Sexual Health, sexuality and sexual intimacy in patients with head and neck cancer - A narrative review.

Sexuality and sexual intimacy are important aspects of cancer survivorship. In head and neck cancer (HNC), concerns around sexual health, sexuality and sexual intimacy are infrequently raised or addressed in standard HNC consultations, either before embarking on treatment or during survivorship. The changing demographic of HNC patients, largely due to the increasing proportion of patients with human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPVOPSCC), has driven renewed interest in some specific survivorship issues, including sexual behaviours and lifestyles, which may account for both the primary mode of HPV transmission and the younger and less comorbid population affected by this disease.

Conceptualizations and Limitations of STEM Literacy across Learning Theories.

The concept of literacy is relevant in many areas of life, both inside and out of the classroom. With science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) being fast-growing fields, STEM literacy in particular holds an important place in today's education system and beyond. While there is not a single definition for STEM literacy, it is impacted by possible assumptions educators make about students and the learning process.

A Pandemic Crash Course: Learning to Teach Equitably in Synchronous Online Classes.

This article describes an equity-focused professional learning community that used the EQUIP observation protocol to provide data analytics to instructors. The learning community met during Spring 2020, and due to the global coronavirus pandemic, it moved online midsemester. This article describes patterns of student participation and how they were impacted in moving online.

Medical Student Schwartz Rounds: A Powerful Medium for Medical Student Reflective Practice.

Purpose: Reflection is a core component of good medical practice and of growing importance given increasing rates of burnout in the field of medicine. Schwartz Rounds (SRs) are a group-based model of reflective practice. This study explored the utility of student-specific Schwartz Rounds as a medium for reflective practice amongst medical students entering their first year of clinical attachments, and how effective these are compared to standard organisation-wide Schwartz Rounds.

A practice model of sexuality nursing care: a concept mapping approach.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to develop a practice model to enhance the provision of sexuality nursing care for patients with gynaecological cancers.

Methods: A concept mapping approach with three phases was adopted, with phase I involving individual interviews, phase II producing a concept map, and phase III evaluating the applicability of the concept map to clinical practice. A sample of 80 participants, consisting of patients with gynaecological cancers, their spouses/partners, and registered nurses and physicians, was recruited from the gynaecological oncology unit of two acute hospitals in Hong Kong.

Sexual Morbidity Assessment in Gyne-Oncology Follow-Up: Development of the Sexual Well-Being After Cervical or Endometrial Cancer (SWELL-CE) Patient-Reported Outcome Measure.

Background: Clinical assessment and management of sexual difficulties after gynecological cancer remain a neglected aspect of women's rehabilitation.

Aim: To develop and validate a patient-reported outcome measure of sexual well-being for women experiencing sexual consequences of cervical and endometrial cancer treatment for use in routine follow-up.

Methods: This is a sequential mixed method study comprising (i) in-depth qualitative interviews (n=21 of 118) to generate items regarding sexual consequences of cervical or endometrial cancer and treatment; (ii) questionnaire construction with 51 core items (all respondents) and 4 subsections (18-58 items), depending on the relationship status and whether or not participants were sexually active (SA/NSA); (iii) item refinement following cognitive debriefing (n=13 of 21); (iv) validation of resultant items via postal survey (n=788 women) and Rasch analysis; and (v) creation of brief (14-item) clinical screener.

Sexual health and well-being in later life.

Sexual health in later life is becoming increasingly important as more people are reaching older age and are remaining sexually active well into their seventies and beyond. Alongside this, as more older people seek new relationships following partner death or divorce, the rates of newly diagnosed sexually transmitted infections are increasing markedly. This article focuses on sexual health and well-being.

Management of erectile dysfunction after prostate cancer treatment: cross-sectional surveys of the perceptions and experiences of patients and healthcare professionals in the UK.

Objectives: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is known to be a common consequence of radical treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) but is often under-reported and undertreated. This study aimed to explore how ED in patients with PCa is managed in real-life clinical practice, from the perspective of patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Design And Setting: This is a UK-wide cross-sectional survey of men with ED after treatment for PCa which covered assessment and discussion of erectile function, provision of supportive care and satisfaction with management.

Sexuality and cancer: The experience of adolescents and young adults.

There are many components affecting the experience of sexuality for adolescents and young adults living with and beyond cancer. For patients, the interruption to normal socialization creates gaps in information and experience that potentially hinder development. In clinical practice, conversations relating to sexual consequences of illness or treatment are rare, as are age-appropriate assessment and intervention.

A Web-Based Intervention to Reduce Distress After Prostate Cancer Treatment: Development and Feasibility of the Getting Down to Coping Program in Two Different Clinical Settings.

Background: Distress after prostate cancer treatment is a substantial burden for up to one-third of men diagnosed. Physical and emotional symptoms and health service use can intensify, yet men are reticent to accept support. To provide accessible support that can be cost effectively integrated into care pathways, we developed a unique, Web-based, self-guided, cognitive-behavior program incorporating filmed and interactive peer support.

Co-constructing sexual recovery after prostate cancer: a qualitative study with couples.

Background: Men are likely to experience deterioration in sexual functioning as a consequence of treatment for prostate cancer. Indeed, sexual difficulties are common across all treatment modalities.

Objective: To determine the impact of treatment for prostate cancer on intimacy and sexual expression/relationships from the perspective of couples.

Delivering sensitive health care information: challenging the taboo of women's sexual health after pelvic radiotherapy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to elicit current practice with regard to the content and delivery of patient education for women undergoing pelvic radiotherapy.

Methods: A 38-item questionnaire was sent to all radiotherapy departments (n=65) and a convenience sample of specialist gynaecological oncology nurses (n=166), with response rates of 62% (n=40) and 42% (n=52), respectively. Data analysis of 32 different patient education leaflets from individual cancer units, cancer networks and vaginal dilator manufacturers was conducted.

Modernising cancer and palliative care education in the UK: insights from one Cancer Network.

This article reports on a scoping study into cancer education provision in one UK Cancer Network. A range of professionals (nurses, allied health professionals (AHPs), health care support workers and educationalists) were invited to participate in focus group or individual interviews, or to return questionnaires regarding their perceptions of training needs and current opportunities. This yielded data from a total of 94 participants.

The impact of commissioning processes on the delivery of continuing professional education for cancer and palliative care.

Educational commissioning was introduced into nursing and non-medical education in the mid 1990s. However, little research has been undertaken to explore its effect on continuing professional education despite early concerns that it could have a negative impact, especially in relation to more specialist provision such as that required by nurses delivering cancer and palliative care. The in-depth, qualitative study reported in this paper examined the commissioning process and how it was perceived by key stakeholders in one Workforce Development Confederation and the two universities which provided the education for practitioners throughout a local Cancer Network.

Training needs analysis. A literature review and reappraisal.

Training needs analysis is the initial step in a cyclical process which contributes to the overall training and educational strategy of staff in an organisation or a professional group. The cycle commences with a systematic consultation to identify the learning needs of the population considered, followed by course planning, delivery and evaluation. Although much has been written about training needs analysis in relation to post-registration nursing education, there is disagreement concerning its impact on the training cycle and its potential to influence service delivery.

Training needs analysis: an evaluation framework.

Training needs analysis (TNA) is the first step in the training and educational strategy of an organisation and is crucial to meeting the continuing professional development needs of the healthcare workforce and service. TNA must be carefully planned, conducted and have clear outcomes to ensure that training interventions are implemented effectively and that they lead to meaningful changes in service delivery. However, there is a death of literature on approaches to critique TNA.