Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:10:56.750Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Case 43 - “I Like the Way She Laughs”

Sexuality in Long-Term Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2024

Matthew Gibfried
Affiliation:
Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri
George T. Grossberg
Affiliation:
Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri
Get access

Summary

Older adults retain the need for physical and emotional intimacy far into their later years despite the presence of cognitive impairment. The capacity to consent to sexual activity is possible for residents that can correctly recognize a potential partner, express interest in sexual activity, communicate needs and wants either verbally or nonverbally, and communicate lack of desire for sexual contact. The involvement of families in discussions of romantic relationships in the long-term care setting can be challenging but it is improved by the education and experience of providers and staff. Federal regulations regarding long-term care facilities indicate that residents have the right to engage in consensual sexual activity if they have the capacity to consent to sexual activity.

Type
Chapter
Information
Clinical Case Studies in Long-Term Care Psychiatry
Navigating Common Mental Health Challenges in Geriatric Care
, pp. 216 - 219
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References

American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging/American Psychological Association. (2008). Assessment of Older Adults with Diminished Capacity: A Handbook for Psychologists. www.apa.org/pi/aging/programs/assessment/capacity-psychologist-handbook.pdfGoogle Scholar

Further Reading

Esmail, S., & Concannon, B. (2022). Approaches to determine and manage sexual consent abilities for people with cognitive disabilities: Systematic review. Interactive Journal of Medical Research, 11 (1). https://doi.org/10.2196/28137CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jackson, S. E., Firth, J., Veronese, N., Stubbs, B., Koyanagi, A., Yang, L., & Smith, L. (2019). Decline in sexuality and wellbeing in older adults: A population-based study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 245, 912917.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lichtenberg, P. A. (2014). Sexuality and physical intimacy in long-term care: Sexuality, long-term care, capacity assessment. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 28 (1), 42. https://doi.org/10.3109/07380577.2013.865858CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, L., Yang, L., Veronese, N., Soysal, P., Stubbs, B., & Jackson, S. E. (2019). Sexual activity is associated with greater enjoyment of life in older adults. Sexual Medicine, 7 (1), 1118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Srinivasan, S., Glover, J., Tampi, R. R., Tampi, D. J., & Sewell, D. D. (2019). Sexuality and the older adult. Current Psychiatry Reports, 21, 19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×