An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the lived experience of sensuality expression among women over 50 years of age in Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: Sensuality, an essential component of sexuality, is the enjoyment, expression, or pursuit of physical and sexual pleasure or satisfaction. Sensuality expression of women over 50 is under-researched and often ignored, making it difficult to have a scientific basis to develop age-appropriate healthy-ageing programmes for this group in Nigeria. An exploratory study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of the expression of sensuality of Nigerian women over 50 and the meaning they attach thereto. METHODOLOGY: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach was used to collect and analyze data from 17 female teachers from three public secondary schools in Osun state, Nigeria, to represent a homogenous group of professional women over the age of 50. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain qualitative data that was thematically analyzed. FINDINGS: Four superordinate themes emerged: ‘Self-reinvention to camouflage ageing realities for sensuality expression’; ‘Embracing own sensuality’; ‘Yearning for old self’; and ‘Loss of interest in romantic relationships’, with various subordinate themes. CONCLUSION: These finding provide the basis to develop age-appropriate healthy-ageing programmes for this group, and a baseline for further sexual health research among this group of women in Nigeria, who are often overlooked or considered asexual due to their being beyond the reproductive age.