Why Many Women Don’t Seek Help for Sexual Dysfunction

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Too many women endure an unsatisfactory sex life and don’t look to their doctors for help, say researchers who study female sexual dysfunction. And apparently there are plenty of good reasons why.

Along with the explosion of awareness about male sexual dysfunction from Viagra’s debut in 1998 for erectile dysfunction, a growing interest has emerged in understanding the female sexual response. Many women, and multiple pharmaceutical companies, have longed for a female counterpart to Viagra to address sexual issues for women.

While that treatment goal has yet to be realized, a new appreciation has developed for the fact that women also experience clinical symptoms of sexual dysfunction and that sexual complaints among women are surprisingly common.

But studies show that multiple barriers still prevent women from asking for help or receiving the proper treatment they need for sexual dysfunction disorders. Up to 40 percent of women in one study, based on a web-based survey from the Department of Urology and Psychiatry at UCLA Medical School, reported that they did not try to get help for a sexual function complaint, although most of these women (54 percent) said that they would like to.

The most common reasons women refused to see a physician were that they were too embarrassed (22 percent), didn’t think that a physician could help them (17 percent), or it had never occurred to them to seek medical help for sexual dysfunction (12 percent). Older women in particular stated that feelings of shame, embarrassment, and fear were the reasons they didn’t seek professional treatment for sexual disorders.

The women in the study who had discussed their sexual issues with a physician expressed a “great deal of frustration and anxiety” about their treatments. Less than one half of the women felt that they were thoroughly examined by their physician, and less than one quarter thought their physician performed appropriate medical tests, made a diagnosis, developed a treatment plan, or followed up with the patient.

The authors concluded “health professionals’ training in human sexuality and the way female sexual complaints are handled in the medical setting remain ambiguous.” They suggested “it is time for physicians to start to acknowledge women’s sexuality with the same importance their patients do.”

Other studies provide similar results.

Previous studies have reinforced the observations that medical staffs are sometimes ill prepared to treat sexual dysfunction disorders and that patients have low expectations of their physicians to do so. In a 1999 report, 75 percent of patient believed their doctor would dismiss their sexual complaints, and 68 percent of patients were worried that they would embarrass their doctor.

A different study in 2001 found that primary health care providers did not talk to their patients about sexual issues for multiple reasons including lack of time and knowledge, patient embarrassment, and inadequate training and skills regarding sexual function and disorders.

A more recent review on the barriers to treatment of female sexual dysfunction published in 2009 summarized the multiple problems the medical community has had in dealing with female sexual issues. These include:
• Limited treatments and few research studies on female sexual dysfunction
• Lack of knowledge and education of health care professions
• Failure of physicians to discuss sexual issues with women
• Ignorance of sexual function, particularly with older populations

Conclusions.
Don’t feel alone if you experience a drop in sexual drive; it happens to many women at some point in their life. There are therapies, life style changes, and treatments that might help, so it’s important to discuss your sexual concerns with your physician. If you feel unhappy with the information or attention you get from a physician, seek out one that specializes and has had training in dealing with women’s sexual issues.

Contributed by: D. Jenkins, Ph.D.

Sources:
Berman L, et al. (2003). “Seeking help for sexual function complaints: what gynecologists need to know about the female patient’s experience.” Fertility & Sterility. Mar;79(3):572-6. http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(02)04695-2/abstract

Feldhaus-Dahir, M (2009). “Female sexual dysfunction: barriers to treatment.” Urologic Nursing. Nov;29(2):81-86. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/712368

Marwick, C. (1999). Survey says patients expect little physician help on sex. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 281(23), 2173-2174. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/281/23/2173

Rosenqvist, U., & Sarkadi, A (2001). Contradiction in the medical encounter: Female sexual dysfunction in primary care contacts. Family Practice, 18(2), 161-166.
http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/18/2/161

EmpowHER links to other articles about female sexual dysfunction:
Female Sexual Dysfunction: Turn it Around with Good Primary Care, May 28, 2010.
https://www.empowher.com/female-sexual-challenges/content/female-sexual-dysfunction-turn-it-around-good-primary-care

Why Should Women Discuss Sexual Problems with Their Doctors? Dr. Goldstein (VIDEO), February 24, 2010.
https://www.empowher.com/female-sexual-challenges/content/why-should-women-discuss-sexual-problems-their-doctors-dr-goldstein-video

How is a Female’s Sexual Desire Problem Diagnosed? Dr. Giraldi (VIDEO), Sept 11, 2009. https://www.empowher.com/female-sexual-challenges/content/how-females-sexual-desire-problem-diagnosed-dr-giraldi-video

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.