Investigation of sexual life and perceived spousal support in female recipients after kidney transplantation

Introduction: End-stage renal failure has negative effects on sexual life, and solid kidney transplantation helps to recovery in sexuality. However, recovery in sexual life progresses slowly, and female recipients may need spousal support during this process. To examine the perceived spousal support and sexual lives of female kidney recipients in the aim of this study. Methods: The study was conducted as a descriptive and cross-sectional research. 158 female kidney recipients were included in the study. In data collection, Personal Information Form, Spousal Support Scale, and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale were used. The study data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Dunn-Bonferroni post-hoc test, and Spearman correlation analysis. Results: In this study 47.5 % of the female recipients were within the age range of 28–40 years. 43.7 % had university education and above. 60.1 % had their income equal to their expenses. 38 % of the female kidney recipients suffered from diabetes mellitus and endocrine problems. In this study, sexual dysfunction of female kidney recipients was found to be slightly above average. The spouse support perceived by the female recipients was well above average. As a result of this study was determined that as the economic status of the female recipients improved, perceived spousal support increased (p < 0.05). It was also determined that the female kidney recipients who were 40 years old and above, had poor economic status, used Tacrolimus and Cyclosporine, and had a comorbid chronic disease were under more risk in terms of poor sexual life, and their perceived spousal support was above moderate level. Conclusion: The sexual life of female kidney recipients is affected by their clinical situation (concomitant diseases, advanced age, medication use). On the other hand, strong spouse support can make significant contributions to improving sexual life. A correlation was found in the study between sexual life and perceived spousal support in the female kidney recipients. The findings of the study point to the importance of spousal support in terms of improving sexual lives in female kidney recipients. Studies should be conducted on these two important concepts in planning care interventions and training programs.