Abstract
Objective
Menopause is associated with changes that affect sexual functioning. We evaluated the effect of a sexual self-efficacy-based educational intervention on postmenopausal sexual satisfaction and distress.
Methods
A parallel quasi-experimental study was conducted with participants (n = 70) consisting of postmenopausal women and their spouses from six health centers in Qom, Iran. Convenience sampling was used to recruit eligible individuals, who were then randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 35 couples) and a control group (n = 35 couples). Those in the intervention group received six 90-minute weekly sessions while the control group received a single educational nutrition and physical activity session. Demographic data were collected alongside data collected via Index of Sexual Satisfaction and Female Sexual Distress Scale. Questionnaires were completed before the intervention, immediately afterward, and two months post-intervention. The data was analyzed by independent sample t-test, ANOVA, and two-way ANOVA repeated measures.
Results
There were no significant difference in sexual satisfaction between the two groups. Using repeated measures analysis, the group effect and time effect were not significant difference, but the interaction between group effect and time effect was significantly difference (p = 0.032). Sexual self-efficacy based educational intervention could just change mean score in intervention group. Sexual distress also did not differ significantly between the two groups. However, differences in the time effect were statistically significant (P < 0.001).
Conclusion
This educational intervention did not significantly impact the sexual distress of postmenopausal women. Nevertheless, longer follow-up periods and larger sample sizes are recommended and may yield more significant results.
Menopause is associated with changes that affect sexual functioning. We evaluated the effect of a sexual self-efficacy-based educational intervention on postmenopausal sexual satisfaction and distress.
Methods
A parallel quasi-experimental study was conducted with participants (n = 70) consisting of postmenopausal women and their spouses from six health centers in Qom, Iran. Convenience sampling was used to recruit eligible individuals, who were then randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 35 couples) and a control group (n = 35 couples). Those in the intervention group received six 90-minute weekly sessions while the control group received a single educational nutrition and physical activity session. Demographic data were collected alongside data collected via Index of Sexual Satisfaction and Female Sexual Distress Scale. Questionnaires were completed before the intervention, immediately afterward, and two months post-intervention. The data was analyzed by independent sample t-test, ANOVA, and two-way ANOVA repeated measures.
Results
There were no significant difference in sexual satisfaction between the two groups. Using repeated measures analysis, the group effect and time effect were not significant difference, but the interaction between group effect and time effect was significantly difference (p = 0.032). Sexual self-efficacy based educational intervention could just change mean score in intervention group. Sexual distress also did not differ significantly between the two groups. However, differences in the time effect were statistically significant (P < 0.001).
Conclusion
This educational intervention did not significantly impact the sexual distress of postmenopausal women. Nevertheless, longer follow-up periods and larger sample sizes are recommended and may yield more significant results.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 302 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | BMC Women's Health |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Jul 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.Keywords
- Couples
- Menopause
- Sexual distress
- Sexual satisfaction
- Sexual self-efficacy
- Women
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Reproductive Medicine
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology
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