Skip to main content

Aging and Sexual Health Lecture


While we have had a few lectures previously in occupational therapy school on the topic of sexual health, we had not had one that was as in-depth and focused on aging until this lecture. I think that the fact that this area is in the scope of practice of OT emphasizes the holistic view that occupational therapists take on their clients. There are very few other healthcare professionals that will address this topic with their clients, and while it might be a little difficult or awkward to discuss, I think it is very powerful that OTs can help clients in this area of their lives. One of the main things that I took away from this lecture was that sexual activity is beneficial for reducing stress, improving sleep, can boost immune system function and lifespan, and can also produce higher levels of cognitive functioning. When there are disruptions in this area of someone’s life, it can be difficult for them to reach out for help. However, sexual health is a key component in overall health, therefore it is important that people know who they can turn to with this subject. Especially in the older adult population, sex has a direct impact on health. Physical changes, hormonal changes, and medications can all affect one’s sexual health.  
As far as interventions that an OT could provide in this area, I think that client education and access to resources are two of the most common ways we can help clients. An OT could educate an older adult client with arthritis about the importance of applying heat and doing gentle stretching before engaging in sexual activity (or any other kind of activity). Energy conservation techniques could also be provided to the client to allow them to prioritize what they want to get done in a day in order to save energy for sexual activity. Another possible intervention could be providing stress management technique education and practice to older adult clients with mental health needs (anxiety, depression) and teaching assertive communication techniques for them to increase communication with their spouse or partner. Any disruptions in mental health can affect one’s sex life, and the same is true the other way around. It is important for OTs to establish healthy therapeutic relationships with their clients in order to provide a supportive environment for open communication from their clients, especially when dealing with a sensitive topic such as sexual health.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Universal Design?

In his TED talk, Michael Nesmith explains, via a translator, why we need universal design. The term "universal design" was coined by Ron Mace, and is defined as "the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design." Clearly, as a man with hearing issues, Michael has a unique perspective on the topic of universal design. A helpful illustration given during his talk has to do with a doorknob. Maybe you haven't ever given doorknobs much thought (I sure hadn't before this TED talk), but that's usually how it goes for people who have no issues using a one on a daily basis. What about people using wheelchairs, or a mother pushing a stroller? Doorknobs become a bigger issue to those who do not have complete accessibility to them. However, a simple solution was created to fix this issue: the automatic sliding door. Michael explains, "This is such a univer...
3 comments
Read more

Children's Hand Skills Framework (CHSF)- OT Theory

The Children's Hand Skills Framework is a conceptual tool used to describe and analyze children's hand skills during assessment and intervention. The CHSF divides hand skills into 6 categories, based on the extent to which their hands are in contact with objects or parts of the body or not. These categories include manual gesture and body contact; these two categories do not involve contact with a specific object. The next categories are object-related hand skills, adaptive skilled hand use, bimanual use. The final category is general quality of hand use skills, such as accuracy or pace of children's hand skills. The population targeted with this theory, as indicated by the title, is children, and involves any diagnosis. Hand skills adequate enough to enable children to participate in daily occupations are considered functional in this framework. Object-related hand skills include actions such as reaching, turning/rotating, throwing, or catching an object. Adaptive skilled ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mock Interview Reflection

To prepare for this mock interview, I read through a few common OT-related interview questions and thought through my answers. I was originally planning to type out my answers, but I decided instead to only list bullet points to reflect on so that I did not come across as too scripted/rehearsed. I recently interviewed for a level II fieldwork rotation at St. Jude, and I went more in depth to prepare for that than I did for this interview in particular. Because of this, I felt like I had a good foundation going into this interview. Overall, I felt like the interview went well. I was able to answer all the questions without too much hesitation, and I felt like I answered them sufficiently, although I could have gone more in depth in some answers. Something that went differently than I expected was that I talked faster than I normally do. I learned that it is okay to take a pause and think through my answer before speaking in order to provide a more in-depth and full ans...
Post a Comment
Read more