title: Sexual knowledge in patients with a myocardial infarction and their partners.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sexual health and sexual activity are important elements of an individual's well-being. For couples, this topic is often affected after a myocardial infarction (MI). It has become increasingly clear that, after an MI, patients are insufficiently educated on how to resume normal sexual activity. However, sufficient data on the general knowledge that patients and partners have about sexual activity and MI are lacking.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aims of this study were to explore and compare patients' and partners' sexual knowledge 1 month after a first MI and 1 year after the event and to compare whether the individual knowledge had changed over time. A second aim was to investigate whether patients and their partners report receiving information about sexual health and sexual activity from healthcare professionals during the first year after the event and how this information was perceived.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive, comparative survey study enrolled participants from 13 Swedish hospitals in 2007-2009. A total of 115 patients with a first MI and their partners answered the Sex After MI Knowledge Test questionnaire 1 month after the MI and 1 year after the event. Correct responses generated a maximum score of 75.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 41% of patients and 31% of partners stated that they had received information on sex and relationships at the 1 year follow-up. The patients scored 51 ± 10 on the Sex After MI Knowledge Test at inclusion into the study, compared with the 52 ± 10 score for the partners. At the 1-year follow-up, the patients' knowledge had significantly increased to a score of 55 ± 7, but the partners' knowledge did not significantly change (53 ± 10).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  First MI patients and their partners reported receiving limited information about sexual issues during the cardiac rehabilitation and had limited knowledge about sexual health and sexual activity.
authors.affiliation: Margareta Brännström, RNT, PhD Research Fellow, Strategic Research Program in Health Care Sciences (SFO-V), "Bridging Research and Practice for Better Health," Karolinska Institutet, and Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. Marja-Leena Kristofferzon, RNT, PhD Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Health and Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, Gävle, and Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Section of Caring Sciences, Uppsala, University, Uppsala, Sweden. Bodil Ivarsson, PhD, RN Associate Professor, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden. Ulrica G. Nilsson, RNA, PhD Professor, School of Health and Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden. Petra Svedberg, PhD, RN Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Health Sciences, Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden. Ingela Thylén, PhD, RN Associate Professor, Division of Nursing Sciences, Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, and Department of Cardiology UHL, County Council of Östergötland, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brännström
authors.forename: Marja-Leena
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Kristofferzon
authors.forename: Bodil
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ivarsson
authors.forename: Ulrica G
authors.initials: UG
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Svedberg
authors.forename: Ingela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Thylén
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D013548:Sweden