Sexualmedizin im ärztlichen Alltag: Bundesweite Umfrage unter Ärzten in der Urologie

Background: Sexual-related problems are very prevalent. Physicians of different disciplines are frequently contacted by men with those problems. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the situation of sexual medicine in daily practice and to evaluate German urologists’ need for further training in this field with a focus on gender-specific differences. Materials and methods: A five-page questionnaire included questions about sexual medicine in daily practice. A focus was set on physicians dealing with sexual medicine in daily practice and their need for further training in this field. In April/Mai 2015, questionnaires were sent per mail to 5955 urologists, urology residents and andrologists throughout Germany. The questionnaire was developed based on previously published studies and a pretest was performed to evaluate comprehensibility. A χ² test was performed to determine significant gender-specific differences; for this propose response options were dichotomised. P values ≤0.05 were considered significant. Results: The response rate was 16.0%, representing 955 questionnaires. A total of 50 questionnaires from non-urologists were excluded, so 905 questionnaires were analysed. The mean age was 47.7 ± 10.4 years, 78.9% were male, 97.0% had studied in Germany, 86.7% were specialists and 37.7% had further qualification in andrology. Conclusion: Our results emphasize the need for further training in sexual medicine, especially for female physicians. This study underlines the demand for advanced qualification in sexual medicine.