Love (and) ageing well: A qualitative study of sexual health in the context of ageing well among women aged 50 and over

Abstract

Background: The United Nations has declared 2021–2030 the ‘Decade of Healthy Ageing’ and identified the need to strengthen the evidence base on interpretations and determinants of healthy ageing to inform policy. Objectives: This study sought to interrogate a ‘policy blind spot’ and examine interpretations and experiences of sexuality and sexual health within the context of ageing well among women aged 50+. Design: The qualitative study design was underpinned by an interpretivist epistemology. Research was guided by principles of feminist scholarship and located in an affirmative ageing framework. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted between April–June 2019 with 21 English-speaking women aged 52–76. Women were recruited through community organizations in North West England. Transcripts were analysed using a framework approach to thematic analysis, applying an inductive approach to theme generation. Results: Narratives encompassed six broad themes: reflections on ‘ageing well’; age alone does not define sexuality and sexual health; interpretations of sexual health and sexuality; vulnerability and resistance in later-life sexual health; narratives of (in)visibility; and reimagining services to promote sexual health in later life. There was a dominant belief that sexual health represents a component of ageing well, despite a broad spectrum of sexual expression and health challenges. Sexual expression was diversely shaped by conflicting societal expectations within an evolving digitized environment. In clinical settings, however, sexual health discussions were often muted or framed from a disease-focussed lens. Women expressed a preference for holistic, person-centred sexual health provision from an orientation of wellness to support varied sexual expression, sensitive to wider health, life and relationship realities. Conclusion: This work strengthens calls to disentangle sexual health from disease-centred narratives and legitimize sexual health as part of the healthy ageing agenda.