Title

Help-seeking challenges for female sexual concerns: a qualitative study from Iran.

Authors

Maasoumi, Raziyeh; Sabetghadam, Shadi; Keramat, Afsaneh; Aghayan, Seyed Shahrokh

Abstract

Background: To effectively manage sexual health, people must have access to sexual health services. A small percentage of women with sexual concerns seek professional help. Hence, the need to explain the help-seeking challenges is felt from the perspective of women and health care providers. Methods: This study explored Iranian women's challenges when seeking help for sexual concerns. Using a purposive sampling method, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted in Rasht in 2019–2020. The participants included sexually active women of reproductive age over 18 years old and 8 health care providers. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed through content analysis. Results: From the description of 17 subthemes provided by the participants, two main themes were achieved, "Unfavorable sexuality development context" and "Inefficient sexual health services." Conclusions: According to the results, it is suggested that policymakers pay more attention to the challenges women and health care providers face in help-seeking and promote sexuality education and sexual health services to achieve a higher level of help-seeking among women.

Subjects

IRAN; HELP-seeking behavior; MEDICAL personnel; CHILDBEARING age; IRANIANS; SEX education

Publication

BMC Health Services Research, 2023, Vol 23, Issue 1, p1

ISSN

1472-6963

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1186/s12913-023-09719-7