• Gynecologic oncology · Mar 2012

    Review

    A systematic review of sexual concerns reported by gynecological cancer survivors.

    • Kristen Abbott-Anderson and Kristine L Kwekkeboom.
    • University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Nursing, 600 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53792-2455, USA. kcanderson2@wisc.edu
    • Gynecol. Oncol. 2012 Mar 1; 124 (3): 477-89.

    ObjectiveTo identify physical, psychological and social sexual concerns reported by gynecological (GYN) cancer survivors.MethodsA systematic review of the literature was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed and PsycInfo databases. Reference lists from articles provided additional relevant literature. Only research articles from peer-reviewed journals were included. A total of 37 articles were located; 34 explored women's sexual concerns following gynecological cancer diagnosis and treatment and 3 tested interventions for sexual concerns in women with gynecological cancer.ResultsSexual concerns were identified across all dimensions of sexuality. Common concerns in the physical dimension were dyspareunia, changes in the vagina, and decreased sexual activity. In the psychological dimension, common concerns were decreased libido, alterations in body image, and anxiety related to sexual performance. And in the social dimension, common concerns were difficulty maintaining previous sexual roles, emotional distancing from the partner, and perceived change in the partner's level of sexual interest. Of the three psychoeducational intervention studies, two reported improvements in physical aspects of sexual function, and one reported improved knowledge, but without resolution of sexual concerns.ConclusionGynecological cancer survivors experience a broad range of sexual concerns after diagnosis and treatment, but the majority of studies emphasized physical aspects of sexuality, and may not adequately represent women's psychological and social sexual concerns. Health care providers should remain mindful of psychological and social sexual concerns when caring for gynecologic cancer survivors. Future research should systematically evaluate the full range of sexual concerns in large, representative samples of GYN cancer survivors and develop and test interventions to address those concerns.Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…