“I DO NOT FEEL CONFIDENT AND UNCOMFORTABLE DISCUSSING PATIENTS’ SEXUALITY CONCERNS”: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF INDONESIAN NURSES’ EXPERIENCES IN DISCUSSING SEXUALITY WITH PATIENTS

Abstract

“I DO NOT FEEL CONFIDENT AND UNCOMFORTABLE DISCUSSING PATIENTS’ SEXUALITY CONCERNS”: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF INDONESIAN NURSES’ EXPERIENCES IN DISCUSSING SEXUALITY WITH PATIENTS Hayuni Rahmah, Yati Afiyanti* , Imami Nur Rachmawati, Titin Ungsianik, Tri Budiati, Wiwit Kurniawati Faculty of Nursing Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424, Indonesia *E-mail: yatikris@ui.ac.id Abstract Despite the increasing complexity of the tasks and responsibilities in providing nursing care to patients, many Indonesian nurses may not possess adequate knowledge and skills to discuss sexuality with their patients. The purpose of this study is to explore the experience of Indonesian nurses in providing nursing care to patients regarding sexual problems. This research adopted a descriptive qualitative design to explore the experiences of Indonesian nurses in solving their patient’s sexual problems. Ten nurses working in a general hospital in Indonesia participated in this work. These nurses were interviewed extensively, and the data were transcribed and analyzed thematically. Four main themes were identified in this study: (1) Nurses believe that discussing a patient's sexual problems as part of their professional responsibility, (2) discomfort and embarrassments are barriers to providing adequate solutions to help resolve a patient's sexual problems, (3) nurses assume that most patients are not interested in discussing sexual problems because of illness, and (4) nurses do not have the confidence to discuss the patient's sexual problems. The findings of this study confirm that many nurses feel hesitant and uncomfortable when addressing patients' sexual problems. Thus, Indonesian nurses require more training related to providing nursing care to patients with sexual problems. Keywords: descriptive qualitative, Indonesian nurses, sexual care, sexual problem