ORIGINAL PAPER Disability, Doctors and Sexuality: Do Healthcare Providers Influence the Sexual Wellbeing of People Living with a Neuromuscular Disorder? Shane M. O’Dea • Russell P. Shuttleworth • Nikki Wedgwood Published online: 29 October 2011 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract The recognition that people living with impairments are sexual beings is a relatively new one. Historically, people living with a physical impairment including neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) have been perceived as asexual or potentially deviant. They can experience a lack of information as well as distress and anguish around their sexual and personal relationships. They often face obstacles to maximizing their sexual potential and may internalize negative societal assumptions and attitudes about their sexuality. The extent to which both sexual expression and interactions with healthcare providers influence the impact of physical impairment on the quality of life (QoL) of NMD patients has not previously been determined, providing the rationale for this study. The purpose of this study was (a) to determine if the levels of sexual expression and interac- tions with healthcare providers varied significantly between people with and without a NMD, and (b) to explore the extent to which sexual expression and interactions with healthcare providers significantly influenced the impact of NMDs on QoL. Responses were collected via an online survey using seven instruments: a demographic questionnaire; the Individualised Neuromuscular Quality of Life (INQoL); the Watts Sexual Function Questionnaire (WSFQ Male and Female); the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8); WHO (five) Wellbeing Index; the Brief Burns Depression Checklist (BDC); and the Neuromuscular Patients and HCPS Sexuality Questionnaire. The participants included 144 people living with a NMD (termed the NMD group) and 134 people without a NMD (termed the control group). The scores for sexual expression were significantly lower in the NMD group. The impact on QoL was significantly higher in the NMD group. The fre- quency of sexual intercourse, the consistency of engagement in fulfilling sexual activity, S. M. O’Dea (&) Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, PO Box 828, Melrose Park, SA 5039, Australia e-mail: shane@odea.net.au R. P. Shuttleworth School of Health & Social Development, Deakin University, Faculty of Health, Geelong Waterfront Campus, Geelong, VIC, Australia N. Wedgwood Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, C42 Cumberland Campus, Lidcombe, NSW 2141, Australia 123 Sex Disabil (2012) 30:171–185 DOI 10.1007/s11195-011-9235-3