Sexual communication, sexual satisfaction, and relationship quality in people with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to explore relationships between sexual satisfaction, sexual communication and relationship satisfaction in people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, sexual satisfaction was evaluated as a moderator between sexual communication and relationship satisfaction. DESIGN: Individuals diagnosed with MS and being treated in a hospital-based MS clinic in the southeastern United States (n = 58) completed measures of sexual satisfaction, sexual communication, sexual dysfunction, relationship quality, depression, level of disability, and frequency of sex-related communication and behaviors in a cross-sectional survey design. RESULTS: Sexual satisfaction moderated the relationship between quality of sexual communication and relationship quality, controlling for depression and frequency of sexual behavior and sexual communication. Directionality was examined in a 2nd regression analysis, in which the predictor and outcome variables were switched, which was also significant. Additionally, depression most strongly predicted relationship dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Findings help to establish sexual satisfaction as a moderator between sexual communication and relationship satisfaction, although directionality cannot be supported. Results also highlight the role of depression in overall relationship functioning and support the biopsychosocial model of care for treatment of sexual dysfunction in people living with MS. (PsycINFO Database Record

Student perspectives on sexual health: implications for interprofessional education.

Interprofessional collaboration requires that health professionals think holistically about presenting concerns, particularly for multimodal problems like sexual dysfunction. However, health professions students appear to receive relatively little sexual health education, and generally none is offered on an interprofessional basis. To assess current degree of interprofessional thinking in sexual health care, 472 health professions students in Georgia, United States, were presented with a sexual dysfunction vignette and asked to rate the relevance of, and their familiarity with, interventions offered by several professionals. They also were asked to identify the most likely cause of the sexual dysfunction. Students rated relevance and familiarity with interventions as highest for physicians and lowest for dentists, with higher ratings of nurses by nursing students. More advanced students reported greater familiarity with mental health, physician, and physical therapy interventions. Finally, nursing students were less likely to attribute the dysfunction to a physical cause. These findings indicate that students may prioritize biomedical approaches in their initial assessment and may need additional supports to consider the spectrum of biopsychosocial factors contributing to sexual functioning. To encourage interprofessional critical thinking and prepare students for interprofessional care, sexual health curricula may be improved with the inclusion of interprofessional training. Specific recommendations for curriculum development are offered.

Meaning-making appraisals relevant to adjustment for veterans with spinal cord injury.

The purpose of the present study was to conduct a mixed-methods investigation of meaning-making appraisals generated from spinal cord injury survivors' narratives of their injury experience. The sample consisted of 79 participants from an urban midwestern Veterans Affairs facility. The study design was cross-sectional and incorporated semistructured, face-to-face interviews, taking approximately 1 hr to complete. Measures of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, psychological well-being, and purpose in life were completed as part of the interview. A data analytic approach based on grounded theory that allowed qualitative themes to be transformed to quantitative data was employed. Seven salient meaning-making themes were identified. Significant relationships were identified between certain meaning-making themes (e.g., identity integration positively related to positive growth), and certain themes were also significantly related to postinjury psychological health and distress separately (e.g., perceived burden on others was significantly related to greater depression scores). Findings are discussed within the context of clinical interventions that foster positive posttrauma outcomes.