Feature ArticleOlder Adults and HIV and STI Screening: The Patient Perspective
Section snippets
Background
The at-risk population for HIV among community dwelling older adults has shifted since the 1980s. Receiving a potentially HIV-contaminated blood transfusion was a prominent risk factor for the development of AIDS in older adults for many years.4 However, as blood transfusion has posed little risk of HIV transmission in the United States for over 2 decades, older adults now have a much more similar risk profile for the development of HIV to the majority of the U.S. population. For older women,
Methods
This qualitative focus group study was designed to explore patient experiences around screening of and communication about HIV, STIs, and sexuality, in order to improve the ability to screen older adults. Two focus groups were held at 2 different senior centers. Inclusion criteria were of age greater than 64, English speaking, and willing to talk about sensitive subjects such as sexuality. Each focus group was recruited to have 6 to 12 individuals based on Kruger and Casey's guidelines for
Results
Participants in this study ranged in age from 66 to 90. There were 5 male participants in group 1 with a mean age of 82 and 9 female participants in group 2 with a mean age of 77 years. All participants identified themselves as white. Ten participants had a high school education, 2 had some college, and 2 did not complete high school. One participant had an advanced practice nurse as a primary care provider and the rest had physicians. Six of the total number of participants saw their health
Discussion
This focus group study was conducted to describe how older adults and their health care providers are discussing sexual health and screening practices for STIs and HIV.
In general, it appears that health care providers did not ask older adults about their sexual health or talk about sexually transmitted infections or HIV/AIDS. This is consistent with the findings of previous studies.1, 32, 33 The focus group participants also did not bring up the topic of sexual health, as the general attitude
MONICA S. SLINKARD, MSN, APRN, ANP-BC, WHNP-BC, is a recent graduate from the Yale School of Nursing, New Haven, CT and is currently working at Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care in Washington, DC, as an APRN.
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2018, Nursing Clinics of North AmericaCitation Excerpt :Inquiring about the physical comfort of intercourse and other sexual behaviors is important, but asking about the psychological and emotional level of comfort is equally important. Educating the woman about how medical conditions and medications used to treat those diseases affect sexual responses (important for lubrication and thus comfort) is another topic for discussion.30 An effective means of communication and assessment is the PLISSIT model, which uses open-ended questions to explore concerns.
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2016, Nurse Education TodayCitation Excerpt :Embarrassment, fear of dismissal and perceptions that the professional is uninterested or does not understand, all contribute to reluctance to raise sexual issues in a consultation (Bauer et al., 2012, 2015; Colton, 2007; Farrell and Belza, 2012; Gledhill and Schweitzer, 2014; Lichtenberg, 2014; O'Brien et al., 2011). Poor communication with health professionals may lead to neglect of problems and increased risk of sexually transmitted infections (Colton, 2007; Slinkard and Kazer, 2011). Some research also indicates that even when an older person raises sexual health concerns, only minimal information may be exchanged (Colton, 2007).
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MONICA S. SLINKARD, MSN, APRN, ANP-BC, WHNP-BC, is a recent graduate from the Yale School of Nursing, New Haven, CT and is currently working at Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care in Washington, DC, as an APRN.
MEREDITH WALLACE KAZER, PhD, CNL, APRN, A/GNP-BC, is an Associate Professor at Fairfield University School of Nursing, Fairfield, CT.