Background: Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in developed countries; however Australia and New Zealand currently have the highest incidence rates of prostate cancer worldwide and in Australia, 1 in 4 men are estimated to be diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 85. Many men will experience sexual dysfunction after treatment and these quality of life implications effect not only the man but also his partner. Many men report peer support as important in helping them to normalise their experiences, reduce social isolation, and find new ways to maintain relationship intimacy.  This presentation describes a three arm randomised controlled trial (peer vs. nurse counselling vs. usual care) of a couples-based sexuality interventions.

Method: Couples who were not more than twelve months post treatment wererecruited through urology private practices and hospital outpatient clinics. Couples were

randomised to (1) usual care; (2) eight sessions of peer-delivered telephone support with DVD education; or (3) eight sessions of oncology nurse-delivered telephone counselling with DVD education. The intervention utilised a cognitive behavioural approach along with couple

relationship education focussed on relationship enhancement and helping the couple to conjointly manage the stresses of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Participants were assessed at baseline, and 3, 6 and 12 months subsequently. Outcome measures include: sexual adjustment; unmet sexuality supportive care needs; attitudes to sexual help seeking; psychological adjustment; benefit finding and quality of life.

Results and Conclusions: Over a two year period 189 couples (47%) were recruited. Study retention over twelve months was 90%. There was no significant difference in the therapeutic alliance between patients in the peer (M=4.85, SD=0.72) and nurse (M=5.08, SD=0.71) interventions. Therapeutic alliance was significantly higher for partners in the nurse (M=5.00, SD=0.83) intervention compared to the peer intervention (M=4.47, SD=0.96; p=0.001), however the difference was small. Accordingly, the peer and nurse interventions appeared to be equally acceptable. Preliminary outcome data will also be discussed with regard to the implications for future research and service delivery.