Sexuality in early childhood: pediatric nurses' attitudes, knowledge, and clinical practice

This exploratory study assessed pediatric nurses' attitudes, knowledge, and patient care practices related to the sexuality of hospitalized preschool and early school-age children. Sexuality was defined as the sum of the physical, emotional, and psychologic attributes that are expressed in gender identity and behavior. For this study, a questionnaire containing 24 attitude, 20 knowledge, and 29 nursing practice Likert-scale items was used to survey 45 pediatric nurses in a southeastern tertiary care teaching hospital. Results indicated that, in general, the nurses surveyed had positive attitudes, sound knowledge, and appropriate practice with regard to the sexuality-related needs of their patients. However, there appeared to be some attitudinal biases and knowledge gaps that could adversely affect nursing practice. These findings were used to alter the content in pediatric nursing education at the study institution.