Views and Experiences of Sex, Sexuality and Relationships Following Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of the Qualitative Literature

Abstract Research examining the effects of spinal cord injury on sexuality has largely focused on physiological functioning and quantification of dysfunction following injury. This paper reports a systematic review of qualitative research that focused on the views and experiences of people with spinal cord injury on sex and relationships. The review addressed the following research question: What are the views and experiences of people with spinal cord injury of sex, sexuality and relationships following injury? Five databases were relevant and employed in the review: CINAHL (1989–2016 only), PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, for research published between 1 January 1980 and 30 November 2019. After removing duplicates, 257 records remained and were screened using a two-stage approach to inclusion and quality appraisal. Following screening, 27 met the criteria for inclusion and are reported in the paper. The review includes studies from fifteen countries across five continents. Two main approaches to data analysis summary and thematic synthesis were undertaken to analyze the qualitative data reported in the papers. The analysis revealed four main themes: sexual identity; significant and generalized others, sexual embodiment; and; sexual rehabilitation and education.

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Assessing Nociception by Fmri of the Human Spinal Cord: A Systematic Review

Magnetic Resonance Insights ◽

10.4137/mri.s23556 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8s1 ◽

pp. MRI.S23556 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tiffany A. Kolesar ◽

Kirsten M. Fiest ◽

Stephen D. Smith ◽

Jennifer Kornelsen

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Spinal Cord ◽

Spinal Cord Injury ◽

Reference Lists ◽

Web Of Science ◽

Original Research ◽

Noxious Stimulation ◽

Human Spinal Cord ◽

Cord Injury ◽

Spinal Fmri

Objective To assess the use of fMRI of the spinal cord in measuring noxious stimulation. Methods The Scopus, Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were searched, along with the reference lists of included articles. Two independent reviewers screened abstracts, full-text articles, and extracted data. Original research was included if fMRI of the human spinal cord was used to measure responses to noxious stimulation. Results Of the 192 abstracts screened, 19 met the search criteria and were divided according to their focus: investigating pain responses ( n = 6), methodology ( n = 6), spinal cord injury ( n = 2), or cognition–pain interactions ( n = 5). All but one study appear to have observed activity in ipsilateral and dorsal gray matter regions in response to noxious stimuli, although contralateral or ventral activity was also widely observed. Conclusions Although nociception can be investigated using spinal fMRI, establishing reliability, standardizing methodology, and reporting of results will greatly advance this field.

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