Effects of staff training on staff knowledge and attitudes about sexuality

Residents of long-term care facilities continue to have the need for sexual expression and intimacy. Staff of these facilities often have insufficient knowledge about elderly sexuality and frequently have negative attitudes toward expression of sexuality by the elderly. Importantly, they do not understand their role in helping the residents express sexuality and meet their intimacy needs. This study evaluated staff training materials designed to improve staff knowledge and attitudes. A pilot test of each of the four modules was conducted to test the short-term effects of the programs. The study participants were 109 staff from four settings who completed one or more of the four modules. Program effects were measured by completing the Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Elderly Sexuality (KATES) as a pretest and posttest. Pretest scores were significantly related to gender (men as a group had higher scores than women) and ethnicity (whites had a higher mean score than African Americans). Results indicated significant gains in knowledge for each of the four modules.