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The Effectiveness of ‘Good-Enough Sex Model’ on Sexual Satisfaction and Sexual Intimacy in Women with Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Trail

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Abstract

Most women with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) suffer from disrupted sexual satisfaction and sexual intimacy. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored education using the Good-Enough Sex Model (GESM) to enhance the sexual satisfaction and intimacy of women with MS. A parallel randomized trial conducted on a sample of 80 women with a confirmed MS diagnosis in Tehran, Iran. Samples equally were assigned to the intervention and control groups. Accordingly, the intervention group received the educational program in three 90-min sessions. The control group did not receive any education. We used the Index of Sexual Satisfaction and the Sexual Intimacy Scale for collecting data before and one month after the intervention. To analyze the data, independent and paired t-test, Mann–Whitney and Fisher’s exact test were applied. The intervention and control groups were similar in demographic and clinical characteristics. The mean age of women in the intervention and control group was 38.35 ± 5.57 and 36.15 ± 6.79 years, respectively (p = 0.12). Before the intervention, there was no significant difference in sexual satisfaction and sexual intimacy between the two groups. After the implementation of the GESM education, there was a significant difference between the two groups in sexual satisfaction and sexual intimacy (p = 0.001). The findings showed that the Good-Enough Sex Model is an appropriate educational program for improved sexual satisfaction and sexual intimacy in women who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis.

Trial registration: IRCT20150128020854N6. Registered 12 August 2019, https://en.irct.ir/user/trial/38583/view.

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Data availability

The data is available from the corresponding author on a reasonable request.

Abbreviations

MS:

Multiple Sclerosis

GESM:

Good-Enough Sex Model

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to extend their gratitude to Nursing and Midwifery Faculty of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, MS society and all the participants who provided us with their sex life information.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Students Research Office, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Fatemeh Jamalianfar

  2. Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hedyeh Riazi

  3. Department of Psychology, School of Psychology and Social Sciences, Islamic Azad University Roudehen Branch, Tehran, Iran

    Armin Firoozi

  4. Department of Biostatics, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Malihe Nasiri

  5. Population Health Research Group, Health Metrics Research Center, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Montazeri

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  1. Fatemeh Jamalianfar
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Contributions

FJ collected the data. HR designed the study and supervised it. AF was involved in data interpretation. MN participated in data analysis. AM contributed to analysis and provided the final draft.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hedyeh Riazi.

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

The ethics committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences approved the study (IR.SBMU.PHARMACY.REC.1397, 180). All participants signed written informed consent form after explaining the objectives of the study and ensuring the confidentiality of data for them. At the end of the study, the control group received the educational intervention, as well.

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Jamalianfar, F., Riazi, H., Firoozi, A. et al. The Effectiveness of ‘Good-Enough Sex Model’ on Sexual Satisfaction and Sexual Intimacy in Women with Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Trail. Sex Disabil 39, 507–519 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-021-09691-2

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