This article encourages the reader to consider sexuality and sexual health as essential to a full nursing assessment. It discusses the reasons why nurses should be more open in consultations with mental health service users in regard to sexual health. A step-by-step model that assists nurses in their interventions with service users on issues of sexuality is explored, and each stage of the model is explained. Although predominantly directed at mental health nurses, the main principles in this article could be adapted and applied to other care contexts, such as adult nursing.
Keywords: holistic assessment; mental health nursing; patient safety; sexual health; sexuality.