Background: The diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer is followed by substantial sexual morbidity. However, the optimal approach for intervening remains unclear.
Methods/design: A three arm randomised control trial with 189 heterosexual couples in which the man had been previously diagnosed with prostate cancer compared the efficacy of peer-delivered telephone support vs. nurse-delivered telephone counselling vs. usual care in improving both men’s and women’s sexual and psychosocial adjustment. Assessments were undertaken at baseline (pre-test) and 3, 6, and 12 months after the initial assessment
Results: At the 12 months post- assessment men in the nurse intervention more frequently used tablets for erectile dysfunction compared with men in the peer intervention (p = 0.049) or usual care (p = 0.001); and men in usual care used medical treatments for sexual problems less than men in the peer (p = 0.014) and nurse intervention (p = 0.006). No significant effects were found for the other primary outcomes of sexual function, sexuality needs, sexual self-confidence, masculine self-esteem, marital satisfaction or intimacy for either male or female participants. For secondary outcomes, men in the peer intervention reported less improvement over time for cancer-specific distress, compared with men in usual care (b = 0.02, p = 0.032; d for peers = 0.23, d for usual care = 0.70); women in the nurse intervention reported less improvement over time for cancer-specific distress (b = .016, p = 0.022; d for nurse = 0.40, d for usual care = 0.68) compared to women in usual care. No differences in psychological distress or quality of life were observed.
Conclusion: Although peer and nurse couples based interventions may increase use of sexual aids this may not translate into better sexual outcomes. Timing within the treatment trajectory may be crucial for sexuality intervention studies after prostate cancer treatment.