Sex, Psychopharmacology, and Diabetes
Condition(s) studied
Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)
Educational intervention: Different teaching sessions are used for patients and healthcare professionals, respectively. The teaching sessions are held at the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Centers from which the patients are recruited. The duration is 3x30 minutes with breaks for patients and 60 minutes for healthcare professionals. Teaching sessions are held by two doctors a specialist in clinical pharmacology and a specialist in psychiatry and clinical sexology providing the participants with knowledge and tools for the dialogue on SD and drug-related side effects. The topics of the teaching sessions are: * What is sexuality? * How psychopharmacology influences sexuality * What can be done? The topics will be addressed in a mixture of short informative talks using a PowerPoint presentation, group discussions, and exchanges of personal experiences.
Study summary
The term sexual (SD) dysfunction covers conditions that prevent people from having a satisfactory sex life. SD is a frequent and sometimes debilitating complication of mental illness and a known adverse reaction to psycho-pharmacological treatment. SD is also associated with diabetes, a common somatic comorbidity in psychiatric patients. SD is associated with both reduced quality-of-life and reduced treatment adherence, yet SD is far too rarely addressed between the patient and the healthcare professional in clinical consultations.
The purpose of the study is to investigate whether targeted education of patients with schizophrenia and diabetes/prediabetes and/or their healthcare professionals in causes and management of SD:
* Increases the number of systematic examinations of sexual side effects,
* Causes changes in the psycho-pharmacological treatment, and
* Reduces the severity or perception of sexual side effects.
The study is a multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with four arms, in which the educational intervention is provided to patients, healthcare professionals, or both groups. The effect of the educational intervention is compared to a non-educated control group. The study is expected to include 192 patients recruited from 16 assertive community treatment centers evenly distributed in four Danish regions.
The study is part of an interdisciplinary project named SECRET. The educational intervention was developed in an ethnographic pre-study incorporating stakeholder engagement. Parallel to the present RCT, an ethnographic field study will be carried out to broaden the perspective on the effects of the intervention.
Eligibility
Primary outcome measure(s)
- Changes from baseline to follow up in the total score of Changes in Sexual Function Questionnaire-14 (CSFQ-14) — At inclusion and at follow-up, i.e. 6 months after the educational intervention is finished.
Measured by Changes in Sexual Function Questionnaire-14 (CSFQ-14)
Trial sites (1)
| Facility | City | Region | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assertive Community Centres | Slagelse | Denmark | Recruiting |
More Zealand University Hospital trials in Denmark
Other trials for the same condition
This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.
View NCT05951660 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ ← All trials in Denmark