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Continuing Education
Only recently has there been some focus on female sexual function. Due to increasing knowledge regarding male sexual dysfunction and increasing focus on women's health care issues, female sexual dysfunction and its relationship to quality of life is slowly attracting the attention of health care professionals and women in general. Health care professionals in urologic, gynecologic, and family practice offices and clinics are in key roles to identify females experiencing sexual dysfunction. Sexual identity is shaped throughout our life. It depends on religious and cultural beliefs and is strongly related to early sexual experiences.
Objectives
This educational activity is designed for nurses and other health care professionals who care for and educate patients regarding female sexual dysfunction. The multiple choice examination that follows is designed to test your achievement of the following educational objectives. After studying this offering, you will be able to:
1. Identify the four different female sexual dysfunction disorders and possible causes.
2. Assist women to select the best treatment plan for their sexual dysfunction.
Human sexuality is now more openly discussed within our society and is a quality of life issue. Sexuality is an organic, normal, physiologic, and emotional component of human life. It is complex, encompassing physiologic as well as psychological components. The diagnosis and treatment of female sexual dysfunction today is probably where male sexual dysfunction was 15 years ago. Despite anatomic similarities between men and women, female sexual dysfunction is more multifaceted (Berman & Berman, 2001). Complaints by women about changes in their sexual functioning are becoming common, although they are frequently not the presenting symptom when seeing their health care provider. Knowledge of the normal female sexual response and sexual dysfunction etiology will assist health care professionals in diagnosing and treating female sexual disorders. The purpose of this article is to define female sexual dysfunction, explore the populations in which it is seen, emphasize diagnosis, and review current treatment options.
To better understand the etiology of female sexual dysfunction (FSD), it is imperative to understand female pelvic and genital anatomy and normal female sexual response. Response includes psychologic and physiologic norms, including endocrine and neurologic influences. Both female and male sexual response has four distinct but related phases: desire (libido), excitement...