Practices and attitudes of Israeli obstetrician-gynecologists regarding female sexual health: results from a national survey.

IF 2.6 3区 医学 Q1 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL
Sexual Medicine Pub Date : 2025-07-03 eCollection Date: 2025-06-01 DOI:10.1093/sexmed/qfaf044
Inshirah Sgayer, Yacov Reisman, Chen Nusbaum, Rola Farah-Khamisy, Ala Aiob, Lior Lowenstein
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Sexual health is an often-overlooked component of clinical care that has significant implications for patients' quality of life.

Aim: To evaluate the practices, attitudes, and barriers faced by Israeli obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) in addressing female sexual health, and to identify factors that influence engagement.

Methods: During April-December 2024, a cross-sectional survey was conducted that assessed Israeli OB-GYNs' socio-demographics, frequency of initiating discussions, perceived training adequacy, and barriers to addressing sexual health.

Outcomes: The primary outcomes were the frequency of initiating discussions on sexual health and the perceived adequacy of training in addressing sexual dysfunction.

Results: Among 504 participants, 19.1% routinely initiated discussions on sexual health, while 45.8% rarely did. Female compared to male OB-GYNs (P = 0.002), and infertility compared to other specialists (P = 0.003) were more likely to engage in these discussions. Barriers included limited clinic time (57.5%), insufficient knowledge of treatment options (48.2%), a lack of strategies for initiating discussions (27.0%), and discomfort discussing these issues (15.9%). OB-GYNs aged 60 years and older, compared to 20-29 years, and those who graduated in Israel, rather than abroad (P < 0.001 for both), were more likely to report feeling comfortable addressing sexual health topics. OB-GYNs in central Israel and Jewish participants were more likely to feel comfortable, compared to their southern and Muslim counterparts (P < 0.001 for both). Training was rated as poor or very poor by 43.2% for discussing sexual health and 60.2% for treating sexual dysfunction. Compared to their counterparts, poor training was reported by OB-GYNs under age 60 years, with degrees from abroad, and with less experience. The respective odds ratios were 2.70 (95% CI 1.47-4.96, P = 0.001), 1.799 (95% CI 1.24-2.60, P = 0.002), and 1.72 (95% CI 1.04-2.82, P = 0.033). Most respondents supported integrating sexual health education into medical curricula (69.5%) and OB-GYN residency programs (89.1%).

Clinical implications: Significant gaps in the training and practices of Israeli OB-GYNs underscore the need for enhanced education tailored to address cultural and demographic factors.

Strengths and limitations: The large, diverse sample provides valuable insights. However, the self-reported data may have introduced bias, and the cultural diversity may limit generalizability.

Conclusion: Substantial gaps were reported in the training and practices of Israeli OB-GYNs regarding female sexual health. These findings underscore the need for enhanced education and structured training programs, tailored also to address cultural and demographic factors, to improve patient care.

以色列妇产科医生对女性性健康的做法和态度:一项全国调查的结果。
背景:性健康是临床护理中一个经常被忽视的组成部分,它对患者的生活质量有着重要的影响。目的:评估以色列妇产科医生(OB-GYNs)在处理女性性健康方面的做法、态度和面临的障碍,并确定影响参与的因素。方法:在2024年4月至12月期间,进行了一项横断面调查,评估了以色列妇产科医生的社会人口统计学、发起讨论的频率、感知培训的充分性和解决性健康问题的障碍。结果:主要结果是发起性健康讨论的频率和在解决性功能障碍方面的培训的充分性。结果:在504名参与者中,19.1%的人经常发起性健康讨论,45.8%的人很少发起性健康讨论。女性与男性妇产科医生相比(P = 0.002),不孕症与其他专科医生相比(P = 0.003)更有可能参与这些讨论。障碍包括门诊时间有限(57.5%)、对治疗方案了解不足(48.2%)、缺乏发起讨论的策略(27.0%)和讨论这些问题时感到不适(15.9%)。60岁及以上的妇产科医生,与20-29岁、在以色列毕业而不是在国外毕业的人相比(P P P = 0.001),分别为1.799 (95% CI 1.24-2.60, P = 0.002)和1.72 (95% CI 1.04-2.82, P = 0.033)。大多数受访者支持将性健康教育纳入医学课程(69.5%)和妇产科住院医师培训(89.1%)。临床意义:以色列妇产科医生在培训和实践方面存在重大差距,这突出表明需要加强针对文化和人口因素的教育。优势和局限性:大而多样的样本提供了有价值的见解。然而,自我报告的数据可能会引入偏见,文化多样性可能会限制推广。结论:据报告,以色列妇产科医生在女性性健康方面的培训和实践存在很大差距。这些发现强调了加强教育和结构化培训计划的必要性,这些计划也要针对文化和人口因素量身定制,以改善患者护理。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Sexual Medicine
Sexual Medicine MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL-
CiteScore
5.40
自引率
0.00%
发文量
103
审稿时长
22 weeks
期刊介绍: Sexual Medicine is an official publication of the International Society for Sexual Medicine, and serves the field as the peer-reviewed, open access journal for rapid dissemination of multidisciplinary clinical and basic research in all areas of global sexual medicine, and particularly acts as a venue for topics of regional or sub-specialty interest. The journal is focused on issues in clinical medicine and epidemiology but also publishes basic science papers with particular relevance to specific populations. Sexual Medicine offers clinicians and researchers a rapid route to publication and the opportunity to publish in a broadly distributed and highly visible global forum. The journal publishes high quality articles from all over the world and actively seeks submissions from countries with expanding sexual medicine communities. Sexual Medicine relies on the same expert panel of editors and reviewers as The Journal of Sexual Medicine and Sexual Medicine Reviews.
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