January 14th is STIQ Day a day to get people thinking about their sexual health and encourage more people to get regular sexual health checks (click here to find out more) This date was chosen because many common STIs such as Chlamydia can take two weeks to be detectable & if a persons festive season included unprotected sex then they should be thinking about getting tested around this date. Also with just one month to go before Valentine’s Day anyone hoping to enjoy the celebrations to the full should do so knowing that they are infection free and will not be putting someone else’s sexual health in danger. This also seems an ideal time to bring up the topic of sexual health on #WeNurses: 

Sex and sexuality are a huge part of who we are and what makes us …. us! But when it comes to talking about sex and sexuality as art of our day to day work we can often be stumped. I recently had a conversation with someone who questioned why “expressing sexuality” was part of a nursing assessment … she stated that as the people she cared for were elderly this didn’t really apply!! I have to say that this was a real head in the hands moment for me and I came away thinking that when I am elderly I hope that no one thinks similar of me. But it raises some interesting issues – as nurses we are taught to care for the whole person, not just the parts we are most comfortable with or the parts that are easy to discuss … the whole person! And sex and sexuality are most definitely part of that. 

It's also worth noting that there are many chronic conditions that can affect sex and sexuality – from depression, to cancer and from COPD to menopause – the list is long and the effect on the person is huge, yet the subject remains taboo.

Some of the questions we aim to explore are:

• What stops us from talking about sex with the people we care for? Have you come across any barriers/difficulties when talking about sex?
• What are the benefits of talking about sex with the people we care for? 

• What might help us better approach conversations around sex and sexuality with the people we care for?

• Does our reluctance to talk about sex having a negative impact on the people we care for? If so how? 

• What research are you aware of in your clinical area about sex and sexuality?