Gynecological Cancer Survivors' Experiences of Dyspareunia and Factors Influencing Care-Seeking Behavior: A Qualitative Study.
Cancer survivorship
Dyspareunia
Gynecological cancer
Pain
Sexual activity
Sexual dysfunction
Journal
Archives of sexual behavior
ISSN: 1573-2800
Titre abrégé: Arch Sex Behav
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 1273516
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
08 2023
08 2023
Historique:
received:
04
04
2022
accepted:
13
03
2023
revised:
15
01
2023
medline:
18
9
2023
pubmed:
15
4
2023
entrez:
14
4
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Pain during sexual intercourse, also called dyspareunia, affects most women after treatment for gynecological cancer. Previous work adopted a biomedical approach to depict dyspareunia in this population, which provided a narrow perspective of this condition. Taking into account women's experiences of dyspareunia and the factors influencing their care-seeking behaviors would provide insight to improve care in the context of gynecological cancer. The aim of this study was to describe gynecological cancer survivors' experiences of dyspareunia and factors influencing care-seeking behavior. A qualitative study was performed with 28 gynecological cancer survivors with dyspareunia. Individual telephone interviews were conducted based on the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation. Interviews were recorded and transcribed for analysis using the interpretative description framework. Concerning their experience, participants reported the oncological treatments as the primary cause of dyspareunia. Loss of libido, lower vaginal lubrication, and smaller vaginal cavity were described as being linked with dyspareunia. Women explained how dyspareunia and these changes had led them to engage less in, and even interrupt, sexual activity. They expressed that they were distressed, felt less of a woman, and experienced low control and/or self-efficacy. Regarding the factors influencing women's care-seeking behaviors, participants emphasized that they were provided with insufficient information and support. Balancing priorities, denial or reluctance, misbeliefs, resignation and acceptance, and negative emotions were reported as barriers, whereas acknowledgement of sexual dysfunction, desire for improvement, awareness of treatment possibilities, willingness to undertake treatment and treatment acceptability were reported as facilitators to seeking care. Findings suggest that dyspareunia is a complex and impactful condition after gynecological cancer. While this study highlights the importance of alleviating the burden of sexual dysfunction in cancer survivors, it identified factors that should be considered in the provision of services to improve care.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37058221
doi: 10.1007/s10508-023-02589-4
pii: 10.1007/s10508-023-02589-4
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
2669-2681Informations de copyright
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
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