Ms Shirlene Toh, a principal occupational therapist with Tan Tock Seng Hospital , hopes to break taboos and dispel misconceptions surrounding this topic with regards to people with disabilities.
“All of these myths lead to them being stigmatised by the general public, media, friends and families,” Ms Toh said. “Sometimes, healthcare professionals are also fearful or may not be consistent in asking patients about sexual health concerns after an injury. To them, it’s like opening a can of worms. They may not have the information that the patient needs or they may not have the time,” she added.Ms Shirlene Toh , a principal occupational therapist with Tan Tock Seng Hospital, has a master’s degree in health science from the University of Sydney in Australia.
“The patient said, ‘You realise that I’ll be sleeping with my husband on the same bed when I go home ? What should I do?’. However, sexual health concerns are often left unaddressed when one is undergoing rehabilitation, where the focus tends to be on goals such as physical mobility and helping patients cope psychologically.
However, what sets her therapy sessions apart from mere information taken off Google is that she applies the information to the situation based on the patients’ medical conditions, so that the patients and their partner can still enjoy intimacy. Some go to her and pay private fees for her services. There are also older patients referred by other clinic services at TTSH, for example, from the orthopaedics or geriatric medicine units.
“It always takes two to ‘tango’ and so, similarly in a relationship, both partners’ opinions and issues need to be heard.” This highlights the importance of providing appropriate channels for people with sexual health concerns to raise questions. This means being in-sync emotionally, being emotionally close to one’s partner, being able to let one’s guard down and letting their partner know how they feel.
“I emphasise a lot on personal hygiene because you’d want to talk to someone who smells nice, looks clean. It does affect self-esteem and confidence.”Ms Toh said that many couples also do not realise how important communication is.Ms Shirlene Toh, principal occupational therapist at Tan Tock Seng HospitalDuring the course of her work, she found that the main cause of most sexual dysfunction cases is due to a lack of communication, mutual understanding and trust.
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