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Prosthetic and orthotic students' attitudes toward addressing sexual health in their future profession
Kristina Areskoug-Josefsson1, Fredrik Thidell2, Bo Rolander3
11 Jönköping Academy for Improvement of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden.
Background::
Prosthetists and orthotists have a responsibility to direct treatment toward enabling their clients to perform desired activities and to facilitate participation of their clients in all areas of life. This may include provision of assistive technologies to help clients meet goals related to participation in sexual activities. To help prosthetic and orthotic students develop competencies in dealing with the sexual health of their future clients, it is necessary to generate knowledge of their own perceived competence and capacity.
Objectives::
To explore prosthetic and orthotic students' attitudes and competence toward working with sexual health and to evaluate reliability and validity of the Students' Attitudes Towards Addressing Sexual Health questionnaire.
Study Design::
Cross-sectional study.
Methods::
Students enrolled in all three years of an undergraduate prosthetic and orthotic program were requested to complete the Students' Attitudes Towards Addressing Sexual Health questionnaire ( n = 65). Reliability and validity were evaluated using the content validity index and Cronbach's alpha.
Results::
Students felt unprepared to talk about sexual health with future clients and thought that they would be embarrassed if they raised the issue. No differences were identified between students enrolled in each of the three years of the program and few differences were observed between male and female students. The content validity index values were low but improved as the students' level of education increased. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was acceptable ( α = 0.86).
Conclusion::
Prosthetic and orthotic students are unprepared to address sexual health issues with their future clients. There is a need to provide students with training related to sexual health issues.
Clinical Relevance:
This study indicates the need for additional education of prosthetic and orthotic students in issues related to sexual health and how to address sexual health issues with clients. Results can be used to develop training programs for students and will serve to improve the sexual health of individuals who receive prosthetic and orthotic services.