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Current Considerations in Interventions to Address Sexual Function and Improve Care for Women with Cancer
Catherine Benedict1,2, Kelly M Shaffer3, Megan R Wirtz4
1Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Current Sexual Health Reports
|April 7, 2025
Summary
Recent behavioral interventions show promise for improving sexual health in women with cancer. These include better patient-provider communication, tailored psychosocial support, and couple-based approaches, with technology playing an increasing role.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Sexual Health
- Behavioral Interventions
Background:
- Sexual dysfunction is a common and complex issue for women following cancer treatment.
- Addressing sexual health concerns is crucial for improving quality of life in cancer survivors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent (past 5 years) behavioral interventions for improving sexual health in women with cancer.
- Focus on patient-provider communication, women-specific psychosocial interventions, and couple-based approaches.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of literature published within the last five years.
- Analysis of interventions in three key areas: communication, psychosocial support, and couple-based strategies.
Main Results:
- Growing efforts in facilitating clinical communication about sexual health.
- Demonstrated feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of psychosocial interventions, with a rise in technology-based approaches.
- Couple-based interventions continue to show positive effects on patients, partners, and relationship functioning.
Conclusions:
- Recent interventions offer benefits for addressing sexual concerns in women with cancer.
- Limitations include small sample sizes and lack of population-specific tailoring.
- Future directions emphasize leveraging digital health strategies for optimized and individualized delivery.
Keywords:
CancerPatient–provider communicationPsycho-oncologySexual functionSexual healthWomen’s healthMore Related Videos
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