What Can Nursing Homes Do to Foster Healthy Sexual Expressions Among Residents?

Literature investigating sexuality in nursing homes indicates that sexual expressions occur in these facilities, but management have not put up appropriate mechanisms to ensure that these expressions are actualized (Cornelison & Doll, 2013).In many instances, staff in nursing homes have misunderstood sexual expressions as behavioral problems rather than a genuine desire for intimacy. One of the approaches to addressing this problem is to implement training programs for nursing homes' staff on the complexity of matters relating to elderly sexual expressions and also on how to handle such issues when they arise. Further, the inclusion of sexual health in treatment plans for older residents in nursing homes can be an effective way of sensitizing both the residents and staff about sexual expressions (Aguilar, 2017; Cornelison & Doll, 2013). Such measure can help staff at these homes manage and appreciate sexual expressions among older adults. For instance, the mentioned action can help in reducing gossip within the care facilities which often inhibits residents' freedom to express themselves sexually. According to Cornelison and Doll (2013), positive attitudes among staff members towards sexual expressions of older persons develop with increase in knowledge and training.

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Increasing privacy in nursing homes can also foster healthy sexual expressions among residents. Although nursing homes are generally regarded as homes, they do not have the privacy available in home settings because they operate based on rules and regulations like any other institution (Aguilar, 2017).These circumstances make it difficult for lovers to express themselves as they may desire in private settings. Privacy can be enhanced by providing private space for residents who wish to express their sexual feelings. The use of this option can be actualized by educating both the residents and the staff about its availability and rules of operation (Cornelison & Doll, 2013).By creating special residents for sexual encounters, staff can learn to safeguard privacy through acts such as knocking the doors of residents and getting permission before entering their rooms. As Cornelison and Doll (2013) note, the issue of knocking on doors of residents comes to the fore because scholarly evidence suggests that a majority of staff in nursing homes knock doors of residents but barely wait for permission to gain entry.

References

Aguilar, R. A. (2017). Sexual expression of nursing home residents: Systematic review of the literature. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 49(5), 470-477. doi:10.1111/jnu.12315

Cornelison, L. J., & Doll, G. M. (2013). Management of sexual expression in long-term care: Ombudsmen's perspectives. The Gerontologist, 53(5), 780-789. doi:10.1093/geront/gns162