Addressing sexuality : The comfort and preparedness of occupational therapy students

Journal article


Lynch, Claire and Joosten, Annette V.. (2022). Addressing sexuality : The comfort and preparedness of occupational therapy students. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education. 6(1), pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2022.060107
AuthorsLynch, Claire and Joosten, Annette V.
Abstract

Undergraduate sexual health education has the potential to increase confidence and the likelihood that healthcare professionals address sexual health in practice. This study explored Australian final year occupational therapy students’ perceptions about their education, and their preparedness and comfort to address sexuality in their final practice placements and into their future careers. An online questionnaire with three sections for (a) demographics; (b) the students' attitudes towards sexual health (SA-SH) questionnaire, which is a 22-item Likert scale about student attitudes toward sexual health issues in their future profession; and (c) nine open questions regarding students’ comfort and preparedness to address sexuality was used. The SA-SH scores of the 51 participants indicated 18 felt comfortable and well prepared; 30 felt comfortable and prepared in some situations and three participants felt uncomfortable and unprepared. Qualitative responses revealed: students considered sexuality was an important occupation; curriculum content meant they were most prepared to address sexuality with older people; personal values, gender, age, and culture factors influenced their preparedness; and comfort would increase with knowledge and experience. This paper demonstrates that both preparedness and comfort are required for occupational therapists to address sexuality effectively. The occupational therapy curriculum needs to focus on developing problem solving and practical skills using sexuality specific content, in particular how to initiate and respond when clients raise the topic. In conjunction with improvements to the curriculum, professional practice supervisors were identified as important educators as they can provide opportunities to address sexuality with clients and share their experiences while students are on placement.

Keywordssex; sexuality; occupational therapy; students; education; curriculum; SA-SH
Year2022
JournalJournal of Occupational Therapy Education
Journal citation6 (1), pp. 1-16
PublisherEastern Kentucky University
ISSN2573-1378
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2022.060107
Open accessOpen access
Page range1-16
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online28 Jan 2022
Publication process dates
Deposited01 Dec 2022
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