Sexual difficulties, distress and dysfunction among women with refugee background in Australia.

Objective: This study aimed to document the prevalence of sexual difficulties, sexually-related personal distress, sexual dysfunction and associated factors among refugee women in Australia.

Method: The cross-sectional study included refugee women aged 18-63 years. Sexual difficulties were defined as selecting 'always' or 'very often' on the Profile of Female Sexual Function, while distress was a score of at least 11 on the Female Sexual Distress Scale - Revised. Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) combined these scores. Participants also completed the Woman Abuse Screening Tool and the Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms questionnaire.

Results: Among 299 participants (median age 41 years), sexual difficulties, sexually-related personal distress and FSD were present in 39.3%, 33.2% and 7.0%, respectively. Perimenopausal/postmenopausal status (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4-5.6, p = 0.003) and sexual activity (aOR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1-0.4, p < 0.001) predicted sexual difficulties. Intimate partner abuse (aOR = 5.9, 95% CI: 2.4-14.5, p < 0.001) and urinary incontinence (aOR = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.5-13.0, p = 0.006) were associated with sexually-related personal distress.

Conclusion: Perimenopausal/postmenopausal status and sexual inactivity were associated with sexual difficulties, while intimate partner abuse and urinary incontinence were associated with sexually-related distress, highlighting the importance of proactive screening for psychosocial and physical health issues in sexual health assessments among refugee women.