Effectiveness of a self-instructional module in human sexuality counseling

The nursing profession has begun to address the issue of sexual health counseling by nurses, thus moving toward the goal of providing holistic patient care. Since the professional preparation of the nurse as a sexual health teacher and counselor requires substantive changes in existing nursing curricula, some nursing educators and practitioners have initiated efforts to determine appropriate educational experiences for nurses. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a self-instructional module developed by the investigator to prepare nursing students for dealing with the sexuality concerns of male myocardial infarction patients. Using a pretest-posttest control group design, the evaluation was carried out through field testing of the module on a convenience sample of 161 nursing students in four baccalaureate programs in the United States. Field testing consisted of administration of the module, together with pre-posttesting of subjects on a knowledge inventory and a behavioral intensions/comfort inventory. Following administration of the module, experimental subjects' scores indicated significant increases in knowledge of sexuality counseling of MI patients (p less than .001) and comfort in dealing with patients' sexuality concerns (p less than .001).