[Sexual medicine in daily practice : Germany-wide questionnaire of urologists]. / Sexualmedizin im ärztlichen Alltag : Bundesweite Umfrage unter Ärzten in der Urologie.

BACKGROUND: Sexual-related problems are very prevalent. Physicians of different disciplines are frequently contacted by men with those problems. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the situation of sexual medicine in daily practice and to evaluate German urologists' need for further training in this field with a focus on gender-specific differences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A five-page questionnaire included questions about sexual medicine in daily practice. A focus was set on physicians dealing with sexual medicine in daily practice and their need for further training in this field. In April/Mai 2015, questionnaires were sent per mail to 5955 urologists, urology residents and andrologists throughout Germany. The questionnaire was developed based on previously published studies and a pretest was performed to evaluate comprehensibility. A χ2 test was performed to determine significant gender-specific differences; for this propose response options were dichotomised. P values ≤0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: The response rate was 16.0%, representing 955 questionnaires. A total of 50 questionnaires from non-urologists were excluded, so 905 questionnaires were analysed. The mean age was 47.7 ± 10.4 years, 78.9% were male, 97.0% had studied in Germany, 86.7% were specialists and 37.7% had further qualification in andrology. CONCLUSION: Our results emphasize the need for further training in sexual medicine, especially for female physicians. This study underlines the demand for advanced qualification in sexual medicine.

Education in sexual medicine - a nationwide study among German urologists/andrologists and urology residents.

Although sexual-related problems are very prevalent, inadequate training for physicians has been reported. The aim was to investigate the educational situation in sexual medicine, including sexual dysfunctions, gender dysphoria and paraphilia, among German physicians in urology and andrology. Additional, barriers when addressing sexual health issues and confidence in taking care of patients with sexual-related problems were evaluated. A questionnaire was sent to 5955 urologists, urology residents and andrologists throughout Germany. The results of this study emphasise the need for continuing education and training in sexual medicine including sexual dysfunctions (83.9%), gender dysphoria (58.2%) and paraphilia (56.6%). Physicians, especially when working in urology, need basic skills in order to feel confident (89.0% in taking care of patients with sexual dysfunctions, 25.8% with gender dysphoria and 22.9% with paraphilia) and be able to reduce several barriers when addressing sexual health issues. The main reported barriers were lack of time (61.0%), inadequate financial compensation (42.5%), lack of necessity (29.9%) and the assumption of patients feeling uncomfortable (20.9%). It is within the competence of urologists and andrologists to correctly assess the situation and to refer patients to multidisciplinary support, such as psychologists, psychosomatics or couple therapists.