The Experience of Gender Incongruity in the Christian Church: A Qualitative Study.

This study was designed to understand the interaction between Christian faith and gender incongruence. An anonymous online survey was advertised to the Australian Christian community. Individuals with first-hand experience of transgender issues were eligible to participate. There were 122 eligible responses. This paper describes the experience of the 30 participants experiencing gender incongruence. Persons in the church experiencing gender incongruence desired to hold onto faith. As a result, they experienced a tension between the desire to remain in the church, and the desire to live congruously with their gender, which could lead to expulsion. Strategies to reconcile these two factors varied.

International perspective on teaching human sexuality.

OBJECTIVE: The authors outline international training programs in human sexuality. METHODS: The authors reviewed the international literature and Internet resources to identify key training opportunities and curricula, with particular emphasis on training opportunities for psychiatrists. RESULTS: The authors outline key resources and training courses outside the United States. CONCLUSION: Training in human sexuality, sexology, and sexual medicine is evolving across many clinical disciplines, but courses remain limited in number and far apart geographically.

Pilot study of Australian school-based sexual health education: parents' views.

BACKGROUND: Sexually transmissible infections (STIs) among young Australians increased dramatically between 1997 and 2007 with rates of chlamydia increasing by 528% and rates of gonorrhoea by 169% among 15-19 year olds. High notification rates of STIs and teenage pregnancy point to the need to investigate sexual health education (SHE) in Australian schools. This first quantitative study investigated the attitudes and experiences of parents to SHE in Australian schools. METHODS: One hundred and seventeen (117) Australian parents were recruited through purposive sampling and snowballing methods to complete an online questionnaire in 2007. RESULTS: Most respondents (97.4%) support SHE in schools and 95.7% advocate schools and parents sharing responsibility. A majority (82.9%) believe SHE should begin in primary school with discrepancy as to when specific topics should be introduced. There is consensus for a comprehensive curriculum, including topics potentially seen as controversial such as 'masturbation'. 'Abstinence' was chosen by 15.4% of parents to not be included in SHE curricula. Most parents rate the SHE their children have received in school as 'fair' in quality, and want access to resources to help them educate their children, including workshops at schools, information about school SHE, literature, and trained sexual health educators. CONCLUSIONS: Parents generally support SHE in schools. They want programs to begin in primary school. They consider the current school programs to be 'fair' in quality. Parents also point out the need for a more comprehensive curriculum and they want to be involved with schools in the development and delivery of SHE.

Effects of sexual arousal on vibrotactile detection thresholds in aged men with and without erectile dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common problem in ageing men. Abnormalities in sexual arousal may contribute to its development, and to the failure of pharmacological therapies. However, there are few objective ways of assessing arousal. Sexual arousal has been shown to affect vibrotactile detection thresholds (VDT) in young, healthy men. The present study assessed the effects of sexual arousal on VDT in middle-aged men with and without ED in order to determine whether differences exist between the groups and if such differences may be useful in the evaluation of ED. METHODS: VDT in the right index finger of 15 heterosexual men (mean age 74.3 +/- 6.0 years) who had been formally diagnosed with ED (ED group) and 16 men (mean age 68.0 +/- 6.6 years) who reported no sexual dysfunction in the past 6 months (erectile function (EF) group) were measured before and after watching erotic and control videos using a forced-choice, staircase method at frequencies of 30, 60 and 100 Hz. A mechanical stimulator was used to produce the vibratory stimulus. Results were analysed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: There was no significant effect of watching the erotic video on VDT in subjects in the ED group. In the EF group, VDT was significantly lower at 60 and 100 Hz after watching the erotic video. There was no change in VDT after watching the control video in either group. CONCLUSION: In response to sexual arousal, VDT in ageing men with normal erectile function decrease, whereas VDT in ageing men with ED remain unchanged.

Effects of visual erotic stimulation on vibrotactile detection thresholds in men.

This study examined the effects of sexual arousal on vibration detection thresholds in the right index finger of 30 healthy, heterosexual males who reported no sexual dysfunction. Vibrotactile detection thresholds at frequencies of 30, 60, and 100 Hz were assessed before and after watching erotic and control videos using a forced-choice, staircase method. A mechanical stimulator was used to produce the vibratory stimulus. Results were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. After watching the erotic video, the vibrotactile detection thresholds at 30, 60, and 100 Hz were significantly reduced (p < .01). No changes in thresholds were detected at any frequency following exposure to the non-erotic stimulus. The results show that sexual arousal resulted in an increase in vibrotactile sensitivity to low frequency stimuli in the index finger of sexually functional men.

Survey of occupational therapy students' attitudes towards sexual issues in clinical practice.

The purpose of this study was to examine the level of comfort of 340 occupational therapy students during clinical interactions that have sexual implications. Participants completed the Comfort Scale Questionnaire to indicate their anticipated level of comfort. More than half of the students anticipated that they would not feel comfortable in dealing with sexual issues. The three items that students indicated as being most uncomfortable with were 'Walking in on a patient/client who is masturbating' (91.7%), 'Dealing with a patient/client who makes an overt sexual remark' (82.1%) and 'Dealing with a patient/client who makes a covert sexual remark' (77.2%). The three items which students felt relatively comfortable with were 'Homosexual male' (26.4%), '14-year-old female seeking contraception' (26.4%) and 'Handicapped individual who is inquiring about sexual options' (33.5%). At least half the senior students believed that their educational programme had not dealt adequately with sexual issues. Further research investigating the nature and origin of discomfort in clinical settings is recommended as well as research examining the effectiveness of sexuality education in increasing comfort in dealing with sexual issues in clinical settings.

Allied health professional students' perceived level of comfort in clinical situations that have sexual connotations.

This study examined the anticipated level of comfort of 1,132 higher education students enrolled across physical therapy, occupational therapy, medical radiation sciences, rehabilitation counseling, leisure and health sciences, and behavioral health science professional courses. Participants were asked to indicate their anticipated level of comfort for a range of clinical interactions that have sexual implications. More than half of the students anticipated that they would not feel comfortable in dealing with the issues raised in 9 of the 19 sexually themed items. Significant gender differences were identified for some of these items. These gender differences should be taken into account when developing sexuality curricula. Feelings of discomfort when interacting with clients could impede appropriate therapeutic interventions. Further research investigating the nature and cause of discomfort in clinical settings is required. Studies that examine the usefulness of sexuality education programs in increasing practitioner comfort also should be carried out.

E-learning in sexuality education.

The use of computers in learning and communication is not new to health professional education. However, the rapid developments in technology and the increasing competence of students in computer- and web-based learning make the need for health professional education to take the next step to e-learning a necessity rather than a choice. This paper describes an e-learning unit in sexuality developed in response to a felt need for a flexible online unit in the topic. The use of online tools for e-learning in sexuality are discussed and course evaluation presented. The need for a strong pedagogic model and the careful development of learning activities to utilize the facilities available for assessment, feedback and especially synchronous and asynchronous communication are discussed as they apply to the sexuality unit.

A study of attitudes toward sexuality issues among health care students in australia.

SUMMARY This study examined the attitudes of 1132 higher education students enrolled in health profession education degree programs. Students were asked to indicate their anticipated level of comfort in a variety of interactions including working with a lesbian client or a homosexual male, and asking a client about his or her sexual orientation. Students also indicated whether they perceived their degree program had dealt adequately with these issues. High levels of discomfort were identified in our large sample of students. Approximately 30% of the sample indicated they would be uncomfortable working with a lesbian client and 27% of the sample indicated that they would feel uncomfortable if working with a male homosexual client. There were significant differences for these two items depending on the student's gender. Female students indicated significantly higher levels of comfort in dealing with homosexual male clients than did their male counterparts. Male students indicated significantly greater comfort in dealing with lesbian clients. More than half of our sample indicated that they would not be comfortable asking about a client's sexual orientation. Over 75% of senior-year students believed that their degree program had not adequately dealt with these issues. The impact of homophobia and discomfort on the quality of care health professionals provide for lesbian and gay clients and the role of educational strategies to reduce this are discussed.

The role of computer-aided assessment in health professional education: a comparison of student performance in computer-based and paper-and-pen multiple-choice tests.

There is a lack of empirical research in the use of computers in assessment. A study was conducted to compare student performance in computerized and paper-and-pen multiple-choice tests and assess the extent and effect of 'computer anxiety'. The LXR.TEST 5.1 software was used for the computerized test. A validated rating scale was used to assess computer anxiety. Most students had little computer experience other than in word processing. Only about a third of the students had moderate to mild computer anxiety. Neither computer experience nor anxiety correlated significantly with performance in the computer test. Whereas students performed significantly better in the paper test than in the computer test, there was no statistical difference in ranking in the two assessments formats. This suggests that computer-based assessment could be used with confidence for the purposes of ranking students, but care should be taken in using it for grading.

Nuevo adiestramiento para nuevas funciones / New training for new roles

En Sri Lanka, los practicantes médicos auxiliares se manifiestan con razón descontentos de su formación, que debería modificarse para capacitarles mejor y permitirles actuar con más eficacia en las comunidades del país, predominantemente rurales. Además, para motivar en la mayor medida posible a esos profesionales de la salud, habría que ofrecerles una estructura profesional atractiva

New training for new roles

Assistant medical practitioners in Sri Lanka are justifiably dissatisfied with their training, which should be modified so that they are enabled to function more effectively in the country's predominantly rural communities. Furthermore, in order to motivate these health professionals to the greatest possible extent, they should be offered an attractive career structure