Relationship between Nurses’ Sexual Self-Concept and Performance of Sexual Health Care among Inpatients in South Rift, Kenya

Abstract

Context: Sexual health is an essential component of human health and wellness, encompassing not only physical but also emotional and psychosocial well-being related to sexuality. This domain of life among hospitalized patients has, however, received little attention from health workers globally, with existing gaps between patients' care needs and sexual health services provided by nurses.

Aim: This study determined the relationship between nurses’ sexual self-concept and performance of sexual health care among inpatients in the South Rift, Kenya.

Methods: This study employed an analytical cross-sectional design, utilizing a self-administered questionnaire that was adapted to suit the study's aim. The study involved 171 nurses, drawn from a sample of 300 nurses working in medical and surgical units of level four and five hospitals in two counties.

Results: The results showed that 65.5% of nurses had satisfactory performance in implementing sexual healthcare. Nurses' sexual self-concepts had a strong bearing on the performance of sexual health care (p-value =0.021; R Square=0.586)

Conclusion: Nurses performed fairly in providing sexual health care services; however, there existed significant gaps related to nurses' sexual self-concept characteristics. A significant relationship was revealed between nurses’ self-concept and their performance of sexual health care. The study recommends that hospitals adopt guidelines to support the incorporation of sexual health care in every patient's routine care protocols in all clinical settings, and sexual health content should be expanded in nursing training curricular.