title: The challenges and opportunities in researching intimacy and sexuality in care homes accommodating older people: a feasibility study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the challenges of conducting research on sexuality and intimacy among older care home residents.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Sexuality and intimacy are neglected in care policies and practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative analytical study drawing on poststructuralist theorizing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with residents and spouses (n = 6) and care staff (n = 16) in two care homes in Northwest England in 2014. The sample was obtained through a network of 'research-ready' care homes. Thematic analysis was used to make sense of narratives with the aid of NVivo10.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participant responses highlight the workings of ageist erotophobic discourse that undergirds the assumption of residents (and old people generally) as postsexual. This materialized in reservations about the research ranging from opposition on moral grounds to doubts about its feasibility given the age-group concerned. However, residents and care home staff can also draw on counter-discourses that resist/challenge ageist erotophobic thinking, which materialized in methodological and ethical recommendations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Participants generally agreed with the principle of the research and made recommendations that could counter/resist ageist erotophobic governance and guide researchers on sampling, style of questioning and communicating with (prospective) study participants on a sensitive subject.
authors.affiliation: Older People's Understandings of Sexuality(OPUS) research group, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4234-6523
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Social Work and Midwifery, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7861-9538
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brown Wilson
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychology and Mental Health, University of Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Laura J E
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Tommy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dickinson
authors.affiliation: School of Healthcare, University of Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horne
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004739:England; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019529:Sexuality / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: care; dementia; nursing; nursing home care; older people; patient participation; sexuality