about older adults with a chronic illness. In their article titled, Sexuality and the Chronically Ill Older Adult: A Social Justice Issue, written by Verna C.

Pangman and Marilyn Seguire and published in the Sexuality and Disability journal in 2000, we see that the authors tackle this sensitive subject and shed light on the situation so that nurses will better know how to deal with it. The article focuses on the sexuality of chronically ill older adults and society's perception of these individuals. It also discusses the healthcare professional's perception of this issue and how stereotypes can be addressed. They say that nurses can address these issues beginning with education.

Attitudes need should be assessed concerning the topic by having the students explore their own attitudes toward their sexuality. They also suggest that nurses who have a particular interest in the older population take courses in gerontology. Other strategies discussed are mandatory continuing education classes on the aging process and the impact of sexuality on the aging process and doing a thorough history of the patient's sexual history and doing so in an impartial, non-judgmental manner.

It is important to make the patient feel as comfortable as possible while discussing their sexuality. The population discussed in the article is the chronically ill older patients. Because of the assumptions already made about older people concerning their sexuality, this is an important topic that needs to be brought to the forefront. This is what this article attempts to do.

Evaluation of the Article The topic chosen by the authors is an interesting one that deserves examination because generally, the older population is often forgotten and it all too often assumed that sexuality among this group is nonexistent. A good job was done on the background of the subjects for this article and the assumptions about them made by other individuals. However, the article did not give any important insight into the issue and most of the information included such as increasing education among nurses was merely common sense.

The background information on the sexuality of chronically ill adults was interesting and because of this, more insight was expected from the article. The authors failed to do any type of surveys in order to provide statistical information to provide more information about this population. For instance, they do a good job of telling us what people assume about older people's sexuality or lack of it, but they do nothing to back up their claims that this group is just as sexual as any other age group.

They give common sense advice on how nurses have to be careful not to judge the patient when discussing sexuality and how nurses should be more aware of their own sexuality in order to serve the patient better. It was helpful to hear that they felt this topic should be covered more in nursing schools. This is a good idea because it familiarizes the student with the issue so that they won't feel blindsided if they ever find themselves having to discuss with an older patient his or her sexuality.

Education will not only help prepare future nurses, but it will also aid in them behavior in a professional manner once the subject is brought up. As far as the health assessment strategy, it was also basic common sense. The author gives us a few examples of questions to ask the patients regarding their sexuality. These questions would be appropriate for any one in a different age group who is sexually active.

The questions did not stand out or seem specifically geared to the chronically ill patient and although they could be adopted into a nursing practice, they need to be structured better so that they fall in line with this population. Even though the health strategy was explained clearly (better education, taking the patient's sexual health history), it was something that most nurses should already be doing or know how to do. The article did not provide any new revelations to this issue.

They authors seemed to be telling the audience thing they should already have knowledge of. They have not done enough research to present the reading audience with any new information that will stand out and be useful in dealing with this topic. In order to garner more interest in the subject, a quantitative study should be done which includes in depth information on the population. Until this is done, it is futile to come up with suggestions on how to deal with the issue.

Concrete evidence must be gathered to provide a more accurate assessment and solution to the problem. In order to serve this population justly and take on this issue in a meaningful way, a survey should have been constructed with multiple choice and open ended questions. Also, if there was enough of a comfort level among the population, a focus group could have been held on their sexuality. If patients felt uncomfortable participating in a focus group, then the survey would suffice as long as it was anonymous.

The survey should not only focus on the person sexual habits, such as "How many times per week do you have sex?" but, rather it should focus on the individual's perception of their sexuality and how they feel about themselves. Questions should also be asked regarding the person's particular illness and how it affects their perception of their sexuality. By doing this the researchers can actually establish a pattern to determine what effects certain chronic illnesses have on a patient's sexual health.

Information can then be coded and entered into a statistical software package such as SPSS or something similar. This would give the researcher a clear picture of the issues that this population is actually dealing with. With concrete evidence such as that gathered directly from the patients, people are more likely to consider journal articles valid instead of containing information that is common sense to most. Also, the findings presented in the research could lead to more studies to dig even deeper into the issue. The title of the.