Sexuality is a fundamental part of a full and healthy life and it is also a basic human right. Sexuality contributes to quality-of-life of everyone including persons with chronic conditions including amputation.  Despite this, it is rarely addressed by health professionals, and conversations with persons with chronic diseases or with amputations about sexuality rarely occur.

Sexuality can be defined as a combination of “sexual well-being” and “sexual functioning”.  Sexual well-being refers to how someone experiences sexuality in the context of their personal life.  Sexual functioning refers to the performance standards of the sexual response cycle.

Illness, injury, and disability can have a negative impact on sexuality and particularly on sexual functioning.  Sexuality and sexual functioning may be affected after an amputation.  In the 11 or so published research papers on sexuality in persons with lower-limb loss, lack of satisfaction with their sexual life is reported by between 13 and 75% of persons with amputation (Geertzen et al, 2009).  This is a very wide range considering that about 20% of the population without amputation is dissatisfied with their sexual life.

What is your role as a peer visitor?  Prepare, in advance of your meeting, how you would respond if the person you are visiting expresses concerns about sexuality.  During the visit, if you sense that it might be an issue for the person and they have not broached the topic, use a question about relationships to break the ice.

Read the article Sex and Intimacy after Amputation published in the Amplitude magazine in 2019.  After reading the article, complete the questions to check your understanding.

Check Your Understanding

This is a self-assessment to check your understanding of the concepts presented in this section. Be sure to click the blue arrow button in the bottom right corner of the activity window below to navigate through all 4 questions. You can attempt the activity multiple times.