Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

LaVonne Fox

Keywords

Activities of Daily Living; Aged; Sexuality

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop a guide that would address the assessments, treatment/interventions, and discharge planning process regarding sexual health/sexuality with an elderly client. Through the use of the guide and accompanying resources it is assumed that occupational therapists will have an increased level of comfort, knowledge, and competence. This is important as Couloumbis and Miller (1994) study indicated that occupational therapists that received formal education (academically or clinical practice) addressed sexuality in the elderly 27.8% more than occupational therapists who did not have any educational experience.

Methodology: An in depth literature review was conducted using scholarly texts, scholarly search engines (SCOPUS, PubMed, CINAHL, Medline Plus, PsychInfo, Google), the American Occupational Therapy Association website, as well as AOTA's publications such as the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, OT Practice, the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics, Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process. Additional items, which were not available through the previously listed sources, were obtained through Interlibrary Loan at the Harley French Library of Health Sciences. Efforts were made to locate the original source of essential information in order to limit the use of secondary sources in this project. The project itself was guided by using the Model of Human Occupation, Malcolm Knowle's Theory of Andragogy, and the BETTER model©.

Results: The result of this scholarly project is the development of The ADL of Sexuality: A Guide for Occupational Therapists for Elderly Clients, which illustrates many aspects of the therapeutic process to address the ADL of sexuality with the elderly client using one source. The completed Guide will be made available at the Harley French Library of Health Sciences for educational use, including faculty and upcoming health professionals. It is also suggested this Guide be made available to practicing occupational therapists to serve as a resource regarding sexual health/sexuality in the elderly.

Conclusions: The ADL of Sexuality: A Guide for Occupational Therapists for Elderly Clients provides many benefits to the occupational therapy profession. These benefits include methods to increase the comfort level and understanding of addressing sexuality as an important ADL. It provides an opportunity for occupational therapists to learn how to address sexuality in an elderly client using a holistic, client-centered approach. It is hoped that this Guide will increase the frequency of addressing sexual health/sexuality in the elderly, as well as enhancing their satisfaction with occupational therapy services.

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