Sexual health intervention for couples with difficulty in sexual abstinence

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#Nurses in the forefront of reproductive health services face the challenge of motivating clients to adapt fertility awareness-based methods, or making them continue with the method due to concerns about handling sexual abstinence. To assist nurses and other reproductive health providers, a sexual health intervention was developed. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the sexual health intervention called Kalabit-kalabit (sexual desire), Irap (abstinence), and Sanggang-dikit (shared behavioral plan) (KIS) on the sexual scripts, motivation, and behavior of couples with difficulty in sexual abstinence in natural family planning. Specifically, it aimed to identify the sexual scripts on pagkatao (personhood), pagkalalaki (manhood), pagiging lalaki (masculinity), pagkababae (womanhood), pagiging babae (femininity), pagtatalik (sexual intercourse), and pagpipigil (abstinence), as well as the sexual motivation and behavior of couples with difficulty in abstinence before and after KIS.@*Methods@#Embedded multiple-case study with purposive sampling using the replication logic was used to satisfy the inquiry. Four couples qualified using the assumption that difficulty with abstinence is caused by illogical sexual scripts, and inappropriate sexual motivation and behavior of either one or both spouses as a template to determine KIS’s effectiveness. Pattern matching, cross-case synthesis, and logic model were used for analytic generalization. Prior to the conduct of the study, the research protocol underwent scrutiny by the Independent Ethics Committee of De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute.@*Result@#KIS was found to be effective in (a) decoding and denouncing illogical sexual scripts and inappropriate sexual motivation and behavior, (b) reframing them to logical sexual scripts and appropriate sexual motivation and behavior, and (c) sharing mutual behavioral plans if accompanied with openness and full acceptance of self and spouse coupled with conviction, cooperation, commitment, and determination.@*Conclusions@#Decoding, challenging, reframing, and sharing mutual behavioral plans facilitate couples' competence in achieving sexual abstinence with ease.