DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPLEX INTERVENTION: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO REDUCE VASCULAR ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION – EVIDENCE AND ACCEPTABILITY

H. Gerbild1, K. Areskoug-Josefsson2
1UCL University College, Health Sciences Research Centre and Department of Physiotherapy, Odense M, Denmark, 2VID Specialized University, Faculty of Health Studies, Oslo, Norway

Background: Erectile function is important for men´s quality, life and well-being. Regular Aerobe physical activity (PA) can improve vascular function and thus prevent and reduce vascular erectile dysfunction (ED), but dosage and intensity recommendations were unclear. ED is common for men with vascular risk factors as physical inactivity, obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome and /or cardiovascular diseases, for whom vascular ED is caused by endothelia and vascular dysfunction. To ensure the complex intervention: Physical Activity to reduce Vascular Erectile Dysfunction (PAVED) to be useful in clinical physiotherapy practice, the intervention needs to be further explored regarding the receivers’ acceptance of health professionals' information about Physical Activity to reduce Vascular Erectile Dysfunction (i-PAVED), which includes health professionals communicative intervention: address of sensitive topics as sexuality, ED and i-PAVED.

Purpose: The purposes were to:
  1. To investigate the level of PA to reduce vascular ED in men with vascular risk factors for ED
  2. To explore men's acceptability of health professionals’ address of sexuality, ED and i-PAVED 

Methods:
  1. A systematic review of research articles specifically investigating PA to treat vascular ED. 
  2. Interviews with 20 men attending cardiac rehabilitation programmes on men’s acceptance of health professionals address of sexuality, ED and i-PAVED

Results:
  1. Physical activity to reduce ED should include supervised training consisting of 40 min. of aerobic exercise of moderate to vigorous intensity 4 times per week 
  2. Men accepted HPs communication about sexuality, ED and i-PAVED, provided that health professionals have education and competence in the field

Conclusion(s): A guide on the level of PAVED is available and can be used by physiotherapists. Men in cardiac rehabilitation accepted educated and competent health professionals’ address of sexuality, ED and i-PAVED.

Implications: The results of the study showed that physiotherapists can play an important role in providing the complex intervention: PAVED. Health professionals address of sexuality, ED and i-PAVED seems to be acceptable to men. To ensure quality of PAVED, health professionals' education and competence is important concerning sexuality, ED and PAVED.

Funding, acknowledgements: Thank you to UCL University College, Denmark 

Keywords: Development of complex intervention, physical activity, vascular erectile dysfunction

Topic: Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes
Institution: UCL University College, Odense, Denmark
Committee: Anne Fritz-Jensen
Ethics number: UCL-2015-57-0016-040


All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.

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