A Systematic Review on Psychological Interventions for Sexual Health in Older Age

Priscila Vasconcelos; Rodolfo Gomez Ponce de Leon; Suzanne J Serruya; Bruna Carneiro; Catarina Nóbrega; Raquel Pereira; Ana Quinta Gomes; Maria Constança Paúl; Pedro J Nobre

doi:10.1080/19317611.2023.2215766

A Systematic Review on Psychological Interventions for Sexual Health in Older Age

Int J Sex Health. 2023 May 30;35(3):399-413. doi: 10.1080/19317611.2023.2215766. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Priscila Vasconcelos¹, Rodolfo Gomez Ponce de Leon², Suzanne J Serruya², Bruna Carneiro¹, Catarina Nóbrega¹, Raquel Pereira¹, Ana Quinta Gomes¹, Maria Constança Paúl³, Pedro J Nobre¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
² Centro Latinoamericano de Perinatología, Salud de la Mujer y Reproductiva (CLAP-SMR/OPS-OMS), Montevideo,Uruguay.
³ ICBAS, University of Porto, Portugal, Porto, Portugal.

Abstract

Objectives: The present review aims to identify the existing evidence on outcome-treatment studies of psychological sexual health interventions in older age.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted for studies published until October 2022. Data search was conducted on EBSCO, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases.

Results: From 30,840 screened records, 12 reports were selected. Results were grouped into four categories according to the intervention that was implemented.

Conclusions: Despite results presenting some bias concerns, this review suggests that educational and cognitive-behavioral approaches seem to be effective for promoting sexual health in older age.

Keywords: Psychological intervention; evidence-based; older age; sexual health; sexuality.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a grant from FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia e Ensino Superior [SFRH/BD/146503/2019] and the grant from the Active & Assisted Living Joint Programme (AAL) [grant number AAL/0005/2020].