Sexual experiences and information needs among patients with prostate cancer: a qualitative study

Less is known about the sexual life and information seeking of Chinese patients with prostate cancer (PCa) after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) treatment.

To identify the experiences of sex and information needs among Chinese patients with PCa after ADT treatment.

This qualitative study included 15 Chinese patients with PCa in urology inpatient wards, selected via a purposive sampling method. Semistructured interviews were conducted face-to-face or by telephone regarding sexual experiences and information needs after ADT treatment.

Themes and subthemes were assessed among patients with PCa.

Two themes and 5 subthemes emerged from the interview data. The first theme was "altered sexual life and attitude" with 3 subthemes: (1) undesirable sexual function and altered sexuality, (2) sexual attitudes and sociocultural cognition, and (3) behavior adjustment and intimacy. The second theme was "scarce information sources" with 2 subthemes: (1) uncertainty and lack of information support and (2) barriers to access sexual information.

The present findings suggest that the following may help patients with PCa manage treatment and develop appropriate sexual attitudes: a tailored sexual health education program, well-equipped consultations rooms, and information delivery innovations.

Strengths of this study included adding unique evidence among patients with PCa within an Asian context to reveal the understudied topic of sexual health and information needs after ADT treatment. This study was limited in being representative of all Chinese patients with PCa, with different marital statuses, treatment therapies, sexual orientations, and barriers of information seeking.

Sexual life and attitude among patients with PCa were affected by their sociocultural cognition and ADT treatment, and most patients received insufficient information and sexual health education from health care providers.