Sexual functioning is often impaired in patientswith Parkinson’s disease (PD) and may affect quality oflife of patients and their spouse. However, little is knownabout the practice patterns of neurologists with regard todiscussing sexuality in this field. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate to what extent neurologistsdiscuss sexuality with PD patients. A 22-item questionnairewas sent to 139 neurologists specializing in PD. The surveycontained questions about their attitudes, knowledge, andpractice patterns with respect to sexual dysfunction (SD) inpatients with PD. The response rate of the survey was66.9%. Most participants (56.8%) stated that they addresssexuality in less than half of their PD patients. High age ofpatients (42.0%), insufficient consultation time (37.5%),and a lack of patients’ initiative to raise the topic them-selves (36.4%) were frequently reported barriers towardsdiscussing sexuality. The majority of participants consid-ered that discussing sexuality is a responsibility that laywith neurologists (85.2%), nurses (73.9%), and patients(72.7%). One quarter of the neurologists reported to haveinsufficient or no knowledge on SD. The majority of par-ticipants regarded screening for SD important or slightlyimportant (85.2%). A large proportion of Dutch neurolo-gists specializing in PD do not routinely discuss sexualitywith their PD patients. Sexual healthcare in PD patientsmay benefit from time-efficient tools and agreements onwho is responsible for discussing SD. Furthermore, rec-ommendations in PD guidelines on screening and manag-ing SD should be adapted to fit everyday practicehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC BY 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Many healthcare professionals experience difficulties in discussing sexual health with their patients. The aim of this review was to synthesize results of studies on communication practices in interactions about sexual health in medical settings, to offer healthcare professionals suggestions on how to communicate about this topic. Veel zorgprofessionals ervaren problemen bij het bespreken van seksuele gezondheid met hun patiënten. Het doel van deze review was een synthese te presenteren van studies naar communicatiepraktijken in interactie over seksuele gezondheid in medische settings, om zorgprofessionals handreikingen te bieden voor communicatie over dit thema.
