Caring for the Sexual Health and Wellbeing of Cancer Survivors and Their Intimate Partners: An Anonymous Survey

An Anonymous Survey Investigating Care for the Sexual Health of Cancer Survivors and Their Intimate Partners, as Provided by the United Kingdom Hospital Cancer Team

The aim of this survey study is to provide broad information as reported by cancer survivors and their intimate partners about both their sexual health and their experiences of care from the United Kingdom hospital cancer team, including their perspectives on factors that may hinder or help care. This information will be analysed and used to inform the questions asked in a separate, subsequent, qualitative study.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: No intervention

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 169

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Dorset
    • Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom, BH8 8AJ
      • Bournemouth University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

People with cancer or the partners of people with cancer

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Cancer survivors diagnosed with any type of cancer at age 18 years or over
2. A partner of someone diagnosed with any type of cancer at age 18 years or over
3. Cancer diagnosis must be no more than 10 years ago
4. Cancer survivors or their partners who experienced treatment and follow up care in the United Kingdom

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Cancer survivors who were diagnosed with cancer below the age of 18 years
2. Partners of cancer survivors who were diagnosed with cancer below the age of 18 years
3. Cancer diagnosis was more than 10 years ago
4. Cancer survivors/partners of survivors where the cancer treatment and follow up was not in the United Kingdom
5. Previous completion of the survey

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
People with Cancer; No intervention	Other: No intervention; No intervention
Partners of People with Cancer; No intervention	Other: No intervention; No intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of participants who had a sexual health discussion(s) with the hospital cancer team at any point during cancer care	Sexual health discussion:19 examples of the sort of topics that may have been discussed in relation to sexual health	Up to 10 years prior to completing survey (discussion(s) about sexual health could have occurred at any point during cancer care)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of participants with specific levels of impact on their sex lives by cancer and its treatments	As above	From each individual participants' cancer diagnosis/cancer treatment until the date that they completed the survey
Survey questionnaire to measure the nature and prevalence of care for sexual health that cancer survivors and their intimate partners self-report experiencing from the UK hospital cancer team.	An online survey questionnaire (no validated questionnaire available and therefore research created the questionnaire based on a literature reviews on sexual health in oncology	Participants can report care received from prior to their cancer treatment through to their follow-up care (last 10 years only)
Survey questionnaire to measure the nature and prevalence of the perceived barriers to and facilitators for care for sexual health as received by cancer survivors and their intimate partners when provided by the UK hospital cancer team.	As above	Participants can report their perceptions from diagnosis through to their follow-up care (last 10 years only)
Survey questionnaire to measure to what extent groups of cancer survivors and their intimate partners with differing characteristics receive differing care for their sexual health from the UK hospital cancer team.	Participants' responses from outcomes 1-4 will be used toinform this outcome	Participants diagnosed with cancer in the previous 10 years.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Bournemouth University
• Collaborators: Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; National Institute for Health Research, Applied Research Collaboration, Wessex; Fortuneswell Cancer Trust
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sam Porter, PhD, RN, Bournemouth University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 23, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 30, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): September 30, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 3, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 6, 2023
• First Posted (Estimated): October 10, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): October 10, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 6, 2023
• Last Verified: October 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Neoplasms; Oncology; Cancer Survivors; Communication; Sexual Health; Sexuality; Professional-Patient Relations; Barrier; Sexual Dysfunction, physiological; Facilitator; Sexual Dysfunctions, psychological
• Other Study ID Numbers: Ethics ID 39453

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Participant information sheet stated that information would not be made publicly available via a data sharing repository. This approach was taken due to the sensitive nature of the topic and was anticipated to provide reassurance and potentially improve recruitment.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No