What keeps nurses from the sexual counseling of patients with heart failure?

OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the current practice of discussing sexual health by heart failure (HF) nurses, and to explore which barriers prevent nurses from discussing sexuality.

METHODS: The Nurses' Survey of Sexual Counseling of Myocardial Infarction Patients and a list of barriers were used to form a questionnaire, which was sent to all HF clinics (n = 122) in the Netherlands.

RESULTS: The majority (75%) of nurses (n = 146) felt a certain responsibility to discuss patients' sexual health. However, in practice, 61% of the nurses rarely or never addressed sexuality. Barriers that prevented nurses from addressing sexuality and that differed between nurses who do (n = 58) and do not (n = 88) discuss sexuality include a lack of organizational policy (49% vs. 79%, respectively; P <.001) and lack of training (43% vs. 80%, respectively; P <.001), and not knowing how to initiate the subject (24% vs. 72%, respectively; P <.001). Nurses preferred to address sexuality during a follow-up visit or when discussing medication.

CONCLUSIONS: Although HF nurses feel responsible for discussing sexuality, this topic is rarely addressed in clinics. Several barriers were identified, relating to personal, patient, and organizational factors.