DR. JANIE FEATURED in 'The Guardian'

Get tested and talk to your partner: how to have safer sex after age 50

There’s a straightforward reason: more sex in the over-55 population has not coincided with an increase in preventive measures.

This is partly because of a lack of information. “Many didn’t have sex education in school,” said Dr Janie Steckenrider, associate professor at Loyola Marymount University whose teaching and research focuses on gerontology, ageing and sexuality. “They don’t know the risks or the symptoms.”

Online dating has also contributed to increased sexual activity with less social vetting. “It’s not like you’re dating the person you grew up with or who went to your church,” explained Steckenrider. “Somebody that you’re meeting on a dating app – you get whatever information they’re willing to tell you, and a lot of people don’t feel comfortable asking.”

Further, general practitioner often assume older people are not sexually active and often have “little to no medical training on sexual health and ageing”, Steckenrider said. “You fill out a questionnaire about your bowel movements and whether you have fallen, but there’s nothing about whether you’re engaging in unprotected sex.” A geriatric doctor or geriatrician may be more likely to ask or raise sexual health than a GP, said Steckenrider.

It sometimes falls to the patient to bring up the subject. Steckenrider referenced a University of Michigan study that found only 17% of older adults had discussed sexual issues with their doctor in the last two years – and in 60% of those discussions, the patient initiated it.

Dr. Janie was featured in the Guardian.

Source: Guardian