Prueba de correlación lineal entre las variables independientes

The need to conduct research pertaining to older adult sexual health concerns was initiated by a brief review conducted in 1977 on the ‘Disorders of sexuality and communication in theelderly’.177 _{This paper solicited researchers to conduct studies looking into the sexual}

health concerns of the elderly and issues around communication of these problems. However, since the abovementioned review, actual studies on the subject of older adults and communication regarding their sexual health in primary healthcare settings have only become more prevalent in the last 10 years. One of the earlier studies, conducted by Gott and colleagues in 2004, interviewed 22 GPs in Sheffield, UK about how they perceive sexual concerns of older patients. This study found that GPs do not address sexual health proactively with older people and that, within primary care, sexual health is equated with younger people of reproductive age and not seen as a valid topic for discussion with the

older age group as they are beyond child bearing years.158 _{Gott’s study revealed that many}

beliefs held about the sexual attitudes and behaviours of older people were based on stereotyped views of ageing and sexuality, rather than personal experience of individual patients.158 _{The research question that arises is how do primary healthcare physicians}

describe their attitudes towards older patients’ sexuality and sexual health and, in their accounts, what are the factors that shape these attitudes? Gott’s findings also identified a low level of awareness of later life sexual health issues among GP participants and significant barriers to initiating discussion relating to sexuality in consultations with older patients. It also acknowledged the need for continued professional education in the sexual health of older adults for physicians.158

A similar study of this kind occurred in 2008 in Turkey and with a larger sample of PCPs. The study focused on the knowledge and attitudes of doctors towards sexuality in older people, and it revealed that most of the physicians had limited knowledge but their attitude was positive towards sexuality in the elderly.178 The authors, Dogan et al. found that female physicians had less knowledge than males and had more negative attitudes towards

sexuality in this age group.178 _{The reasons for this may stem from rules of socialisation}

during childhood. Most young children were taught to respect their elders, and this will include being almost submissive and cooperative rather than authoritative or assertive.

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Even though older physicians had more knowledge than younger physicians, both groups exhibited similar attitudes. The authors also identified a low level of awareness of later life sexuality among Turkish medical doctors.178 _{The findings of both of these studies,}

which were physician-directed, suggest a need to improve the education and training of doctors at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels to enable them to provide better sexual healthcare to older people. The research question that ensues is, what are the associations between Primary Care Physicians’ (PCPs) characteristics and their knowledge and attitudes towards sexual healthcare?

In addition to these studies on the PCPs’ perspective of sexuality in older adults, there were a few studies conducted based on the perceptions of sexuality, STIs, sexual issues, and communication from the older adult perspective. One of the larger studies of this kind was a community-based study conducted in the U.S. in 2006 on the attitudes and behaviour of older women regarding HIV and how they communicated with their doctor. 179 The older women in this study sample were sexually active, and engaged in potentially risky

sexual behaviour, yet they believed that physicians should address issues of sexuality.179

This research concluded that there is both a gap and a disparity in older women's dialogue with physicians on sexual health matters.179 _{Subsequently, McAuliffe et al. published a}

review on the barriers to expression of sexuality in older patients.180 _{This review}

highlighted communication barriers such as attitudinal (for example, myths around sexuality and ageing), physiological (for example, sexual dysfunction), or physical (for

example, loss of partner or lack of privacy).180 _{McAuliffe also recommended the need for}

further research on the attitudes of healthcare professionals towards sexuality of older patients and also their sexual health needs.180 _{A few supporting studies based primarily on}

sexuality, sexual knowledge of elderly, and their quality of life concurred on this: sexual problems are frequent among older adults, but these problems are infrequently discussed

with physicians.The study in 2007 by Robinson and Molzhan concluded that there are

implications for gerontological nurses, the need to support personal relationships for older adults, to encourage health promotion, and to ensure sexuality is discussed with older adults. 181

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Another useful literature to this study is the review conducted by Price in 2009 pertaining

to the interest of sexual health concerns and communication.182 This review explored the

attitudes towards older people’s sexuality and, again, had implications for other healthcare professionals. It ends with a similar conclusion (as discussed in previous studies) that sexuality is multifaceted and difficult to contain in a discussion. Price emphasised that nurses need to feel more comfortable talking about sexuality with older people. Another recent study by Politi et al. focused on patient-provider communication about sexual health among older adults. The study concluded that some women felt that healthcare providers should ask about sexual and reproductive health issues only if questions relate to an associated health problem (e.g., STIs) and in ways that can be answered by all women regardless of partner status and, as well, to follow questions with non-judgmental discussions.158

As seen in a few studies, the reticence among older patients and their providers regarding the discussion of sexual health, frequently constitutes an actual barrier to open and effective communication. If, however, a good screening sexual history is routinely elicited, the discomfort may be less obvious during consultation and much useful information will be obtained.183

In document Análisis multivariado del curso Elementos de Computación en el Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (página 125-200)