The effectiveness of “prompt sheet” in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction among male patients with diabetes in a primary care setting: an open-label control trial

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects millions of men worldwide yet many are undiagnosed and untreated. Both doctors and men may have a miscommunication that ED is taboo to be brought up in the consultation. This study determined the effectiveness of prompt sheet in initiating a discussion o...

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Main Authors: Nazihah Mohd Khalid, Seng Fah Tong, Ezura Madiana Md Monoto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MRE Press 2022-05-01
Series:Journal of Men's Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.imrpress.com/journal/JOMH/18/6/10.31083/j.jomh1806125
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author Nazihah Mohd Khalid
Seng Fah Tong
Ezura Madiana Md Monoto
author_facet Nazihah Mohd Khalid
Seng Fah Tong
Ezura Madiana Md Monoto
author_sort Nazihah Mohd Khalid
collection DOAJ
description Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects millions of men worldwide yet many are undiagnosed and untreated. Both doctors and men may have a miscommunication that ED is taboo to be brought up in the consultation. This study determined the effectiveness of prompt sheet in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction in a primary care setting. Methods: This was an open label control trial done at two government primary care clinics, one as a control and the other, an intervention group. All doctors in the participating clinics were given education on diagnosis and management of ED. Participants who came for their diabetes mellitus follow-up were approached. Those who consented to the study had their sociodemographic data recorded and erectile function evaluated using International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). The patients in the intervention group (n = 69) received a prompt sheet allowing participants to indicate their decision, prior to consultation, of whether to discuss about erectile dysfunction. The prompt sheet was presented to their treating doctors during consultation. The control group (n = 65) received usual care. All participants would provide a written feedback whether there was any discussion about erectile dysfunction after the consultation. Results: A total of 134 participants completed the study. Ethnic distributions in intervention group differed significantly from the control group with 46.4% Chinese, 44.9% Malay, 7.2% Indian and 53.8% Chinese, 15.4% Malay, 29.2% Indian respectively. Other baseline characteristic of both groups (age, body weight, education level, employment, smoking, marital status, duration of diabetes and prevalence of ED) were similar. The prevalence of ED in both groups was about 80%. In the intervention group, only 59% of participants opted to discuss their sexual problems and among them, 80.5% of them had it discussed during the consultation. Thus, in the intervention group, 47.8% of total participants discussed about erectile dysfunction, compared to 4.6% in the control group (Odds Ratio (OR) 18.4, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 5.4–66.2, p < 0.001). Sub-analysis did not reveal any relationship between either ethnicity or severity of ED and participant’s option to discuss ED. Conclusions: Prompt sheet is a simple and inexpensive tool to cue a discussion of erectile dysfunction during consultation. More importantly, prompt sheet provides patients an opportunity to indicate their interest of discussing ED to bridge the gap of miscommunication between men and doctors.
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spelling doaj.art-894f20495f6d40c9af8e781d22818ca82024-02-03T09:47:02ZengMRE PressJournal of Men's Health1875-68592022-05-0118612510.31083/j.jomh1806125S1875-6867(22)00367-0The effectiveness of “prompt sheet” in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction among male patients with diabetes in a primary care setting: an open-label control trialNazihah Mohd Khalid0Seng Fah Tong1Ezura Madiana Md Monoto2Klinik Kesihatan Jalan Perak, Ministry of Health Malaysia, 11600 Penang, MalaysiaDepartment of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaBackground: Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects millions of men worldwide yet many are undiagnosed and untreated. Both doctors and men may have a miscommunication that ED is taboo to be brought up in the consultation. This study determined the effectiveness of prompt sheet in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction in a primary care setting. Methods: This was an open label control trial done at two government primary care clinics, one as a control and the other, an intervention group. All doctors in the participating clinics were given education on diagnosis and management of ED. Participants who came for their diabetes mellitus follow-up were approached. Those who consented to the study had their sociodemographic data recorded and erectile function evaluated using International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). The patients in the intervention group (n = 69) received a prompt sheet allowing participants to indicate their decision, prior to consultation, of whether to discuss about erectile dysfunction. The prompt sheet was presented to their treating doctors during consultation. The control group (n = 65) received usual care. All participants would provide a written feedback whether there was any discussion about erectile dysfunction after the consultation. Results: A total of 134 participants completed the study. Ethnic distributions in intervention group differed significantly from the control group with 46.4% Chinese, 44.9% Malay, 7.2% Indian and 53.8% Chinese, 15.4% Malay, 29.2% Indian respectively. Other baseline characteristic of both groups (age, body weight, education level, employment, smoking, marital status, duration of diabetes and prevalence of ED) were similar. The prevalence of ED in both groups was about 80%. In the intervention group, only 59% of participants opted to discuss their sexual problems and among them, 80.5% of them had it discussed during the consultation. Thus, in the intervention group, 47.8% of total participants discussed about erectile dysfunction, compared to 4.6% in the control group (Odds Ratio (OR) 18.4, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 5.4–66.2, p < 0.001). Sub-analysis did not reveal any relationship between either ethnicity or severity of ED and participant’s option to discuss ED. Conclusions: Prompt sheet is a simple and inexpensive tool to cue a discussion of erectile dysfunction during consultation. More importantly, prompt sheet provides patients an opportunity to indicate their interest of discussing ED to bridge the gap of miscommunication between men and doctors.https://www.imrpress.com/journal/JOMH/18/6/10.31083/j.jomh1806125erectile dysfunctionprimary caremen's health
spellingShingle Nazihah Mohd Khalid
Seng Fah Tong
Ezura Madiana Md Monoto
The effectiveness of “prompt sheet” in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction among male patients with diabetes in a primary care setting: an open-label control trial
Journal of Men's Health
erectile dysfunction
primary care
men's health
title The effectiveness of “prompt sheet” in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction among male patients with diabetes in a primary care setting: an open-label control trial
title_full The effectiveness of “prompt sheet” in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction among male patients with diabetes in a primary care setting: an open-label control trial
title_fullStr The effectiveness of “prompt sheet” in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction among male patients with diabetes in a primary care setting: an open-label control trial
title_full_unstemmed The effectiveness of “prompt sheet” in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction among male patients with diabetes in a primary care setting: an open-label control trial
title_short The effectiveness of “prompt sheet” in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction among male patients with diabetes in a primary care setting: an open-label control trial
title_sort effectiveness of prompt sheet in initiating a discussion of sexual dysfunction among male patients with diabetes in a primary care setting an open label control trial
topic erectile dysfunction
primary care
men's health
url https://www.imrpress.com/journal/JOMH/18/6/10.31083/j.jomh1806125
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