Factors influencing the quality of sexual life in the older adults: A scoping review.
Fengpei Zhang, Zhen Yang, Xuehua Li and 1 others
PMID 37128494WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults' sexual quality of life is shaped by bodily changes, stigma, health conditions, medications, partner availability, and little guidance.
Nurses can ask directly, correct myths, and offer individual sexual health education.
Key findings
01The review included 13 articles, mostly reviews, and mapped five themes: physiological factors, sociocultural factors, health factors, marital relationship, and lack of relevant knowledge.
02Physiological factors were mentioned in 11 included studies, including reduced hormone levels, arousal changes, pain, and weaker erection or ejaculation.
03Social bias and lack of sexual health knowledge made older adults reluctant to seek help, and many felt professionals lacked guidance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a scoping review, not a tested intervention, so it identifies factors rather than showing what improves sexual quality of life. Only 13 articles were included, and nine were reviews, so the evidence base is narrow. The authors did not assess the quality of the included literature. Search was limited by language and database availability, and the paper reports few studies on this topic. The text is inconsistent about the number of eligible studies, referring to both 13 articles and 14 studies in different places. The review excluded LGBT and queer older adults, so it says little about their sexual health needs.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and reported nothing to declare.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that counselling improves sexual quality of life. The review maps factors from published literature and did not test an intervention or measure patient outcomes.