Men’s experiences of sex and intimacy after prostate cancer treatment in China: a qualitative study

PURPOSE: While the existing knowledge base on the impact of prostate cancer (PC) and its treatment on sexuality and intimacy has been generated from Western populations, there is a lack of such evidence in the Asian context. This study aimed to explore men’s experiences of sex and intimacy after PC treatment in China. METHODS: This study adopted an interpretive descriptive design. Using purposive sampling, 13 PC patients were selected from a urology outpatient unit of a hospital in South China and proceeded with individual semi-structured telephone interviews. Each interview was transcribed verbatim and analyzed using constant comparison analysis. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the interview data, including (a) encountering altered sexuality, (b) communication and sexual adjustments, (c) maintenance of quality intimate relationship, and (d) lack of sexual health support. CONCLUSIONS: The findings revealed that PC treatment significantly impaired patients’ sexual functions, and their sexual health needs were mainly unmet by healthcare providers. There is a great need to design culturally relevant interventions to improve sexual health among this population. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-021-06720-w.