National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Impotence Conference Statement - Strategies for Improving Public Knowledge about Erectile Dysfunction

Written by Krista

Strategies for Improving Public Knowledge

To a significant degree, the public, particularly older men, is conditioned to accept erectile dysfunction as a condition of progressive aging for which little can be done. In addition, there is considerable inaccurate public information regarding sexual function and dysfunction. Often, this is in the form of advertisements in which enticing promises are made, and patients then become even more demoralized when promised benefits fail to materialize. Accurate information on sexual function and the management of dysfunction must be provided to affected men and their partners. They also must be encouraged to seek professional help, and providers must be aware of the embarrassment and/or discouragement that may often be reasons why men with erectile dysfunction avoid seeking appropriate treatment.

To reach the largest audience, communications strategies should include informative and accurate newspaper and magazine articles, radio and television programs, as well as special educational programs in senior centers. Resources for accurate information regarding diagnosis and treatment options also should include doctors' offices, unions, fraternal and service groups, voluntary health organizations, State and local health departments, and appropriate advocacy groups. Additionally, since sex education courses in schools uniformly address erectile function, the concept of erectile dysfunction can easily be communicated in these forums as well.

Strategies for Improving Professional Knowledge

• Provide wide distribution of this statement to physicians and other health professionals whose work involves patient contact.
• Define a balance between what specific information is needed by the medical and general public and what is available, and identify what treatments are available.
• Promote the introduction of courses in human sexuality into the curricula of graduate schools for all health care professionals. Because sexual well-being is an integral part of general health, emphasis should be placed on the importance of obtaining a detailed sexual history as part of every medical history.
• Encourage the inclusion of sessions on diagnosis and management of erectile dysfunction in continuing medical education courses.
• Emphasize the desirability for an interdisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of erectile dysfunction. An integrated medical and psychosocial effort with continuing contact with the patient and partner may enhance their motivation and compliance with treatment during the period of sexual rehabilitation.
• Encourage the inclusion of presentations on erectile dysfunction at scientific meetings of appropriate medical specialty associations, State and local medical societies, and similar organizations of other health professions.
• Distribute scientific information on erectile dysfunction to the news media (print, radio, and television) to support their efforts to disseminate accurate information on this subject and to counteract misleading news reports and false advertising claims.
• Promote public service announcements, lectures, and panel discussions on both commercial and public radio and television on the subject of erectile dysfunction.

WHAT ARE THE NEEDS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH?

This consensus development conference on male erectile dysfunction has provided an overview of current knowledge on the prevalence, etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of this condition. The growing individual and societal awareness and open acknowledgment of the problem have led to increased interest and resultant explosion of knowledge in each of these areas. Research on this condition has produced many controversies, which also were expressed at this conference. Numerous questions were identified that may serve as foci for future research directions. These will depend on the development of precise agreement among investigators and clinicians in this field on the definition of what constitutes erectile dysfunction, and what factors in its multifaceted nature contribute to its expression. In addition, further investigation of these issues will require collaborative efforts of basic science investigators and clinicians from the spectrum of relevant disciplines and the rigorous application of appropriate research principles in designing studies to obtain further knowledge and to promote understanding of the various aspects of this condition.

The needs and directions for future research can be considered as follows:

• Development of a symptom score sheet to aid in the standardization of patient assessment and treatment outcome.
• Development of a staging system that may permit quantitative and qualitative classification of erectile dysfunction.
• Studies on perceptions and expectations associated with racial, cultural, ethnic, and societal influences on what constitutes normal male erectile function and how these same factors may be responsible for the development and/or perception of male erectile dysfunction.
• Studies to define and characterize what is normal erectile function, possibly as stratified by age.
• Additional basic research on the physiological and biochemical mechanisms that may underlie the etiology, pathogenesis, and response to treatment of the various forms of erectile dysfunction.