ArticleJournal of clinical nursing2025
'Silent Needs and Hidden Desires': Nurses' Perceptions of Sexual Healthcare for People With Physical and/or Intellectual Disabilities.
Article in Journal of clinical nursing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Ethical nursing strategies for ART in intellectual disability: tools and systemic pathways.Nursing ethics · 2026Article
- Social Representations of Sexual Assistance Services for People with Physical Disabilities in the Context of Portugal.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
AIM AND
objectivesTo describe nurses' perceptions of sexual healthcare for people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities.
backgroundNurses 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.
designQualitative descriptive study.
methodsThe 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.
findingsThree 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.
conclusionAccording 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.
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Registered trials
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