TITLE:
Perceptions of Nurses at Ndola Teaching Hospital towards Sexual Health Needs of People with Mental Health Problems
AUTHORS:
Alice Chambatu, Kabwe Chitundu-Mutambo, Concepta Namukolo Kwaleyela
KEYWORDS:
Sexuality, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Mental Health, Mental Health Problems, Nurses, Perceptions
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.13 No.4,
September
20,
2023
ABSTRACT: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is among the
fundamental packages of health care, which all clients seeking health care
should receive. However, it is unclear how healthcare providers, in particular,
nurses perceive the issue of people with mental problems having sexual health
needs. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of nurses at Ndola
Teaching Hospital towards sexual health needs of people with mental health
problems. A general descriptive qualitative study design was utilized and data were collected using three focus group
discussions (FGDs) that were recorded and later transcribed verbatim. Purposive
sampling was used to select 21 nurses who participated in the study. Nine were
male, while 12 were female. Each FGD comprised seven participants. Thematic
analysis was used to analyze the data, and six major themes: 1) physiological interplay among different body
systems, 2) disease process and effects of psychotropic, 3) participant
differences in age, gender, educational level, and cultural backgrounds, 4)
staff shortages in mental health units, 5) deficient record keeping, and 6)
Social stereotypes and labelling theories emerged. Despite acknowledging the
existence of sexual activity among people with mental health problems;
participants had both positive and negative perceptions. It is, therefore, recommended that interventions aimed at
strengthening implementation of SRH guidelines among nurses caring for people
with mental health problems should be put in place.