Women's sexual health

This article describes a biopsychosocial approach to women's sexual health in the primary care setting. Women's sexual health extends beyond reproductive health, encompassing physical, intellectual, emotional, interpersonal, and spiritual domains. Given the complicated interactions between thoughts, body, and the outside world, any intervention must account for the patient's sexual, relationship, and life-event contexts to improve sexual function. The PLISSIT model provides an interdisciplinary tool that guides physicians in the assessment and treatment of female sexual concerns while emphasizing the wide range of normal female sexual response. Core psychosexual and biomedical interventions, such as minimizing the sexual side effects of medications, provide a foundation for addressing most sexual health concerns. Further treatment, including hormone therapy or pelvic physical therapy, is then tailored to the specific disorder and needs of the patient. The patient-centered and interdisciplinary nature of family medicine present an opportune setting to address women's sexual health needs.