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Satisfaction with appearance and sexual satisfaction in women with severe burn injuries

Abstract

Burn, particularly in women, can cause a variety of difficulties. Women’s feelings of themselves and of life satisfaction are affected by their body dimensions and satisfaction with appearance, which can be significant predictors of their sexual satisfaction. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between satisfaction with appearance and sexual satisfaction among female patients with severe burn. The present study, adopted a descriptive-analytic approach and used a convenience sampling technique, to select 180 female patients Data collection instruments included a demographic questionnaire, the index of sexual satisfaction (ISS), and the satisfaction with appearance scale (SWAP). The results of this study showed that about 82% of women with severe burn injuries, had a lower level of sexual satisfaction. It was observed that satisfaction with appearance had a significant negative relationship with sexual satisfaction in women with burns (P < 0.001). According to the results of the present study, in order to improve appearance satisfaction and consequently sexual satisfaction, intervention attempts are essential. The findings of this study may have practical applications in the formulation of plans for patients with burn injuries.

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Acknowledgements

The present study is an approved research project of Urmia University of Medical Sciences. It was approved by code no. IR.umsu.rec.1395.119. Hereby, we thank the Vice President for Research and all the patients who participated in this study.

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Correspondence to Saeedeh Alizadeh.

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All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Ethics Committee of Urmia University of Medical Sciences and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all of the participants of the study.

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Kazemzadeh, J., Rabiepoor, S. & Alizadeh, S. Satisfaction with appearance and sexual satisfaction in women with severe burn injuries. Int J Impot Res 34, 215–221 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-021-00407-w

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