Let's talk about sex
Posted on 17 November 2015
Health workers are surprisingly reluctant to talk about sexual dysfunction with clients who have both mental health and substance use problems.
However the clients themselves actively want to talk about the issues, according to research carried out by Department of Health Sciences’ mental health lecturers Ian Hamilton and Rose Havelock in conjunction with Dr Steve Hemingway, from the University of Huddersfield.
Ian said: “Sexual functioning is an important aspect of quality of life, however many healthcare workers avoid asking patients about it, despite most patients wanting to discuss the issue.”
Some people are likely to combine prescribed drugs with recreational ones. This can produce an interaction between both compounds. For example combining cannabis and fluoxetine (Prozac) can increase libido while mixing diazepam with lithium can cause erectile dysfunction.
There are a number of reasons why health workers may be reluctant to talk about sexual dysfunction: they can feel embarrassed about raising the topic, fear such questions are too intrusive or they don’t realise sexual functioning can be affected by drug use.
Interestingly patients want to talk about this issue. They don’t even view gender as a barrier. So a female patient wouldn’t be put off discussing her concerns with a male doctor.
“Exposure to drug-drug interactions is largely preventable so there is a real opportunity to minimise the effect these interactions have on a person. Healthcare workers must overcome their reluctance in discussing sexual functioning and initiate such conversations,” Ian continued.
“Optimal sexual functioning should not be viewed as a luxury for patients, it is a basic right. Silence is not an option. We need to start talking about sex.”
To view the article visit http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09687637.2015.1090398.