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A Survey of Latin American Rehabilitation Professionals on Addressing Sexuality-Related Concerns After Spinal Cord Injury

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Abstract

To examine rehabilitation professionals’ training and education, attitudes, beliefs or misconceptions, and assessment of issues related to sexuality in individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and their romantic partners. 318 healthcare professionals from Latin America (LA) who worked with individuals with SCI completed an online survey. 99.0% affirmed that sexuality is an issue that should be addressed during the rehabilitation of people with SCI. 86.0% reported being asked questions about sexuality after SCI by their patients and/or their partners, but only 33.2% of the professionals affirmed that it was very likely for them to initiate a conversation about the topic. Only 35.4% reported discussing sexuality issues with patients and their partners as a regular practice; further, 61.5% of the sample reported not being prepared at a scientific, therapeutic, and/or educational level to be able to advise people with SCI in the area of sexuality. 95.9% indicated they would be interested in attending courses, seminars, or conferences tailored to the topic of sexuality after SCI. Participants agreed nearly unanimously (96.8%) that it would be easier to discuss sexuality with people with SCI and their partners if they had more training on this topic, which they believed should have been received during their undergraduate (63.5%) and advanced (34.9%) studies. Findings provide insight into the way sexuality is addressed and attended to in the field of rehabilitation in LA and inform initiatives to improve the provision of care in the realm of sexuality for individuals after SCI.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Melissa M. Ertl was supported by Award Number T32 MH019139 (Principal Investigator, Theodorus Sandfort, Ph.D.) from the National Institute of Mental Health. The content of this work is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institutes of Health. Daniela Ramos Usuga was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the Basque Government (PRE_2019_1_0164).

Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clínica UNER, Alicante, España

    Melina Longoni Di Giusto

  2. ReDel Rehabilitation Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Melina Longoni Di Giusto

  3. Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina

    Melina Longoni Di Giusto

  4. Department of Psychiatry HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY, New York, USA

    Melissa M. Ertl

  5. Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain

    Daniela Ramos-Usuga & Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla

  6. Biomedical Research Doctorate Program, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain

    Daniela Ramos-Usuga

  7. Albizu University-Miami Campus, Miami, USA

    Denise Carballea

  8. Fundación Neurodiversidad, Rosario, Argentina

    Mariela Degano

  9. Departments of Psychology and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

    Paul B. Perrin

  10. IKERBASQUE. Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain

    Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla

  11. Department of Cell Biology and Histology, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain

    Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla

Authors
  1. Melina Longoni Di Giusto
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  2. Melissa M. Ertl
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  3. Daniela Ramos-Usuga
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  4. Denise Carballea
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  5. Mariela Degano
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  6. Paul B. Perrin
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  7. Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
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Contributions

The study conception and design were performed by J. C. A. L, M. L, and M. D. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by J. C. A. L, M. L, and D. R. U. The first draft of the manuscript was written by all authors and the review and edition of the final manuscript was performed by J. C. (A) L, M. L and P. (B) P. The supervision of the study was performed by J. (C) A. L. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla.

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All participants signed the informed consent before participating in the study.

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Longoni Di Giusto, M., Ertl, M.M., Ramos-Usuga, D. et al. A Survey of Latin American Rehabilitation Professionals on Addressing Sexuality-Related Concerns After Spinal Cord Injury. Sex Disabil 40, 439–459 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-022-09735-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-022-09735-1

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