TY - JOUR
T1 - Beliefs about illness and quality of life among men with erectile dysfunction
AU - Stamogiannou, I
AU - Grunfeld, E A
AU - Denison, K
AU - Muir, G
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - The objective of the study was to apply an illness representations framework to examine patients' beliefs about erectile dysfunction (ED) and the association between those beliefs and reported quality of life. A total of 41 patients attending two secondary care clinics at a teaching hospital completed questionnaires examining quality of life, sexual functioning, illness representations (cause, time-line, coherence, consequences, cure, control and emotion) and perceptions of masculinity. Masculinity, sexual function, emotions and beliefs about consequences were found to be significantly correlated with quality of life. Multiple regression analysis revealed a model that accounted for almost 35% of the variance in quality of life of ED patients. The strongest predictor of higher quality of life was better sexual functioning (beta = -0.342, P <0.05) followed by more positive beliefs about the effects of ED on masculinity (beta = 0.323, P <0.05). The results suggest that when assessing the quality of life of men with ED, patients' illness representations should be considered along with their level of sexual functioning and the effects of ED on masculinity. Patients may benefit from an intervention programme that includes an educational component, thereby providing patients with more information about treatment options and available support.
AB - The objective of the study was to apply an illness representations framework to examine patients' beliefs about erectile dysfunction (ED) and the association between those beliefs and reported quality of life. A total of 41 patients attending two secondary care clinics at a teaching hospital completed questionnaires examining quality of life, sexual functioning, illness representations (cause, time-line, coherence, consequences, cure, control and emotion) and perceptions of masculinity. Masculinity, sexual function, emotions and beliefs about consequences were found to be significantly correlated with quality of life. Multiple regression analysis revealed a model that accounted for almost 35% of the variance in quality of life of ED patients. The strongest predictor of higher quality of life was better sexual functioning (beta = -0.342, P <0.05) followed by more positive beliefs about the effects of ED on masculinity (beta = 0.323, P <0.05). The results suggest that when assessing the quality of life of men with ED, patients' illness representations should be considered along with their level of sexual functioning and the effects of ED on masculinity. Patients may benefit from an intervention programme that includes an educational component, thereby providing patients with more information about treatment options and available support.
U2 - 10.1038/sj.ijir.3901220
DO - 10.1038/sj.ijir.3901220
M3 - Article
C2 - 15014554
SN - 0955-9930
VL - 17
SP - 142
EP - 147
JO - International journal of impotence research
JF - International journal of impotence research
IS - 2
ER -