Psychometric evaluation of the endometriosis impact questionnaire (EIQ) in an Iranian population.

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a benign and chronic gynecological estrogen-dependent disease. Considering the prevalence and the importance of measuring the long-term effects of endometriosis in affected women's lives t the EIQ scale was designed and psychometrically analyzed in English in Australia, in three recall periods (last 12 months, 1 to 5 years ago and more than 5 years ago). It has never been used in Iran and its validity and reliability have not been assessed either. Therefore, the present study aimed to translate and investigate the psychometric properties of the EIQ. METHODS: In this study, 200 women were selected through random sampling in 2022. After forward and backward translation, the face validity, content validity, and construct validity of EIQ (through Corrected Item-Total Correlation) were examined. To assess the reliability of the scale, both internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and test-retest stability methods were employed. RESULTS: Impact Score with a score above 1.5 was approved. CVI and CVR values of the EIQ tool were 0.97 and 0.94, respectively. The Item to total Correlation confirmed the construct validity of all seven dimensions of the tool, more than the cut-off (0.3) except lifestyle. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and Intra Correlation Coefficient (ICC) were acceptable for all dimensions. CONCLUSION: The Persian version of EIQ is a valid and reliable scale. This tool is valid and reliable for investigating the long-term impact of endometriosis in Iranian society.

The relationship between women's attitude towards menopause and menopausal symptoms among postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to assess the symptoms of menopausal women as well as the relationship between women's attitude towards menopause and menopausal symptoms. METHOD: This studied, following a cross-sectional method, included 349 selected postmenopausal women attending health care centers. The data was collected using the attitude toward menopause (ATM) checklist and Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaires. RESULTS: The most common menopausal symptoms were physical with joint and muscle pain. The highest mean score belongs to vasomotor symptoms (1.37 ± 1.43), followed by psychosocial (1.32 ± 1.16), physical (1.22 ± 0.96), and sexual (0.91 ± 0.94) symptoms. Attitude toward menopause was significantly influenced by sweat nights, poor memory, and sleeplessness. The marital status and educational level of the husband were the only demographic factors affecting the severity of menopausal symptoms. CONCLUSION: This study provides deeper insights about the relationship between attitudes towards menopause and menopausal symptoms, which can guide health-care professionals towards providing an optimal package.

The effect of educational program based on theory of planned behavior on health promotion and childbearing of minor thalassemia couples.

INTRODUCTION: It is essential to provide key information and support to every woman regarding pregnancy and childbirth to enable all women to make a fully informed decision regarding their choice of reproduction. The study aimed to find the impact of an educational program based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) on health promotion and childbearing of minor thalassemia couples. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study was quasi-experimental. A total of 70 women with minor thalassemia held in Minudasht health center were classified into two groups: study and control. The study group received the educational program based on TPB, and the control group only received the routine program. The data were collected using the TPB-based questionnaire at baseline and 3 months after the intervention. They were analyzed by Chi-square, Student's t-test, Wilcoxon test, and regression analysis through SPSS version 16. RESULTS: The mean (standard deviation) ages of the participants in the control and study group were 30.69 (6.20) and 31.08 (6.66), respectively. There were significant differences between the two groups (study vs. control) in terms of perceived behavioral control, intention, attitude, or childbearing behavior (P < 0.001). The change in fertility behaviors had a significant increase in the study group (62.8%) compared to the control group (2.9%) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the results, the TPB is an effective model to explain fertility intentions and behaviors in Iranian women with minor thalassemia; however, further researches are needed to generalize our findings to other people including healthy women.

Exploration of reproductive healthcare needs among adult men regarding sexual transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS.

INTRODUCTION: One of the most important public health issues is men's sexual and reproductive health. Men are the most important counterparts in the prevention of sexual transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. A low level of men's referral to utilize healthcare services and the stigmatization of reporting sexually transmitted diseases in society due to cultural issues calls for the designation of strategies for improving the men's healthcare conditions. In addition, it is required to assess men's healthcare needs with consideration of cultural-contextual, social, and economic issues. The aim of this study was to explore the reproductive healthcare needs of men regarding sexual transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. METHODS: This was a qualitative study with 34 men and six women from the general population; health policymakers, reproductive health providers, and clergies were collected in two large cities of Iran, including Tehran and Mashhad, in 2015 through individual in-depth interviews. Participants were chosen through purposive sampling. In-depth individual interviews were conducted to collect data. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and using data analysis through conventional qualitative content analysis. Data were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis with MAXqda. RESULTS: The data analysis resulted in the development of four themes and 10 categories. The themes were "men's educational empowerment," "appropriate sociocultural background with advocacy," "organizing sexual needs based on sexual ethics, religious doctrine and women's empowerment," and "meeting men's preventive, caring and welfare needs." CONCLUSION: Because men's reproductive health is intertwined with public health, data collected regarding men's healthcare needs with the consideration of social and cultural factors can be used for designing strategies for reducing the incidence/prevalence rates of STDs and HIV/AIDS.

Assessing Iranian adolescent girls' needs for sexual and reproductive health information.

PURPOSE: To explore the views and experiences of adolescent girls and key adults regarding the necessity of providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services for adolescent girls in Iran. METHODS: This was a qualitative study; the data were coded and categorized in content analysis by MAXQDA10 and were gathered through focus groups with adolescent girls and their mothers and semi-structured interviews with school counselors, sociologists, health providers, state and nongovernmental directors of health programs, clergy, and health policy makers in the Iranian cities of Mashhad, Tehran, Shahroud, and Qom. RESULTS: There were six main reasons for the need to provide SRH services for adolescent girls: a lack of adequate knowledge about SRH, easy access to inaccurate information sources, cultural and social changes, increasing risky sexual behaviors among adolescents, religion's emphasis on sex training of children and adolescents, and the existence of cultural taboos. CONCLUSIONS: Most participants confirmed the necessity of providing SRH services for adolescent girls, so instead of talking about provision or non-provision of these services, it is important for policy makers to plan and provide SRH services that can be consistent with cultural and religious values for adolescent girls.

Iranian adolescent girls' barriers in accessing sexual and reproductive health information and services: a qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescence is a critical period of transition from childhood to adulthood. In today's world, to pass through this period successfully it is necessary to have adequate information and knowledge about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues. In Iran, it is crucial that special attention be paid to reproductive health services for adolescents, especially for girls. PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the views and experiences of adolescent girls and key adults around the barriers to access of Iranian adolescent girls to SRH information and services. METHODS: In this qualitative study, data were gathered through focus groups and semi-structured interviews with 247 adolescent girls and 71 key adults including mothers, teachers, health providers, governmental, nongovernmental and international managers of health programmes, health policymakers, sociologists and clergy in four Iranian cities. Data were coded and categorised using content analysis by MAXQDA10. RESULTS: The main barriers identified were classified in four categories: (1) social and cultural barriers such as taboos; (2) structural and administrative barriers such as inappropriate structure of the health system; (3) political barriers such as lack of an adopted strategy by the government and (4) non-use of religious potential. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent SRH in Iran should be firmly established as a priority for government leaders and policymakers. They should try to provide those services that are consistent with the community's cultural and religious values for adolescent girls.

Self-disclosure of breast cancer diagnosis by Iranian women to friends and colleagues.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common form of cancer in Iranian women, and it remains a major health problem. An increasing number of young women are being diagnosed with BC, and therefore, there is an increasing likelihood that more women will survive breast cancer for many years. Many opine that self-disclosure of BC diagnosis is important because talking about cancer helps people to make sense of their experiences; in fact, self-disclosure appears to play an important role in many health outcomes. However, this has not yet been studied in BC patients in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the status of self-disclosure of BC diagnosis by Iranian women to friends and colleagues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All BC records for 2001-2011 of employed women were studied at five hospitals in Mashhad. Data about the self-disclosure of BC diagnosis were gathered through telephone interviews, and the participants filled out a questionnaire about their status of self-disclosure of BC diagnosis to various groups of people. RESULTS: The mean age of employed women at the time of diagnosis was 44.3 ± 6.7 years. Over 60% self-disclosed to work colleagues and over 90% to bosses/managers. Seventy per cent reported that they had support from their family and husband's family, while 95% reported that they had support from parents, siblings, children and friends. CONCLUSIONS: Most employed women self-disclosed freely to family, friends, colleagues and bosses/managers. Apparently, self-disclosure of breast cancer diagnosis may have negative effects at work. About half of patients reported that they had support from family, managers and colleagues; however, for nearly 28% of employed women, disclosure had less positive effects. In particular, it altered their perception of others, produced difficulties with work and family and diminished closeness with the people who were told. However, the stigma of BC is far less than it once was.

Psychological Predictors of Intention to Deliver Vaginally through the Extended Parallel Process Model: A Mixed-Method Approach in Pregnant Iranian Women.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the fact that cesarean delivery does not offer significant health benefits for either mother or newborn, there has been a noticeable upward trend in elective cesarean births in Iran, over the last two decades. This study aims to examine whether knowledge, perception of health threats, efficacy, and personal beliefs act as psychological predictors towards the intention of women to have a normal vaginal delivery. METHODS: The mixed-method approach was used as quantitative and qualitative design. Simultaneously, 290 pregnant women who visited prenatal clinics participated in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire based on Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model, and four focus groups, respectively. RESULTS: Women perceived lower personal risk but higher levels of efficacy. Perceived self-efficacy, severity, and response efficacy emerged as significant predictors of intention to experience vaginal birth. The participants' insufficient knowledge and misconceptions about birth methods were prevalent. Major themes were identified and divided into negative and positive beliefs about vaginal birth. CONCLUSION: This educational model is useful for understanding women's intention to undergo a vaginal birth, especially when it is combined with a qualitative approach. Maternal care providers should acknowledge their clients' beliefs and intended childbirth methods prior to offering medical intervention.