Iranian women’s experiences of infertility: A qualitative study

Background: There are concerns and diverse experiences related to infertility and childlessness. The lived experience of infertile people from various cultures needs to be explored. Objective: The aim of this qualitative study was to explore Iranian women experiences of their infertility. Materials and Methods: The data comprised interviews about fertility issues in the Persian language with eighteen women, aged 17-45 yr old, who agreed to be interviewed at the Mottahari Infertility Treatment Clinic, affiliated to the Urmia University of Medical Sciences about their fertility problems. They were approached by the researchers at the time of their first visit. The verbatim transcribed interviews were analyzed using deductive conventional content analysis. Results: The experiences of the informants were conceptualized into four major themes: 1) Shock (subthemes: Disbelief and Denial); 2) Reaction (subthemes: Distress, Guilt, Loss of self-esteem and Sexual reluctance); 3) Processing (subthemes: Internal processing, Avoidance, Marriage at risk, External processing, Stigma caused by the family and Stigma caused by the community) and 4) Reorientation (subthemes: Forgetting, Marriage to saving marriage and Sexual consent). Conclusion: Infertility can be a challenging condition. Considering that infertilityrelated issues affect Iranian women more contextual factors is necessary. So, culturally sensitive and gender specific protocols are suggested to provide suitable and about culturally sensitive and genderspecific protocols is a necessity in order to provide suitable care to infertile women. Key words: Iran, Women, Infertility, Qualitative

Iranian women’s experiences of infertility: A qualitative study

Background: There are concerns and diverse experiences related to infertility and childlessness. The lived experience of infertile people from various cultures needs to be explored.Objective: The aim of this qualitative study was to explore Iranian women experiences of their infertility.Materials and Methods: The data comprised interviews about fertility issues in the Persian language with eighteen women, aged 17-45 yr old, who agreed to be interviewed at the Mottahari Infertility Treatment Clinic, affiliated to the Urmia University of Medical Sciences about their fertility problems. They were approached by the researchers at the time of their first visit. The verbatim transcribed interviews were analyzed using deductive conventional content analysis.Results: The experiences of the informants were conceptualized into four major themes: 1) Shock (subthemes: Disbelief and Denial); 2) Reaction (subthemes: Distress, Guilt, Loss of self-esteem and Sexual reluctance); 3) Processing (subthemes: Internal processing, Avoidance, Marriage at risk, External processing, Stigma caused by the family and Stigma caused by the community) and 4) Reorientation (subthemes: Forgetting, Marriage to saving marriage and Sexual consent).Conclusion: Infertility can be a challenging condition. Considering that infertility-related issues affect Iranian women more contextual factors is necessary. So, culturally sensitive and gender specific protocols are suggested to provide suitable and about culturally sensitive and gender-specific protocols is a necessity in order to provide suitable care to infertile women. </p

Medical Students’ Specialty Preference Relative to Trait Emotional Intelligence and General Self-Efficacy

Medical students’ specialty preference (SP) for future areas of expertise in the context of their profession has always been in focus of interest. The purpose of this study was fourfold: (i) To disclose medical students’ SP; (ii) To reveal SP’s underlying extrinsic, intrinsic or dual motivations; (iii) To assess medical students’ trait emotional intelligence (EI), and general sense of perceived self-efcacy (GSE); (iv) To observe gender differences in SP choice. 93% out of 318 medical students completed questionnaires comprising 13 SP hints and student’s underlying motivation for SP. By Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Short Form and General Self-Efcacy Scale, students’ personality characteristics were self-rated. By principal component analysis, the components ‘working situation’ (reecting extrinsic motivation), ‘specialty prospect’ (suggesting intrinsic motivation) and ‘Career Opportunity’ (indicating dual motivation) were scrutinised. Students scoring high on trait EI and GSE were analysed separately. Male students prioritised surgical specialties (26%); female students preferred general practice (13.7%). Female students exhibited intrinsic motivation in Specialty Prospect; male students displayed extrinsic motivation in Career Opportunities. High trait EI-scoring male students surpassed high-scoring female students; high GSE-scoring male students exceeded high-scoring female students; also, in the total sum GSE as opposed to total sum of trait EI scores, where no gender difference emerged. Components specialty prospect and career opportunity related to students’ trait EI and GSE. Family characteristics linked to students’ trait EI and GSE along with their SP choice. In conclusion, male students prioritised surgical specialties as opposed to female students, who preferred general practice. The underlying motivation attracting a student to SP was revealed. Female students were intrinsically motivated, more so than male students, who displayed extrinsic ambition. High trait EI-scoring male students surpassed high-scoring female students, but no gender difference was found in total EI sum. High GSE-scoring male students exceeded high-scoring female students, also in total GSE sum. Trait EI and GSE were non-interchangeable but complementary measures informative in medical education.</div