Elderly sexuality in residential care is a subject ignored in both society and in research. This qualitative study investigates staff’s beliefs and experiences of sexuality in residential care. The research was conducted in Sweden, using semi-structured in-depth interviews with staff in residential care. Thirteen caregivers participated in this study. The study embraces the concept of constructionism as its analytical framework. The following are the key findings: (1) The participants noted the presence of sexuality among elderly people; (2) Staff’s interpretation of sexual expressions varied; depending on where, to whom and how the sexual expressions were articulated; (3) The institutional barriers were: lack of privacy, overall institutional limitationsin knowledge and guidelines, and caregivers understanding about sexuality among elderly; (4) The participants also identified sexual harassment at their workplace by the elderly; (5) Caregivers emphasized Dementia as a key factor disrupting sexual boundaries. In conclusion this study shows that residential care institutions do not recognize the need of sexuality among elderly people. As a consequence of elderly´s sexual needs being unrecognized their sexual needs is not taken account for. This also legitimize lack of guidelines and the staff being put in situations that they are not properly equipped to handle.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:oru-106227 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Le, Klara |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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