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Help-seeking challenges for female sexual concerns: a qualitative study from Iran
Raziyeh Maasoumi1,2, Shadi Sabetghadam3,4, Afsaneh Keramat5
1Department of Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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.
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