Sexualité auprès des aînés : un subject tabou en CLSC?

This qualitative study investigated what factors impact Home-care professionals' ability to effectively discuss and intervene with older adults on the topic of intimacy and sexuality, and to generate a theoretical model for methods in which professionals deal with the subject matter. In depth interviews with nine Home-care professionals (social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, nurses, home-care workers, team coordinators) from a Montreal CLSC who regularly intervene among older adults and utilize the Multiclientele Autonomy Assessment form, documentary evidence, and grounded theory analysis were utilized. Interviews centered on the professionals' conceptions of their roles and experiences as health and social service providers with regards to sexuality in later life. A theoretical model was developed describing (a) Home-care professionals' discomfort in inquiring and/or discussing the topic of sexuality with older adults, (b) phenomena that arose from those causal conditions, (c) strategies for facilitating intervention on the topic with older adults, (d) the consequences of those strategies. Implications for future research and practice are addressed