What is known from existing literature about men living with HIV and erectile dysfunction and the role of the nurse: a scoping review

This article reviews the current literature regarding HIV and erectile dysfunction. The article will explore why erectile dysfunction is more common in men who are HIV positive as appose to men who do not have HIV. A detailed review of the current literature in the form of a scoping review was undertaken to explore the current links between HIV and erectile dysfunction. Only literature that has meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be included in this article. Themes that emerge from the literature will be grouped together in order for recommendations to be drawn. Why was the review performed? The initial idea behind this review emerged from a lack of understanding by the first author with respect to this field of nursing and anecdotal evidence from colleagues that nurses may not have the knowledge, or be managing erectile dysfunction in practice, and instead refer such patients to the medical team for care and management. This article forms part of the first author’s MSc dissertation