Development and validation of a new tool to measure sexual dysfunction
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development and validation of a new tool to measure sexual dysfunction in women with Type 1 diabetes
IRAS ID
307139
Contact name
Angus Forbes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 8 months, 3 days
Research summary
Sexual dysfunction is a term used to describe any sexual difficulties affecting a person’s ability to enjoy intimate personal relationships. Sexual dysfunction is more common in women with diabetes compared to women without diabetes. Women with diabetes experience additional problems that can impact on their sexual relationships. While women with Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes both have higher levels of sexual dysfunction, women with Type 1 diabetes face some additional challenges. The experience of sexual dysfunction in women with Type 1 diabetes related to a range of biological, psychological and social factors including damage to the nerves that support sexual comfort and pleasure; altered body image; fear of low glucose levels; depression; stigma and diabetes technologies. These factors make the experience of sexual dysfunction unique in this group of women, highlighting the need for a diabetes specific tool to assess the presence and severity of sexual dysfunction in women with Type 1 diabetes.
To address this, we aim to develop and test a new questionnaire designed to measure sexual dysfunction in women with Type 1 diabetes. The questionnaire will measure factors that specifically affect sexual function in women with Type 1 diabetes.
To achieve our aim, we will firstly explore with women their experiences of relationship and sexual problems related to diabetes. This will involve interviewing women and conducting focus groups with both women and health professionals to elicit the key things that best relate to sexual dysfunction in this population. This information will help us identify the content of the questionnaire. We will then test the questionnaire with women who have Type 1 diabetes to refine and improve its accuracy and validity as a measure of sexual dysfunction. This will involve distributing the questionnaire anonymously to online groups of women with Type 1 diabetes.REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SW/0092
Date of REC Opinion
27 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion