The role of professionals and service providers in supporting sexuality and intimacy in later life: theoretical and practice perspectives

The transformation of intimacy and sexuality within care institutions is challenging established views about ageing. This chapter draws on scholarship from both sexuality and workforce development on how health and social care providers have yet to respond to the growing empirical evidence on what contributes a meaningful life for older care recipients in relation to their sexuality, sexual identities and meeting sexual needs. It is argued that there is an urgent need to transcend established views about the role of all professionals involved in the provision of care to people in later life and to recognise new opportunities for responding to the complexity of sexuality in such contexts.  This involves developing and promoting professional practice on theoretical and empirical standpoints that are inclusive of older people’s own voices. This chapter provides example of how we might recognise the complexity of older peoples’ relationship situations. These involve making spaces within assessment and the provision of care to enable information and support to be available and to recognise different relationships and creating conditions for them to flourish. It calls for engaging with sexuality as a topic within professional education, care practices and evaluation of services and working towards a culturally-competent, enquiring and authentic approach to workforce development.