title: Nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward aged sexuality in Flemish nursing homes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Admission to a nursing home does not necessarily diminish an older person's desire for sexual expression and fulfillment. Given that nursing staff directly and indirectly influence the range of acceptable sexual expressions of nursing home residents, their knowledge and attitudes toward aged sexuality can have far-reaching effects on both the quality of care they provide to residents and the self-image and well-being of these residents.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate nursing staff's knowledge and attitudes toward aged sexuality, to determine whether certain sociodemographic factors of the nursing staff relate to their knowledge and attitudes toward later-life sexuality, and to examine the relationship between knowledge and attitudes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive cross-sectional survey study.
  The administered questionnaire collected sociodemographic data and data from an adapted, Dutch version of the Aging Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scale. Data were collected from November 2011 through April 2012. A total of 43 geographically dispersed nursing homes in Flanders, Belgium, participated. Out of a potential research sample of 2228 nursing staff respondents, 1166 participated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the KU Leuven.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nursing staff appeared to be moderately knowledgeable about aged sexuality and displayed a rather positive attitude toward sexuality in older people. Significant relationships between various variables were found both at univariable and multivariable levels. Knowledge and attitudes proved to be positively related, indicating that a higher level of knowledge of aged sexuality is associated with a more positive attitude toward sexuality in later life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Research findings are discussed within a broader international context.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is room for improvement for both nursing staff's knowledge and attitudes toward aged sexuality. This might be aided by appropriate educational interventions. Our results identified different target groups of nursing home staff for these interventions.
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Belgium lieslot.mahieu@med.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Lieslot
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mahieu
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bernadette Dierckx
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: de Casterlé
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jolien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Acke
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Hanne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vandermarliere
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van Elssen
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fieuws
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gastmans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001530:Belgium; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D057566:Self Report; D019529:Sexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attitudes; knowledge; nursing home; sexuality