Effects of a sexual rehabilitation intervention program on stroke patients and their spouses

The present study was conducted to examine whether a sexual rehabilitation intervention program, which was developed during the present study and designed for stroke patients and their spouses, was effective in terms of sexual knowledge and satisfaction and frequency of sexual activity at 1 month aft er intervention. The study subjects were conveniently selected from stroke patients admitted to the neurology department at a university hospital located in Incheon, South Korea. A total of 46 subjects (12 couples for the experimental group and 11 couples for the control group) were included. Sexual knowledge, sexual satisfaction, frequency of sexual activity, level of cogni tive function, and performance with respect to daily living activities were measured. The results obtained demonstrated that the devised sexual rehabilitation intervention program significant ly increased sexual satisfaction and frequency of sexual activity, but t hat it did not promote sexual knowledge. The present study has meaning because the intervention program could be used as a practical guideline for post-stroke sexual rehabilitation. In addi tion, the findings of this study provide evidence regarding the useful ness of sexual education and counseling on the sexual health of post-stroke patients and their spouses.