Sexual experiences and information needs among patients with prostate cancer: a qualitative study

Zhou Haining; Zhang Xiaoli; Zhu Jiping; Zhang Beibei; Meng Ping; Guo Yunfei

doi:10.1093/sexmed/qfae019

Sexual experiences and information needs among patients with prostate cancer: a qualitative study

Sex Med. 2024 Apr 8;12(2):qfae019. doi: 10.1093/sexmed/qfae019. eCollection 2024 Apr.

Authors

Zhou Haining¹, Zhang Xiaoli¹, Zhu Jiping¹, Zhang Beibei¹, Meng Ping², Guo Yunfei³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450000China.
² Department of Andrology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450000China.
³ Emergency Medicine Department, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450000China.

Abstract

Background: Less is known about the sexual life and information seeking of Chinese patients with prostate cancer (PCa) after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) treatment.

Aim: To identify the experiences of sex and information needs among Chinese patients with PCa after ADT treatment.

Methods: This qualitative study included 15 Chinese patients with PCa in urology inpatient wards, selected via a purposive sampling method. Semistructured interviews were conducted face-to-face or by telephone regarding sexual experiences and information needs after ADT treatment.

Outcomes: Themes and subthemes were assessed among patients with PCa.

Results: Two themes and 5 subthemes emerged from the interview data. The first theme was "altered sexual life and attitude" with 3 subthemes: (1) undesirable sexual function and altered sexuality, (2) sexual attitudes and sociocultural cognition, and (3) behavior adjustment and intimacy. The second theme was "scarce information sources" with 2 subthemes: (1) uncertainty and lack of information support and (2) barriers to access sexual information.

Clinical implications: The present findings suggest that the following may help patients with PCa manage treatment and develop appropriate sexual attitudes: a tailored sexual health education program, well-equipped consultations rooms, and information delivery innovations.

Strengths and limitations: Strengths of this study included adding unique evidence among patients with PCa within an Asian context to reveal the understudied topic of sexual health and information needs after ADT treatment. This study was limited in being representative of all Chinese patients with PCa, with different marital statuses, treatment therapies, sexual orientations, and barriers of information seeking.

Conclusion: Sexual life and attitude among patients with PCa were affected by their sociocultural cognition and ADT treatment, and most patients received insufficient information and sexual health education from health care providers.

Keywords: Chinese; information seeking; prostate cancer; sexual experiences.