Relationship between nurse counseling and sexual adjustment after hysterectomy

The relationship between nurse counseling of hysterectomy patients and sexual adjustment following surgery was the focus of this descriptive study. Of 108 premenopausal women admitted to seven hospitals in California, New Mexico, and Utah who completed a series of questionnaires preoperatively, postoperatively, and eight weeks post-surgery, only 11 percent identified the nurse as the person who supplied the most valuable information. Self-reported sexual adjustment following surgery was significantly (p=.001) related to their presurgical pattern. Almost half the respondents wrote comments urging nurses to initiate discussion about the effect of hysterectomy on sexuality.