Nurses and Midwives Role in Patient Sexual Health Assessment: A Cross-Sectional Study

A cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted to assess nurses and midwives’ attitudes and beliefs towards addressing patients' sexual health. A convenient sample of 305 nurses and midwives (professionals and students) were recruited from University Hospitals in Lebanon. The Sexuality Attitude and Belief Survey (SABS) was used and data about barriers to sexual assessment, sexual education and sociodemographic characteristics were collected. The sample included nursing students, 30.1%, staff nurses, 61.2%, and midwives, 8.6%. The mean age was 26.8 years, and 83.7% were females. Only 28.4% of the total sample received sexual health education, and 12.5% reported taking patients' sexual history. The total SABS score was 48.4, which is relatively high. Most nurses and midwives (72.2%) stated that they do not spend time discussing patients' sexual concerns, viewing sexuality as 'too private an issue to discuss' (68.9%). In parallel, a minority had the belief that patients expect nurses to ask about their sexual concerns (32.7%) and felt confident in their abilities to address patients' sexual issues (30.3%). SABS score was significantly associated with the participants' gender, status, care unit, sexual health education and history taking. This study provided a preliminary appraisal of Lebanese nurses' and midwives' approaches towards patients' sexual health assessment and highlighted the obstacles that hinder appropriate sexual health practice. Based on the findings, there is a need for initiatives at the level of education and practice to develop nurses and midwives' competence and improve patient outcomes.

     

The Effect of Instruction on Learning: Case Based Versus Lecture Based

There is scarcity of evidence demonstrating the impact of the instructional approach on curriculum outcomes of knowledge retention and clinical judgment in nursing education. The study aimed at determining the influence of 2 instructional formats, namely, case-based and lecture-based learning, on knowledge retention and judgment skills offered to 2 cohorts of nursing students in a junior nursing course. The scores of both cohorts were compared using a 65-selected-response test, 8 months after the offering of the course. A stratified comparison was completed using an independent samples t test. The t test was also used to compare the scores on judgment skills such as noticing, interpreting, deciding, and reflecting. Findings did not reveal significant difference in the mean test scores of both cohorts regarding knowledge retention (p?=?.178), yet a significant difference was noted on the judgment skill of reflecting among the case-based cohort (t?=?2.202; p?=?.033). This study adds evidence regarding the effectiveness of a case-based instruction on developing the skill of reflecting, thus supporting calls for contextualizing learning. Further probing into the instructional strategies that equip nursing students with knowledge remains an ongoing challenge for the discipline.