'Silent Needs and Hidden Desires': Nurses' Perceptions of Sexual Healthcare for People With Physical And/or Intellectual Disabilities

Aim And Objectives: To describe nurses' perceptions of sexual healthcare for people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities.

Background: Nurses are responsible for meeting the fundamental needs of people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities, yet there are still issues when it comes to their sexuality. Sexual assistants can help people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities to meet their sexual needs, but little is known about these invisible, unregulated care providers.

Design: Qualitative descriptive study.

Methods: The study was conducted in a region of southern Spain. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 22 nurses aged 23-41 years, who had provided care to people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities. The participants' experiences were explored through semi-structured interviews conducted between November 2022 and May 2023.

Findings: Three main themes were extracted from the data analysis: (1) the need to increase the visibility of people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities sexuality, (2) sexual assistance: a conspiracy of silence and (3) defining the role of sexual assistants.

Conclusion: According to the nurses, sexual assistants are still unregulated care providers who carry out their work in anonymity. Sexual assistants support people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities in the whole spectrum of their sexuality; in addition to sexual pleasure, they provide opportunities for bonding, affection, physical contact, stimulation or caressing. Nurses are committed to normalising the role of sexual assistants and regulating their services within a sound legal framework. Health professionals need to include specific training on sexual assistance in their training programmes.

Relevance To Clinical Practice: Understanding how nurses perceive the sexual needs of people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities, as well as the role of sexual assistants, who could improve this group of people's quality of life by providing them care in different healthcare settings. No Patient or Public Contribution.