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Bridging the gap in sexual healthcare in nursing practice: implementing a sexual healthcare training programme to improve outcomes
Author(s) -
Sung SuChing,
Jiang HueyHwa,
Chen RuRong,
Chao JianKang
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/jocn.13441
Subject(s) - health care , psychological intervention , medicine , nursing , focus group , reproductive health , exploratory research , family medicine , psychology , population , business , environmental health , marketing , economics , economic growth , sociology , anthropology
Aims and objectives This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a sexual healthcare training programme for clinical nurses, with respect to knowledge, attitudes and self‐efficacy concerning sexual healthcare. Background Inadequate sexual healthcare can result in poor treatment and quality of life for patients. Few studies have examined the development of sexual healthcare and related interventions from nurses' perspectives. Design The study included two stages involving focus groups and a quasi‐experimental design. Methods The first stage consisted of an exploratory, descriptive session to assess nurses' perceptions and educational needs concerning sexual healthcare via two focus groups ( N = 16). The second stage involved a quasi‐experimental session to evaluate the training programme, based on the results of the first stage. In total, 117 nurses were recruited from a Taiwanese hospital; the experimental group ( n = 59) completed a four‐week (16 hours) training programme, and the control group ( n = 58) did not participate in a training programme. Data were collected at four time points over 17 weeks. Longitudinal changes that occurred over time were examined using hierarchical linear models. Results The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge (β = 0·16, p < 0·01), attitude (β = 0·18, p < 0·05), and self‐efficacy (β = 0·73, p < 0·001) scores. Relative to that of the control group, the experimental group showed significantly greater improvement in knowledge (β = −0·12, p < 0·01) and attitudes regarding sexual healthcare (β = −0·25, p < 0·05), but their improvement in self‐efficacy concerning sexual healthcare was limited ( p = 0·179). Conclusions The training programme for sexual healthcare could exert positive and beneficial effects on nurses' development of knowledge regarding sexual healthcare and clarify their values and attitudes. Relevance to clinical practice The training programme could reduce challenges related to sexual healthcare issues in nursing care.