Many Residents Sidestep Sexual Dysfunction Issues.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. -- There's plenty of literature documenting a reluctance among seasoned ob.gyns. to discuss sexual health issues. But now it appears that even residents who were trained during the "it's OK to be dysfunctional" age of Viagra have a tough time speaking about the subject with their patients.

In the course of routine gynecologic care, patients want to be asked specific questions about their sexual functioning, but ob.gyn. residents tend to ask more general questions if they broach the subject at all, Dr. Caroline Leonard said at the annual meeting of the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

While physicians may think that sexual functioning is an important aspect of their patients' lives, time constraints and a lack of information about where to refer patients were cited as the main reasons ob.gyn. residents and attending physicians frequently did not raise the issue, according to the findings of a survey of ob.gyn. residents, attending physicians, and midwives.

The study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, indicated that language barriers were also a significant hurdle.

In a survey of 47 ob.gyn. providers, 13 of 21 residents, 7 of 14 attendings, and 5 of 12 midwives reported that they seldom or never know where to refer patients with sexual dysfunction.

Interestingly, while residents and midwives thought that it was important to ask general questions about sexual functioning, patients actually said they would prefer to be asked about specific issues such as satisfaction, desire, arousal, orgasms, and dyspareunia.

Residents and midwives considered the patient's sexual functioning to be more ...