We have compiled the results of the latest ISSM membership survey, completed by about 600 ISSM members.

This annual survey provides insight into who ISSM members are and what they think about their membership.

This year, about three-quarters of the respondents were men and one quarter were women. About 20% came from the United States.  Almost 30% were from unspecified countries and the rest hailed from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

About 47% of the respondents were urologists. Thirteen percent were sexual health physicians.

The highest rated membership benefits were subscriptions to The Journal of Sexual Medicine and Sexual Medicine Reviews. Discounted fees for symposia and meetings and networking opportunities were also highly-rated.

We are also pleased to announce the names of five survey respondents who were randomly chosen to receive a voucher for EUR 75,00.  This voucher can be applied to ISSM membership, meeting registration, and/or publications. The winners are:

    Fikret Erdemir, Turkey
    Zdravko Asenov Kamenov, Bulgaria
    Paloma de la Torre y Fernandez, Mexico
    Gabriella Gyovai, Hungary
    Louis Koncz, USA

We congratulate the winners and thank all of the ISSM members who participated in the survey. More information on the survey may be found here.

A new intervention involving cognitive behavior therapy and sex education appears to help women who have sexual problems due to risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO).

Women who have BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutations often have this surgery to reduce their risk of gynecological and breast cancers. The procedure involves removing the ovaries and fallopian tubes. This induces surgical menopause and the resulting declines in estrogen can trigger sexual difficulties.

The program, developed by researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, included a 3.5 hour educational session led by a clinical psychologist followed by two telephone counseling sessions.

Thirty-seven women with a mean age of 44 years participated in the study. All of the women had had RRSO.

Using standardized questionnaires, the researchers found improvements in the women's sexual function, anxiety, and self-efficacy.

Please click here to learn more about this study.

As 2015 approaches, we would like to again thank you for your continued support and loyalty to the International Society for Sexual Medicine. It is you, the membership community, who drives and shapes the ISSM.

In order to ensure that you will have uninterrupted access to all of ISSM's membership benefits, including the Journal of Sexual Medicine, we kindly ask you to pay your ISSM membership dues for 2015 in a timely manner either through one of our affiliated societies or directly with us through this link. Of course, if you have already paid your membership dues, we thank you.

Also, if your contact information has changed, please take a moment to update it through Your ISSM Membership.