Attitudes and beliefs of nurses and physicians about managing sexual health in primary care : a multi-site cross-sectional comparative study

This research did not receive any funding from entities or agencies in the public, commercial and/or not-for-profit sectors. The publication of this research is partially supported through a research dissemination grant received from the Universidad Norbert Wiener (VRI-D-07-001-RDG) by Prof. Dr. Patrick A. Palmieri.To understand the attitudes and beliefs of nurses and physicians about managing the sexual health of patients during office visits in primary care centres. A questionnaire-based, cross-sectional multi-centre study. The study was performed in 15 primary care centres in Barcelona (Spain), from December 2017-February 2018. Obtained data were analysed with descriptive and bivariate statistics. Nearly half the participants believed they should manage sexual health in primary care, but a third of them disagreed this is a priority. Participants also believed patients are not comfortable speaking with them about sex. Statistically significant differences were observed between the professions as nurses more often reported receiving sexual health questions from patients and believed they had enough knowledge to appropriately respond. Most participants wanted additional education to speak with patients more comfortably and confidently about sex

Comparative study of representations of professional autonomy produced by first and last-period undergraduate nursing students

ABSTRACT Objective: to compare the social representations of professional nurse autonomy produced by first and last-period undergraduate nursing students. Method: qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study, based on the structural approach of social representations, the Central Core Theory, carried out with 171 students from three federal public universities, using the free association technique on the object “professional nurse autonomy”. The data were submitted to EVOC 2005 software and to similarity analysis. Results: care was the central core of the representational structure identified among the students of the first period. Among last-period students, knowledge stood out as a core element. The term responsibility was identified as common to both central cores. Conclusion: regarding professional autonomy, the results point to an overlapping process of the reified and consensual universes during the undergraduate course. However, responsibility, inherent in the profession, remains cross-sectional. For the first period students, autonomy is resignified in a practical and attitudinal way, whereas for the last period students, the knowledge acquired stimulates them to assign meaning to professional autonomy with a cognitive and attitudinal representation. The data can support the use of innovative teaching practices in nursing undergraduate courses