Sexual health counseling improves the sexual satisfaction of breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial

Fatemeh Razeghi Haghighi; Mahshid Bokaie; Reyhane Sefidkar; Behnaz Enjezab

doi:10.1007/s00520-024-08957-7

Sexual health counseling improves the sexual satisfaction of breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial

Support Care Cancer. 2024 Nov 4;32(11):768. doi: 10.1007/s00520-024-08957-7.

Authors

Fatemeh Razeghi Haghighi¹, Mahshid Bokaie², Reyhane Sefidkar³, Behnaz Enjezab⁴

Affiliations

¹ Student Research Committee, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
² Research Center for Nursing and Midwifery Care, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Non-Communicable Diseases Research Institute, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
³ Center for Healthcare Data Modeling, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
⁴ Research Center for Nursing and Midwifery Care, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Non-Communicable Diseases Research Institute, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. Behnaz_enjezab@ssu.ac.ir.

PMID: 39495310
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-024-08957-7

Abstract

Purpose: Breast cancer and its treatments can cause sexual problems both physically and psychologically by the changes it brings. This study aimed to investigate the effect of sexual health counseling based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on the sexual satisfaction of women with chemotherapy-induced menopause (CIM) in breast cancer survivors.

Methods: Seventy women with CIM were randomly divided into two intervention (N = 34) and control (N = 36) groups. The intervention group attended eight sessions of 90-min sexual health counseling based on ACT. The control group received an educational booklet. The Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women(SSS-W), the Sexual Quality of Life-Female questionnaire(SQOL-F), and the Menopause Rating Scale(MRS) were used to collect data before, after, and 1 month after the intervention in both groups.

Results: The mean score of sexual satisfaction (F = 45.67, P < 0.001) and sexual quality of life (F = 33.39, P < 0.001) were significantly higher after the intervention and follow-up than before intervention in the intervention group. Also, the mean score of menopausal symptoms was significantly lower after the intervention and follow-up than before intervention in the intervention group (F = 11.80, P < 0.001). However, the mean score of sexual satisfaction (F = 0.02, P = 0.98), sexual quality of life (F = 0.05, P = 0.94), and menopausal symptoms (F = 0.08, P = 0.92) did not show significant differences before, after, and 1 month after the intervention in the control group.

Conclusions: Therefore, sexual health counseling based on ACT seems to have salutary effect on sexual satisfaction, sexual quality of life, and menopausal symptoms of women with breast cancer who experience CIM.

Trial registration: This randomized control trial has been approved by Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, IRCT20230105057055N1 at 2023-01-29.

Keywords: Acceptance and commitment therapy; Breast cancer; Chemotherapy-induced menopause; Sex counseling; Sexual satisfaction.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Adult
Breast Neoplasms* / psychology
Breast Neoplasms* / therapy
Cancer Survivors* / psychology
Counseling / methods
Female
Humans
Menopause / psychology
Middle Aged
Personal Satisfaction
Quality of Life*
Sexual Behavior / psychology
Sexual Health*
Surveys and Questionnaires