Couples living with Alzheimer's disease talk about sex and intimacy: A phenomenological qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: To obtain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of sexuality within the couple relationship when one of the partners has received a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. This study aimed to listen to the voices of both partners, and to investigate how their intimate relationship has been impacted by an Alzheimer's diagnosis. METHODS: This study adopted a qualitative phenomenological approach, and the method used was Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The data was collected based on interviews with six couples, where one of the spouses had a mild to moderate Alzheimer's diagnosis. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and a detailed analysis of each interview was performed. FINDINGS: From the detailed analysis of the transcribed interviews, six main themes emerged: Sexual expression today; Alzheimer's and sexuality; desire to be a sexual being; different sexualities; sense of couplehood; and uncertain future. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study provide a deeper insight into experiences of sexuality for couples living with Alzheimer's. Sexuality and intimacy of couples living with Alzheimer's continues to be an important aspect of the relationship, and in general, the partners wish to have the opportunity to express their sexuality. The construction of a sense of couplehood during the marriage tends to be a significant factor to sustain the changes that arise in the intimate relationship because of the diagnosis. However, despite the growing recognition of the existence and importance of sexuality in later life, persons with Alzheimer's have only recently starting to be recognized as sexual beings who wish to be heard.

Dementia and its impacts on the intimate, sexual couple relationship: A systematic review of qualitative research studies.

OBJECTIVE: There is growing evidence for the need to recognize persons with dementia as sexual beings who wish to continue expressing their sexuality, including within their couple relationship. The aim of this literature review was to investigate empirical qualitative studies that examined sexuality and sexual intimacy in the couple relationship when one spouse has dementia. METHOD: A systematic literature review was performed in January 2021, five data bases were searched: Pubmed, MedLine, Lilacs, Scopus, and SciELO. The references of articles included in the review were screened together with the references of other relevant reviews. RESULTS: Nine studies were identified that investigated sexuality and sexual intimacy from the perspective of the couple living with dementia or from the perspective of the spouse. The analysis identified four key themes: addressing dementia and sexuality; challenges to maintaining sexuality within the couple relationship; forms of sexual expression; and the desire to be seen as a sexual being. CONCLUSION: Despite evidence of the importance of sexuality in later life and the positive effects it has on the quality of the couple relationship, research has identified the difficulty of destigmatizing sexuality and older persons, particularly when considering couples affected by dementia. Further research is required to better understand how living with the illness impacts sexual expression and the intimacy of the couple relationship.