BACKGROUND Despite the vast literature examining disparities in medical care, little is known about racial/ethnic and mental health disparities in sexual health care. The objective of this study was to assess disparities in safe sex counseling and resultant behavior among a patient population at risk of negative sexual health outcomes. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional analysis among a s...

Cancer treatments often cause sexual dysfunctions that remain severe long after therapy is over. Nevertheless, sexual counseling is not routinely provided in most oncology treatment settings. Most patients and their partners can benefit from brief counseling that includes education on the impact of cancer treatment on sexual functioning; suggestions on resuming sex comfortably and improving sex...

INTRODUCTION One of the most important factors in marital satisfaction is the satisfaction of a healthy sexual relationship between spouses. During pregnancy marital satisfaction may decrease due to sexual problems. Sexual counseling to pregnant women may reduce the complications of these problems at this time. This study aimed to investigate the effects of sexual counseling on marital satisfac...

BACKGROUND The preconception period is crucial to fertility and pregnancy health. Offering education and counseling to couples being treated for infertility improves the outlook of treatment. The aim of this study is to assess preconception education and counseling in a population of Iranian couples treated for infertility. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a cross-sectional study of 268 individu...

BACKGROUND Premarital counseling equips couples with information about all aspects of sexuality and the related health issues. This study was aimed to assess the quality of premarital counseling services in health care centers in Tabriz. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted on 236 randomly selected women from premarital counseling centers in Tabriz was carried out and a self-structur...

human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) is a public health challenge facing both developing and developed nations. although injecting drug use is even the main route of hiv transmission in iran, sexual route is rising gradually. vulnerable women have been considered as important bridging population for driving hiv epidemics. to increase the access to vulnerable women, in 2007, 5 pilot centers were e...

This lead article of the special issue discusses conceptual and methodological considerations in studying sexual minority issues, particularly in research conducted by counseling psychologists (including the work represented in this special issue). First, the overarching challenge of conceptualizing and defining sexual minority populations is described. Second, the importance and value of schol...