Sexuality among Men with Spinal Cord Injury Rahman Padma A.1, Hakim Muhammad Uwais Abdul2, Daud Ahmad Zamir Che3, Sharoni Siti Khuzaimah Ahmad3 1Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences, Univerisiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Kampus Puncak Alam, Malaysia 2Undergraduate Student, Faculty of Health Sciences, Univerisiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Kampus Puncak Alam, Malaysia 3Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences, Univerisiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Kampus Puncak Alam, Malaysia Online published on 21 February, 2019. Abstract Sexual activity is an important aspect of activities daily living. Spinal cord injury due to trauma and degenerative diseases may harmful toward the sexual and reproductive function of among men, which includes erectile dysfunction, infertility and impaired ejaculation. Sexuality among person with spinal cord injury has been neglected as focus of research as the topic is taboo and often avoided to be discussed. There are limited qualitative studies exploring the sexual concerns and needs from the perspective of men with spinal cord injury. This preliminary study aimed to explore the lived experiences of men with spinal cord injury living in East Coast of Malaysia. The main objective of this study is to gain insight on sexuality challenges and concerns among men with spinal cord injury. A qualitative phenomenology design was employed to answer the research objective. Using purposive sampling, five men from a charitable foundation were interviewed. Inclusion criteria set for this study were i) married men aged 16 and above; ii) suffered from spinal cord injury; iii) do not have any other medical problems; iv) able to comprehend Malay or English language. Questions asked in this semi-structured interview were constructed based on previous literatures and a few was developed to answer the research objectives. Interview questions revolved around body image, reproduction, sexual concerns and intimate relationships that the respondents experience. Each interview lasted from one to two hours and was digitally recorded and later transcribed verbatim for analysis purposes. The results of this study suggest that these men experienced sexuality challenges in term of physical limitations, limited knowledge on reproductive ability and accessing medications in enhancing sexual performances. It is surprising to know that these men reported being curious about their sexual capacity soon after their injury. Most often, sexual rehabilitation does not include in rehabilitation programs, hence findings of this study could be used to assist health care providers designing an appropriate intervention relates to sexuality issues during the rehabilitation process. Top Keywords Sexuality, Spinal Cord Injury, Sexual Capacity, Man. Top |