Nursing intervention strategies and outcome measures for sexual health in patients with prostate cancer: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Prostate cancer and its treatments can affect multiple dimensions of sexual health, extending beyond erectile function to sexual desire, orgasm, sexual satisfaction, body image, intimacy and relational well-being. Nurses are well positioned to assess these concerns and provide continuing educational, rehabilitative, psychological and relationship support. However, nursing intervention strategies and their outcome measures remain heterogeneous and have not been comprehensively mapped. This scoping review aims to identify, describe and map nursing intervention strategies for sexual health among men with prostate cancer and the outcome measures used to evaluate them. Methods and analysis The primary research question is: What nursing intervention strategies for sexual health among men with prostate cancer have been reported, and how have their outcomes been measured? The review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews, with eligibility criteria defined using the Participants, Concept and Context framework. Randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled studies and eligible intervention protocols with an identifiable nursing component will be considered. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science Core Collection and CENTRAL will be searched from inception to the final search date without language restrictions. Reference-list screening and forward citation searching will supplement database searches. Two reviewers will independently screen sources and extract data using a pilot-tested form, with disagreements resolved through discussion or consultation with a third reviewer. Intervention strategies, outcome domains and measurement instruments will be systematically coded, classified and summarised using tables, charts and narrative synthesis. No formal risk-of-bias assessment will be conducted. Ethics and dissemination This review will use information exclusively from publicly available literature and will not involve human participants, personal data or biological specimens; therefore, ethics approval and informed consent are not required. Findings will be disseminated through publication in an international peer-reviewed open-access journal and presentation at conferences. Clinical trial number : Not applicable.