Arbetsterapeuters erfarenheter av att arbeta med aktiviteten sex och samlevnad utifrån klienters behov

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe occupational therapists experiences of working with sexuality based on clients need. Method: Data collection was conducted through the use of semi- structured interviews by phone, Skype or personal meetings. Nine occupational therapists with the experiences of working with sexuality based on clients need, participated in this study. A qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the interviews and resulted in four categories. Results: The result consisted of four categories; Personal attitudes and approach affect the clinical work, Increased knowledge is created by further education and work experiences, Challenges can be overbridged by teamwork and a client centered approach, and Interventions that requires creativity. The results showed that it is up to each occupational therapist to decide whether they are going to work with sexuality in their clinical work since there is a lack of knowledge regarding this activity within the profession. It is of great importance that occupational therapists have an open approach to clients’ sexual needs and find opportunities to discuss it with the clients regardless of the nature of the problem and what disability/disease causing it. Furthermore, the result shows that challenges can be overbridged by an effective team work, where issues around sexuality can be raised by the client’s own wishes and needs. The result also shows that the most common interventions regarding sexuality are clients sharing social stories, discussion groups, role plays, individual adaptations and prescription of assistive devices. Conclusions: This study provides new knowledge and an increased understanding about occupational therapists experiences of working with sexuality based on clients need. This can in turn provide an insight for how to plan and implement this knowledge in their own clinical work. However, there is a need for further research in this area.Validerat; 20160603 (global_studentproject_submitter