Sexual Activity And The Aging Process

Sexual health is defined by the World Health Organisation as “a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality in a way that enriches and enhance the life of the person” (World Health Organisation, 2006).

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) are one of the most common and preventable health care problems in the world. The ageism of the population and the increase in the number of older adults, along with healthcare advances that provide better and longer quality of life, has encourage changes in sexuality amongst older adults. This increase has prompted healthcare workers to familiarize themselves with the sexuality of older adults. In this report, I plan to discuss the significance of this topic, the concern for the public, and interventions that can be implemented from a Community Health Nurse prospective.

Contemporary understandings of sexuality are not the same as back in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Understandings and terminology in the past hold multiple differences and similarities than our current contemporary understandings.

Over the last fifty years there have been many changes to the sexual attitudes and behaviors in the United States. Going back through the early 1900’s misinformation was abundant when it came to the sexuality of the baby boomers and other older adults. Often when thoughts come to mind it is humorous to the younger generation when the notion of aging individuals engaging or enjoying sex. It is brought up in conversation disdainfully in media.

This paper will outline sexuality at different life stages, and as a sexual therapist I will coach an adolescent girl with a boyfriend who is pressuring her to have sex; an elderly couple with a wife exhibiting a renewed interest in sexual activity and a unwilling husband; and finally a handicapped male that has been paralyzed since he was four years old.

Television and film do a wonderful job of widowing parents or creating a life so intertwined with their children that is their identity. When we do witness the actions around sexuality and the aging it is almost never serious, often leaving one to think that that the elderly engaging in any sexual contact will prove perverted, dangerous or lethal (Dan Sewell). Much like advertisements for products incite us to buy them, the views of sexuality and senior citizens we see in the media carries into real life, leaving the elderly to be labeled as either asexual or are met with phrases like "dirty old man" or cougar, simply for having a desire that exists within all of us. Being of the community and seeing these perceptions does not make it easy to be open about feelings regarding the topic on any level, exacerbating any existing esteem issues that could be onset of aging (Melanie

There is a popular myth revolving around older adults and how they do not actively engage in sexual activities any longer due to their old age. The media constantly advertises ‘the next big thing’ when it comes to putting sex drive back into your marriage. There are all sorts of pills for erectile dysfunction, creams for lubrication, and even arousal gels. Some individuals may in fact need these supplements, but it does not all stem from old age. Take the movie Something’s Gotta Give for example. Jack Nicholson plays a wealthy, 63-year-old New York businessman named Harry Sanborn who does not like to date for very long, instead he is just mainly in it for the hookup. The movie shows him with all of these different women, proving that his sexual interest and desire are just as strong as a younger mans. Diane Keaton plays Erica Barry, who is the mother of one of Harry’s girls. Throughout the movie you can feel the sexual tension between them, thus showing that females may also have as much sexual interest as males when aging.

Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.

Human sexuality means the ways in which people experience and express themselves as sexual beings (Rathus et al., 2010).Sex is part of human life, it is a common sense that people normally concern sex since adolescence, but there is no absolute answer for, when sex should be terminated in human life. During the Cho Yiu Chuen’s elderly interview, I saw an adult magazine on an old man’s bed; it triggered me to concern about the sexual need of elderly.

According to the Department of health (DOH) (2013), people should know and understand how to protect their sexual health but also know how to access the appropriate services. This assignment will discuss factors that may have an effect on an individual’s sexual health such as education, the socio-economic and cultural environment; how the behaviour and lifestyle choices can have an impact on health and the consequences it may have within our society. It will also discuss the importance of the nurse’s role in promoting the health and wellbeing of all individuals and reducing health

At no time should you feel unable to maintain your own well-being due to judgement from medical providers. Today’s medical school graduates have had more training on sexual health than their more established counterparts, but it is still possible to encounter a doctor who lacks a thorough approach to patient sexual health.

The setting is located in United Kingdom. The sample characteristics include sexually active men, women, and adolescents with a targeted age of 13 to 64 years old.

Dr. Charles Moser, in Health Care Without Shame, strives to assist health care professionals and sexually diverse individuals in understanding the dilemma of providing the best and most appropriate health care for those who identify themselves as part of the sexual minority or who engage in non-traditional sexual behaviors. Moser is board-certified as a sexologist and in internal medicine; however he has dedicated his career to the study of sexuality. Throughout the book, Moser describes his own experiences in medical school and the lack of information available to prepare health care professionals for a segment of the population, which deserves the same medical care and attention as all other populations. Moser cites the lack of training and the fact that when a topic was addressed it was merely glossed over since most professors were not comfortable with the topic of sexuality. He elaborates on one incident in medical school stating, “We never got an answer. And that was the sum total of my medical school education on sexuality.” (Moser, 1999). Therefore, one of the two goals in Moser’s book is to educate medical professionals so that they can give sexual minorities the same effective health care as is available to other populations. Moser’s second goal is to encourage those in the sexual minority groups to be more open to health care professionals so that they can identify those who are competent and nonjudgmental.

It is nice to have another class with you. It is interesting how sexuality counseling can assist all life stages. Long, Burnett, and Thomas (2006) state how sexuality counseling can help children who are curious about sexual behaviors or have experienced sexual abuse (p. 256). Whereas, the elderly can benefit from sexuality counseling due to losing an intimate partner or a decline in psychological factors during their aging development (p. 181). Indeed, this course was not required to complete in my clinical mental health study path, however, I believe learning about this counseling topic can benefit my professional practice when counseling different cultures, ethnicities, and ages.

The relationship depicted within Scenario 1 Joanne and Arthur appears to be one defined by sexual liberation and a mutual level of respect for one another's mutual sexual needs and desires. Joanne and Arthur would seem to be a representation of the modern sexual morality, in which both males and females are free to pursue their personal sexual preferences without fear of violating social taboo or similar traditionalized gender boundaries. That both parties are willing and able to openly discuss their sexual predilections, both within the confines of the bedroom and in the presence of a physician, speaks to the widespread generational shift towards sexual liberation which has occurred during the last few decades. After reading through this particular scenario, I found myself contemplating the revolutionary research conducted by Alfred Kinsey in the 1940's and 1950's, as it occurred to me that much of the exchange between Joanne and Arthur would not have been possible prior to Kinsey's bold studies of human sexuality. Prior to the groundbreaking findings published by Kinsey in his Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), sexual activity was viewed by society in utilitarian terms, as both a method of procreation and to strengthen the marital bond. Kinsey's advocacy of sex as a human pursuit to be enjoyed pleasurably and comfortably by willing adults paved the way for our current generation's ability to discuss contraception and