Female Sexual Health: Barriers to Optimal Outcomes and a Roadmap for Improved Patient–Clinician Communications

BACKGROUND: Although sexual health can be considered a vital sign for overall health, several barriers prevent women from receiving proper medical counseling, support, and/or care for their sexual health needs and concerns. METHODS: Experts in sexual health compiled research and experience on the impediments to women receiving adequate assessment and treatment for their sexual health. Specific solutions and a roadmap for overcoming such barriers and improving patient-clinician communication are presented. RESULTS: Social stigma around female sexuality remains in Western culture and as a result, women often avoid and/or are embarrassed to discuss their sexual health with their health care professionals (HCPs). Moreover, midlife women are typically unaware or have misconceptions about conditions that may adversely impact their sexual life, such as genitourinary syndrome of menopause and hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Without understanding there may be underlying medical conditions, there is also a lack of awareness that safe and effective treatments are available. Lack of training, tools, time, and limited treatment options impede HCPs from providing women with necessary sexual health support. Educating women, training HCPs, and providing communication tools to HCPs can facilitate effective dialog between patients and HCPs. More specifically, HCPs can be trained to initiate and maintain a sexual health conversation in a manner that is comfortable for women to convey sexual health needs and concerns, and for HCPs to correctly identify, diagnose, and treat the sexual problems of their female patients. CONCLUSIONS: Solutions exist to address the barriers currently impeding patient-clinician interactions around sexual health.