Motivational interviews may improve sexual dysfunction during menopause

Key takeaways:

• Postmenopausal women reported reduced sexual dysfunction after participating in weekly motivational interviews.
• Motivational interviews also improved sexual quality of life and sexual self-efficacy.

Among postmenopausal women with sexual dysfunction, motivational interviewing decreased sexual dysfunction while increasing sexual quality of life and sexual self-efficacy, researchers reported.

“Motivational interviewing can have a wide range of uses,” Hülya Kamalak, PhD, from the department of midwifery at Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University in Turkey, and Yeim Aksoy Derya, PhD, from the department of midwifery at Inonu University in Turkey, wrote in Menopause. “Indeed, in the literature, motivational interviews have been used in various fields. However, there is no study on the effectiveness of motivational interviews for women experiencing sexual dysfunction during the postmenopausal period. It is important for health professionals to be aware of the effectiveness of the motivational interviewing technique and use this technique in client communication and behavior change, considering its easy and short-term application.”

Kamalak and Aksoy Derya conducted a randomized controlled experimental study with 164 postmenopausal women with sexual dysfunction who presented at an outpatient gynecology clinic at a university hospital in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. All women completed the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale-Female Version Questionnaire (ASEX-F), the Sexual Quality of Life-Female Questionnaire (SQOL-F) and the Sexual Self-Efficacy Scale (SSES). Participants were categorized into the experimental (n = 82) or the control (n = 82) group. In the experimental group, researchers conducted four motivational interview sessions at 1-week intervals with each postmenopausal woman.

“The purpose of the motivational interviews was to help the women become aware of factors causing sexual dysfunction, initiate their action for change, and have them believe in the possibility of change, ultimately aiming to increase their sexual quality of life

and sexual self-efficacy,” the researchers wrote.

The control group did not receive any intervention. Sexual dysfunction was defined as a score of 19 or higher on the ASEX-F and higher scores on SQOL-F and SSES denoted better sexual quality of life and sexual self-efficacy, respectively.

After motivational interviews, 82.9% of women in the experimental group and 98.8% in the control group scored 19 or higher on the ASEX-F compared with 100% for both groups before motivational interviews (P < .001).

Mean total SQOL-F scores before motivational interviews were 72.55 for the experimental group and 69.87 for the control group, which increased to 78.06 for the experimental group and 69.83 in the control group after motivational interviews (P = .001). Mean total SSES scores were 17.96 for the experimental group and 19.7 for the control group before motivational interviews and these scores rose to 25.12 and 19.68, respectively, after motivational interviews (P = .001).

According to the researchers, motivational interviews may improve sexual quality of life and sexual self-efficacy impacted by menopause and reduce sexual dysfunction.

“Further studies should be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of motivational interviews in increasing the sexual quality of life and sexual self-efficacy of postmenopausal women with sexual dysfunction through diverse and larger samples,” the researchers wrote. “The results obtained in these studies can be compared and integrated into health care services.”