Patterns of help‐seeking in women when problems arise in their sexual life: a discussion paper

Mathilde Azar, Caroline Bradbury‐Jones and Thilo Kroll

Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2013, vol. 22, issue 23-24, 3587-3596

Abstract: Aims and objectives To explore patterns of help‐seeking in women who have sexual dysfunction and the implications for nursing practice. Background Female sexual dysfunction is a common problem that is under‐reported and untreated. Barriers to help‐seeking reported in existing literature relate to the perception among many women that sexual dysfunction is: part of the normal ageing process; not bothersome or does not exist; an issue that health professionals are reluctant to address; a taboo subject. However, little is known about patterns of help‐seeking in women with sexual problems. This leaves a potential gap in nursing knowledge regarding appropriate, supportive strategies. Design Discursive inquiry framed theoretically by Vogel's model. Methods A literature review was undertaken by searching relevant databases. A combination of keywords was used to identify peer‐review papers relating to women's help‐seeking behaviour for sexual dysfunction. Vogel's model was used as a framework to extract relevant information from the papers and structure the discussion. Results Vogel's model comprises four steps: encoding and interpreting, generating options, decision‐making and evaluation of behaviour. Using this stepwise approach helped elucidate the complex mechanisms associated with help‐seeking in a structured manner. The key issues associated with help‐seeking intention are concerned with women's personal awareness of and interaction with the environment. Conclusions Vogel's model offers a new approach to understanding the dynamics that underpin women's decisions to seek professional help when sexual concerns arise and also provides a useful framework for nurses to consider women's specific sexual concerns. Relevance to clinical practice Implications for nursing practice are focused on public awareness, women's empowerment and the provision of effective sexual health care. Because sexual dysfunction is a global phenomenon, it is likely that the discussion in this paper will be relevant to an international, nursing readership.

Date: 2013
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12374

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:wly:jocnur:v:22:y:2013:i:23-24:p:3587-3596

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Clinical Nursing from John Wiley & Sons
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().