Body Changes and Decreased Sexual Drive after Dialysis: A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Women at an Ambulatory Dialysis Unit in Spain

Miriam Álvarez-Villarreal, Juan Francisco Velarde-García, Lourdes Chocarro-Gonzalez, Jorge Pérez-Corrales, Javier Gueita-Rodriguez and Domingo Palacios-Ceña
Additional contact information
Miriam Álvarez-Villarreal: Dialysis Unit. Hospital Universitario Infanta Cristina, Avenida 9 de Junio, 2, 28981 Parla, Spain
Juan Francisco Velarde-García: Department of Nursing, Spanish Red Cross, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IiSGM), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, 28009 Madrid, Spain
Lourdes Chocarro-Gonzalez: Palliative Pediatric Care Unit. Hospital Universitario Infantil Niño Jesús, Avenida de Menéndez Pelayo, 65, 28009 Madrid, Spain
Jorge Pérez-Corrales: Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Research Group of Humanities and Qualitative Research in Health Science of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Hum&QRinHS), Avenida Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Spain
Javier Gueita-Rodriguez: Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Research Group of Humanities and Qualitative Research in Health Science of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Hum&QRinHS), Avenida Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Spain
Domingo Palacios-Ceña: Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Research Group of Humanities and Qualitative Research in Health Science of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Hum&QRinHS), Avenida Atenas s/n, 28922 Alcorcón, Spain

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has considerable effects on the quality of life of patients, impairing everyday activities and leading to lifestyle changes, as well as affecting body image and intimate relationships. Our aim was to describe the experience of female patients with CKD at an ambulatory dialysis unit regarding body changes and sexuality. A qualitative phenomenological study exploring how 18 female patients, treated at the dialysis unit of a Spanish hospital, perceived their sexuality and intimate relationships. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, researcher field notes, and patients’ personal letters. A thematic analysis was performed. Four main themes arose from the data describing the experience of how CKD impacts body changes and sexuality: (a) Accepting body changes, (b) The catheter, the fistula, and body image, (c) Experiencing a different sexuality, and (d) The catheter, the fistula, and sexuality. Patients experienced changes in their body, perceiving it as being bloated or deformed, together with overall decline. The catheter and/or the fistula triggered changes in the way the women dress in an attempt to hide port sites. Women experience sexuality changes, affecting sexual desire and satisfaction. The presence of catheters was found to be the most cumbersome during sexual acts.

Keywords: chronic renal failure; gender; dialysis; catheter; haemodialysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/17/3086/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/17/3086/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:17:p:3086-:d:260786

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().