Nurses' attitudes toward addressing sexual health in their professional practice within cancer care: a Danish cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate Danish nurses specializing in cancer care in terms of their attitudes toward addressing sexual health in their professional practice.

Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted in June-August 2024 among Danish registered nurses working in cancer care. The validated Health Professionals' Attitudes Towards Addressing Sexual Health (PA-SH-D) questionnaire was used to assess attitudes across four domains: comfort, patient encounters, colleagues, and education. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression.

Results: A total of 538 nurses completed the survey. Most respondents were female (97.6%) with a mean age of 45.9 years and an average seniority of 18.8 years. The nurses felt comfortable, to some extent, about informing (37.8%), initiating (44.1), and discussing (45%) sexual health issues with patients, although around half of the nurses (45.3%) would not set aside time to deal with sexual health issues. Knowledge about where to seek information and to participate in sexual health training in the past year was significantly associated with higher total PA-SH-D scores (respectively p < 0.001 and p < 0.05). Seniority was positively associated with preparedness (β = 0.18 per year, p < 0.05). Cultural sensitivities, patient discomfort, and lack of time were frequently addressed as barriers.

Conclusion: While many Danish oncology and hematology nurses report feeling comfortable discussing sexual health, significant barriers remain. Training and access to relevant resources are associated with greater perceived preparedness. Our findings highlight a critical need for ongoing education and institutional support to integrate sexual health as a standard component of oncology and hematology nursing care.