Sexual issues in people with haemophilia: Awareness and strategies for overcoming communication barriers.

Introduction: The Haemophilia Experiences, Results and Opportunities (HERO) Study identified sexual health as an important psychosocial issue affecting people with haemophilia (PWH) worldwide. However, sexual health is inadequately addressed at haemophilia treatment centres (HTCs), because PWH and healthcare professionals (HCPs) experience barriers to broaching the subject. There is a clear need for HCP training to support communication in this area and improve comprehensive care.

Hemophilia and sexual health: results from the HERO and B-HERO-S studies.

Background: Sexual health plays a primary role in quality of life (QoL) for many people, including those with hemophilia; however, there is little information available about sexual relationships and satisfaction in patients with hemophilia.

Methods: To address this issue, the Hemophilia Experiences, Results and Opportunities (HERO) and the Bridging Hemophilia B Experiences, Results and Opportunities into Solutions (B-HERO-S) studies included questions from the Male Sexual Health Questionnaire (MSHQ).

Results: Although these data were not statistically analyzed for comparisons between the 3 populations (HERO, HERO US only, and B-HERO-S), in general, participants in the HERO survey appeared to be more satisfied with their sexual relationship than participants in the B-HERO-S survey.