Ask What? Female Sexual Dysfunction Screening Provider Training

This project assessed providers' comfort with and knowledge of female sexual dysfunction screening tools and resources before and after a sexual dysfunction training session, thereby determining training session efficacy as a quality improvement project in a large faculty practice. Problem Statement Several discussions with various Birth Care Health Care providers yielded anecdotal evidence suggesting some providers in this group do not know what to do with a patient should a sexual dysfunction issue arise, feel sexual dysfunction concerns take an exorbitant amount of time to address, or do not feel they have appropriate training to deal with such issues. This project entails developing and performing a provider education session, conducted at Birth Care Health Care, to inform providers about female sexual dysfunction, screening tools and resources available should a positive screen occur. Objectives 1. Develop a pre- and post-session evaluation form. 2. Perform educational training session. 3. Disseminate results to Birth Care Health Care. Literature Review Many patients and providers avoid discussing sexual concerns. A national, self-reported survey of U.S. obstetricians/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) found that 63% of OB/GYNs routinely asked patients about sexual practices, but only 28.5% and 13.8% routinely asked about sexual satisfaction and sexual pleasure, respectively (Sobecki, Curlin, Rasinski, & Tesslet Lindau, 2012). Physicians may avoid discussing sexual concerns because of a lack of time, inadequate training, uncertainty regarding treatment, or embarrassment (Brandenburg & Bitzer, 2009; Clayton, et al., 2010; Pancholy et al., 2011). A literature review by Clegg, Towner, & Wiley (2012) suggests that the routine use of female sexual dysfunction screening tools facilitates the discussion of sexual issues between patients and providers. Implementation and Evaluation Pre- and post-training session evaluation forms were developed using templates created jointly by the University of San Francisco and the University of Washington. These forms were evaluated for face validity by a panel of providers. A provider training session on female sexual dysfunction screening tools and resources was conducted for Birth Care Health Care providers during a regularly scheduled staff meeting. Pre- and post-training session evaluation forms were given to and collected from all Birth Care Health Care providers in attendance before and after the training session. Forms were emailed within one hour of training session completion to all provides not in attendance. Non-attendee provides were to act as a control group, but response was low. Therefore, data analysis included responses from attendees only. Pre- and post-training session data were analyzed and results were presented to appropriate Birth Care Health Care staff. Summary Regular female sexual function screening is currently recommended. However, many providers face significant barriers to routine screening. The proposed project aims to assess the efficacy of a single session provider training on female sexual dysfunction screening tools and resources.