Gunter De Win associate professor

Research Gunter De Win

Research team

Expertise

Simulation training for laparoscopic urology Varicoceles and pubertal development Porn induced sexual dysfuctions Transition and congenital lifelong urology

Sexual well-being of young people in times of widespread pornography use (SWYPPE). 01/10/2024 - 30/09/2028

Abstract

Since the rise of freely accessible pornographic streaming websites, porn consumption (PC) has become normative and widespread across most parts of the world. The rate of teenagers being exposed to pornography before the age of 13 has tripled over the last decade. The majority of young men masturbate several times a week (and even daily) with the help of pornography. PC can have a positive impact on body satisfaction, self- exploration and self-esteem but little evidence about the effects of PC on sexual development and later wellbeing is available. However, some negative (not necessarily proven ) information about pornography created a moral panic in several societies. The Flemish child help line receives regular calls of young people having difficulty to deal with pornrelated issues. Flemish students expressed the need for information and education about pornography related matters as early as possible. Care-providers see an important increase in young people consulting with (self-perceived porn induced) sexual dysfunctions. Our discussions with young people of diverse backgrounds made clear they need and want help in navigating the sexual explicit media they consume, especially in contexts where teachers and parents find it difficult to communicate about this. Further, in order to understand why some AYA's struggle, we further want to understand the impact of pornography consumption (or sudden abstinence from) in relation to young peoples' SWb in health care contexts. Our multidisciplinary multistakeholder project on sexual wellbeing (SWb) of Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) in the ethnically and sexually diverse society of Flanders will advance the knowledge in this polarized field. Given the increasing uptake of PC in our diverse society it's time that these issues are studied thoroughly and results implemented in lesson plans and applications in order to improve the SWb of AYA.

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  • Research Project

I(swyppe): Improving "sexual wellbeing of young people in times of widespread pornography consumption"proposal. 01/12/2023 - 30/11/2025

Abstract

In the SBO project SWYPPE we look at the sexual wellbeing of young people (in times of widespread pornography consumption). We focus on the social context, healthcare context, family context and school contexts. To improve our SWYPPE proposal, with this SEP grant "Iswyppe" we will improve our SBO proposal at 3 levels: 1) Understanding Parental Resistance towards sexual education and porn literacy education 2) Understanding how different motivations and habits, education, gender identity and pornography categories are linked to problematic consumption and sexual dysfunction. 3) Testing a new diary tool to understand sexual habits.

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  • Research Project

Personalized urotherapy at home to improve the care pathway of children with Lower Urinary Tract (LUT) dysfunctions. 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2025

Abstract

The products and services supporting urotherapy play a crucial role in the effectiveness of therapy. The traditional urotherapy products are often paper-based solutions and the little technology used, can be perceived as outdated. For example, traditional paper-based bladder diaries are described by patients as cumbersome and inconvenient, resulting in low patient compliance. Several innovations have been introduced to overcome these obstacles, such as digital bladder diaries and a urotherapy gaming application. However, all had limited or no effect. A potential reason is the design methodology behind these innovations, which focuses on scientific evidence to make sure the design complies with evidencebased guidelines. In contrast, user needs are not or insufficiently investigated during the design process, resulting in innovations that do not fulfill users' expectations. We believe the design of effective healthcare innovations requires a new approach that combines objective knowledge (Evidence Based Design) with subjective user experience (User Experience Design). It is our hypothesis that the combination of both design methodologies will lead to stronger design propositions, enhancing treatment outcomes and patient experience. In this research project we will investigate the impact of this integrated approach by applying it to the design of an ecosystem of interlinked products and services to offer personalized urotherapy at home.

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  • Research Project

A roadmap to smart, reusable and qualitative healthcare (reCURE) 01/05/2022 - 30/04/2024

Abstract

The overall goal of reCURE is to provide suppliers of non-invasive medical textiles, with tools to successfully transition from disposable to reusable alternatives in the complex value chain of the healthcare sector. The actions in the project therefore focus on supporting the industrial value chain to effectively redesign and introduce their innovative reusable textile products for the healthcare sector, taking into account the strict requirements regarding safety, hygiene, sterility and accuracy as well as acceptance by medical staff and patients. Knowledge regarding the integration of functional textile properties and intelligence (UGent) and product acceptance (UAntwerpen) will be validated in relevant example cases. The results will be worked out in a roadmap to support the target group with the necessary knowledge to develop their products in such a way that their reusable character will be accepted by the care sector. In this way the desirability and acceptance of reuse is addressed. In addition, the focus is also on the possibility of further optimizing the reusable products in terms of functionality and intelligence, which is usually not feasible for disposable products that are mainly focused on price. This project has 2 target groups: the industrial suppliers in the value chain (material and textile producers, re-processors (cleaning, maintenance, repair, sterilization...), machine builders and recyclers) and the users from the healthcare sector.

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Project type(s)

  • Research Project