The Effect of 8-week Mindfulness Counseling on Sexual Self-efficacy of Women Suffering from Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Iran

Background And Aims: Sexual self-efficacy refers to a woman's belief that she can be sexually active and attractive for her sexual partner and has acceptable sexual function. One of the issues that may negatively affect sexual self-efficacy is HIV infection. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of 8 weeks of counseling based on mindfulness on sexual self-efficacy of women affected with HIV.

Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial involving 62 HIV-positive women in their reproductive age. Women in the intervention group were further divided into four groups. Each group received eight sessions of counseling based on mindfulness, while the control group received no intervention. A demographic questionnaire and sexual self-efficacy questionnaire were used to collect the data. The independent test, , and repeated measure tests were used to analyze the data.

Results: The mean change of total score of sexual self-efficacy in Week 8 compared with before intervention was 37.04 (95% CI: 31.38-42.70,  < 0001) and in Week 12 compared with before intervention was 36.97 (95% CI: 31.59-42.34,  < 0.0001), while in the control group, it almost remained unchanged. The score of readiness for sexual relationship, sexual self-stimulation, intimacy without sexual intercourse, and orgasm improved significantly 8 and 12 weeks after intervention ( < 0.0001), whereas no significant differences were observed in these dimensions in the control group.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that 8 weeks of counseling based on mindfulness could significantly improve all dimensions of sexual self-efficacy and its total score in women affected with HIV. Thus, this method of counseling is recommended for HIV-positive women.