Doctoral Project Defense: Juandria Montgomery
Candidate Name: Juandria N. Montgomery
Major: Nursing Practice
Advisor: Christina Marea, Ph.D.
Title: Impact of an Online Education Intervention on Healthcare Providers Self-Efficacy for Assessment and Care of Clients Experiencing Female Sexual Dysfunction
In the United States, nearly half of all women will report having at least one type of female sexual dysfunction at any given point of their lives. Female Sexual Disfunction (FSD) includes a disturbance in sexual desire, psychophysiological changes that characterize the sexual response cycle, and/or marked distress and interpersonal difficulty. Most women feel that their healthcare provider should discuss their sexual concerns with them, yet few report being asked or screened. Women seek care to address their sexual health concerns as they can affect their quality of life. This cross-sectional study used a pre and posttest design to evaluate the effectiveness of an online education module that aims to improve self-efficacy of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives who provide gynecological care. A total of forty-three participants completed responses to the questionnaire. Most participants identified as female (91%), Caucasian (51%), nurse practitioners (81%) experienced in providing gynecological care for 6-15 years (53%) and southern residents (58%). Post intervention participants demonstrated an increase in confidence in their ability to communicate with older adults (p < 0.001, d 0.51) and with those who have differing sexuality from their own (p <0.00, d 0.53). There was also an increase in confidence in the knowledge to care for patients with religious/spiritual convictions about sexuality (p < 0.006, d 0.40) and sexual problems related to a medical, pharmacological, or surgical treatment (p < 0.009, d 0.38). The attitudes of providers show that they would like to be a resource to their future patients (p < 0.67, d 0.24), indicating a small effect from the education. The learning needs of the participants decreased overall following the educational module indicating a moderate to large effect size (d 0.30 to 0.85). Educating health care providers using an online educational module may lead to more confidence in the healthcare providers’ communication, knowledge, and attitudes related to female sexual concerns.