Sexuality in Palliative Care Patients: Nurse’s Role
Keywords:
Palliative care, Sexual dysfunction, Patients, SexualityAbstract
Sexuality is fundamental to overall health and well-being of individuals. Patients with palliative care is commonly is overlooked by health care providers. This is because Thai culture views this topic as private and not to be discussed in public, causing affected patients and their spouses to feel lack of concern resulting in low quality of life. This article provides information related to the definition associated with sexuality in patients with palliative care, factors related to sexual dysfunction (SD) in patients with palliative care, nurse’s characteristics in caring for patients with palliative care as well as nurse’s role of caring for patients with palliative care. Thus, nurses have to assess related factors and change patients and spouses’ attitude, as sexuality is a basic need of human beings and is not right or wrong. Sexuality consists of two stages including: 1) initial stage found that sexual activities are vital and the nurses need to assist and provide appropriate sexual care, and 2) end of life stage, intimacy has become vital to assist patients and their spouses be able to have appropriate sexual activities based on illness stages and enhance their quality.
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