Table 2 Thematic framework of the data generated with the participants
From: How do nurses and midwives perceive their role in sexual healthcare?
Theme | Sub-themes | Codes |
|---|---|---|
Perceptions of sexuality | Value of sexual life | When it is healthy/good, everything is healthy/good |
Male sexual leadership | Women in the Arab world do not orgasm | |
Poor sexual education | We receive couples who know nothing about the genital anatomy and how to have penetrative sex … the problem relates to the absence of proper sexual education | |
Initiating the discussion about the individuals’ sexual issues | Establishing a suitable relation | … you initiated the conversation… you allowed the patient to talk… |
Trigger the patients to talk | Every day during my morning rounds, I interview every patient and ask him/her about his/her concerns. Otherwise, the patient does not talk… | |
Muting the discussion around the individuals’ sexual issues | Sexual healthcare is not part of the culture | We learned in our upbringing that the topic is intimate. That is why we have not yet reached the point where we can easily approach it or consider it a concern like other topics |
Lack of knowledge | We were not informed in our childhood and when we got older and we did not learn… I can’t do it… | |
Taboo | I answer if I am asked. But to do it by myself! No | |
Not a priority for ill patients | Of course, yes; not easy on her; losing the breast! Of course it is even traumatising. But still, there are issues more vital. Does she care [about sex] while her life is threatened? | |
Coping with embarrassment | Delegating sexual healthcare | I am sure that he is better [the physician]… these issues, too complicated… He knows, he knows things well, he is familiar with the couples… |
Avoiding sexual healthcare | For my part, I am shy. If I ask her, she will notice my perplexity. For us also, the subject is taboo | |
Promoting nurses' and midwives' role in sexual healthcare | Suggestions to deal with the barriers | Personal, educational, professional, and social |