Intimacy, sexual needs often unmet among partners of terminal cancer patients

There is an unmet need for some hospitalized patients with terminal cancer to have time for intimacy with their partners that requires attention, suggests a study.

“Healthcare providers can play a crucial role by anticipating the needs of patients, preparing them mentally, and offering counselling and information to help them maintain an intimate connection with their loved ones,” the authors said.

In this study, bereaved individuals in Japan aged >50 years who had lost their partners to cancer in a hospital in the last 5 years completed a questionnaire about the support desired for “time to nurture love with your partner.” The authors used three sexual questions in the 34-item Supportive Care Needs Survey‒Short Form (SCNS-SF34) and measured the unmet needs of partners of terminal cancer patients.

Overall, 290 responses were obtained for analysis. The age distribution of respondents was 34.8 percent for 50‒59 years, 44.5 percent for 60‒69 years, 19.3 percent for 70‒79 years, and 1.4 percent for ≥80 years. Of the participants, 81 percent had children.

More than half of partners (59.3 percent) died in the general ward. The frequency of time to nurture love with one’s partner prior to illness was none at all in 44 respondents (15.2 percent), very little in 84 (29.0 percent), once in a while in 76 (26.2 percent), occasionally in 45 (15.5 percent), and often in 41 (14.1 percent).

Nearly one in five participants reported having unmet sexual needs across all three selected questions in the SCNS-SF34.

In multivariate analysis, younger age (p=0.00097) and a higher frequency of time to nurture love with one’s partner before illness (p=0.004) showed a positive association with unmet needs for sexuality during hospitalization.

“The study may help healthcare workers identify patients who are seeking sexual support,” the authors said.