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A new study confirms that sexual enjoyment is possible at any age: Researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System asked over 800 older women about sexual desire and satisfaction in their lives and found that although sexual activity declined with increased age, 61% of the women were satisfied with their overall sex life, regardless of partner status or sexual activity. Participants reported on a range of topics including current sexual activity, overall health, hormone use, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, and possible pain/discomfort during sexual intercourse.
Despite age frequently being cited as a cause of disinterest in sex or a potential damper on sexual enjoyment, the number of sexually satisfied study participants actually increased as age increased. Nearly half of women in their 80s even reported sexual satisfaction the majority of the time. Interestingly, in addition to the oldest women reporting the most sexual satisfaction overall, their orgasm frequencies during recent sexual activity were comparable to those of the youngest study participants!
Some participants did not report frequent sexual activity, however, but still reported that they were satisfied with their sex lives. The lead author of the study, Susan Trompeter, MD, explained, ”In this study, sexual activity was not always necessary for sexual satisfaction. Those who were not sexually active may have achieved sexual satisfaction through touching, caressing, or other intimacies developed over the course of a long relationship.” Further, 40% of the women stated that they never or almost never felt sexual desire, and one third of the sexually active women reported low sexual desire. “In contrast with traditional linear model in which desire precedes sex,” stated lead researcher Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD, ”these results suggest that women engage in sexual activity for multiple reasons, which may include affirmation or sustenance of a relationship.”
The results of this research can compel other researchers to include exploration of female sexual activity as it relates to varying forms of intimacy and closeness, sexual enjoyment, preference, and experience. The emphasis on older adult women and their overall sexual satisfaction may be helpful for women in their 50s, 60s, and beyond who are interested in maintaining an active sex life post-menopause or reintegrating sexual activity after an unexpected life event such as a cancer diagnosis that can interrupt a previously enjoyable sex life.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals (LGBT) experience differences in receipt of health care services and are sometimes denied services according to a new report. Some of the  key findings from the National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) related to health care for the LGBT population are:

• Transgender people are more likely to be uninsured and less likely to have employer-based health insurance than the general population.

• Half of transgender people postponed care when sick or injured and postponed preventive health care due to cost. Among uninsured transgender people, 88% postponed care due to cost.

• About 30% of transgender people postponed care when sick or injured and postponed preventive health care due to discrimination and disrespect by providers. Female-to-male transgender people were most likely to postpone care due to discrimination.

• One in five transgender people has been denied services by a doctor or other provider due to their gender. Racial and ethnic minority transgender people are more likely to be denied services.

Another report by the National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and  Lesbian Task Force can be accessed HERE.
 
 

Infertility is serious and often underestimated side effect of cancer treatment. Ensuring cancer patients are equipped with the necessary health information to protect and preserve their fertility in a time sensitive manner is a critical component to comprehensive cancer care. In a new article in Nursing: Research and Reviews, by Angela Jukkala, Karen Meneses, Andres Azuero, June Cho and Patrick McNees, entitled, “Development of the Knowledge of Fertility and Fertility Preservation Scale,” the authors reported on a process used to develop and examine the reliability and validity of an instrument to measure a breast cancer survivor’s self-assessed knowledge of fertility and fertility preservation.

In their study, 92 breast cancer survivors between the ages of 25-45 were asked to complete the Knowledge of Fertility and Fertility Preservation (KF) Scale as part of their participation in a larger study, the Fertility Cancer Project (FCP). The KF Scale is a new instrument designed to measure a breast cancer survivor’s self-assessed level of knowledge of fertility and fertility preservation. The content of the KF Scale was developed through a comprehensive review of the literature, researcher clinical expertise, and expert review to meet the fertility and fertility preservation knowledge needs of young breast cancer survivors. The KF Scale included 13 content areas grouped into three subscales: Treatment Factors Affecting Fertility, Infertility Information, and Alternative Parenting Options.  All items were scored on a 1–3 rating scale with 1 representing “a little”, 2 representing “some”, and 3 representing “a lot” of knowledge.

The results of the KF Scale analysis were consistent: many participants self-assessed their overall knowledge of fertility and fertility preservation as “a little” and the majority rated their knowledge for the Infertility Information subscale as “a little.” What this means is that most patients completed their chemotherapy treatment having only “a little” knowledge of cancer treatment’s impact on their fertility and only “a little” knowledge about fertility preservation options beforehand. These results suggest that more health-related communication and information about fertility impacting cancer treatment is needed prior to undergoing treatment. According to the authors, “Health care professionals providing care for young women newly diagnosed with breast cancer must be able to provide needed health information on a wide range of topics (eg, surgery, chemotherapy, fertility preservation) in a relatively short period of time.”

To ensure that patients receive quality nursing care, they need to be informed of the long-term side effects of chemotherapy, including infertility. The KF Scale could be used to develop individualized teaching plans to meet patient-specific fertility and fertility preservation health information needs. The KF Scale could also be used to examine the effectiveness of educational interventions if used before and after the intervention. Read “Development of the Knowledge of Fertility and Fertility Preservation Scale.”

In May 2012, an HBO Documentary Films series on obesity, “The Weight of the Nation,” premieres.  Make sure you view the trailer, it’s explosive!  The four-part series—Consequences, Choices, Children in Crisis, and Challenges—highlights several NIH research advances and addresses the factors contributing to the country’s obesity problem. The films are the centerpiece to a public awareness campaign, which also includes a three-part HBO Family series for kids, 12 short films, a website and social media, and a nationwide community-based outreach effort using free film discussion guides and other tools. To visit the website and see the trailer click HERE.
 
The network, in consultation with NIH and other major health organizations, developed four documentaries focused on obesity. The project also includes a three-part HBO Family series for kids, 12 short features, a social media campaign, and a nationwide community-based campaign to mobilize action to move the country to a healthier weight.
“If we don’t take the obesity epidemic seriously as individuals and as a nation, we will pay a serious price,” said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., who appears in all of the main documentaries in the series. “It’s going to take diverse and rigorous research to understand the causes of obesity and to identify interventions that work in the real world. The results from federally funded research, as seen in these documentaries, can help to prevent and treat obesity and its complications.”
More than one-third of adults in the United States and nearly 17 percent of the nation’s children are obese, which increases their chances of developing many health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, fatty liver disease, and some cancers. In 2008, the nation’s obesity-related medical costs were an estimated $147 billion.