Nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding sexual health care for cancer patients: a systematic review

Dublin Core

Title

Nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding sexual health care for cancer patients: a systematic review

Subject

attitude; cancer; knowledge; nurses; practice; sexual

Description

Introduction: Cancer and its treatments negatively affect patient sexual health. However, this aspect is often neglected
in cancer care. As holistic care providers, nurses have a pivotal role in addressing their patient’s sexual health problems.
This study aims to summarize what is currently known about nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practice when helping
cancer patients with concerns regarding their sexual health and recent educational strategies to enhance the nurses’
competencies in relation to cancer patients’ sexual healthcare.
Methods: The authors conducted a systematic review using PRISMA 2020 Guidelines. The articles were derived from
five electronic databases (Scopus, Science Direct, ProQuest, MEDLINE, and PubMed), consisting of full text original
research articles published between 2015 and 2024 using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods. Review articles,
books, and book chapters are excluded.
Results: The initial search resulted in 1,126 articles. Thirteen articles that met the selection criteria were included due to
having good methodological quality. The nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practice toward sexual healthcare was found
to be moderate. Nurses argued that they need specific knowledge and skills to confidently address sexuality problems
among their patients. Educational interventions were effective at helping to improve the nurses’ knowledge, attitude,
and skills on sexual health care provision.
Conclusions: Institutional and educational support are important factors for mastering the nurses' ability to provide
comprehensive sexual healthcare. A clear policy, sufficient facilities and comprehensive strategies are needed to mediate
consistent cancer patient sexual healthcare provisions.

Creator

Ida Ayu Md Vera Susiladewi1

, Yati Afiyanti2* , and La Ode Abdul Rahman2

Source

http://dx.doi.org/10.20473/jn.v20i1.62091

Date

6 January 2025

Contributor

peri irawan

Format

pdf

Language

english

Type

text

Files

Collection

Citation

Ida Ayu Md Vera Susiladewi1 , Yati Afiyanti2* , and La Ode Abdul Rahman2, “Nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding sexual health care for cancer patients: a systematic review,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed February 21, 2026, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/11111.