Currently submitted to: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Jul 29, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 31, 2026 - Sep 25, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Occupational Therapists’ Perceptions of Addressing Sexual Health After Stroke: A Scoping Review Protocol of Qualitative Studies
ABSTRACT
Background:
Sexual health is recognized as an essential component of holistic rehabilitation but it is frequently neglected by occupational therapists (OTs) during rehabilitation. Stroke survivors, who may have sexual health concerns, could be deprived of holistic care if their physical, psychological, and relational concerns related to sexual health are not addressed. This could be due to various therapist-related, client-related, or environmental factors. Understanding therapists’ perceptions and experiences with sexual health in clinical practice is essential to develop solutions to overcome these practical barriers. Aim: The aim of this scoping review is to explore and map the perceptions and experiences reported by OTs while addressing sexual health concerns of post-stroke patients within rehabilitation settings. Methods and analysis: This scoping review will be conducted using a systematic approach guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Systematic searches will be conducted in PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science for English language full-text articles published from January 2000 to May 2026. Articles reporting OTs’ experiences and perceptions regarding sexual health in clinical practice and rehabilitation will be eligible for the review. The data will be extracted and analyzed using content analysis method in Microsoft Excel. The results will be reported descriptively with a narrative summary. Ethics and dissemination: This study protocol has been registered in the Open Science Framework (DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/TRP2W). As this study involves the analysis of publicly available data, ethical approval is not required. Findings will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
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