A qualitative investigation into lived experiences of patients with hypertension in Soran District, Iraqi Kurdistan

BACKGROUND: Hypertension (HTN) which is highly prevalent is called a silent killer because it is asymptomatic at its early stages. Moreover, personal and social factors have been reported as effective causes of HTN. In this regard, the present study was aimed at investigating the lived experiences of patients with HTN living in Soran District, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in 2018.METHODS: The current study was conducted by a qualitative method. In so doing, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 patients with HTN who referred to Ashti Hospital in Soran District in 2018. To analyze the recorded and transcribed interviews, Van Manen’s (1990) hermeneutic phenomenological method was employed, and finally the themes were obtained.RESULTS: Data analysis led to appearance of four main themes which were: denial and ignorance of the disease, disturbance in social and familial life, interference with physical and mental health, and treatment difficulty.CONCLUSION: Given the themes obtained from analyzing the interviews, medical teams are recommended to convince patients with HTN about seriousness of their disease and help them with their physical and mental health. Also, families of such patients are advised to learn how to deal with them while their blood pressure (BP) is high. And finally, governmental authorities are suggested to provide such patients with insurance services so they can afford the treatment costs

A Cry for Help and Protest: Self-Immolation in Young Kurdish Iraqi Women -A Qualitative Study

Background: Suicide is a major psychiatric emergency that has always been a topic of great interest to researchers. Self-immolation is a heinous suicide method that is common in Eastern societies. The present study was conducted to explore probable issues which might lead to self-immolation in young Kurdish Iraqi women. Methods: The present qualitative study was conducted in Soran, Erbil Governorate in Iraq, and the surrounding villages of Soran District (March 2015 to May 2016). Using purposive sampling, we conducted 24 in-depth interviews with women who had done self-immolation. The obtained data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results: The analysis of the data obtained from the interviews led to the extraction of five categories which seems to be related to self-immolation attempts, including not having control over personal life, marital conflicts, seeking attention, instilling guilt in the family members, and resentment towards male dominant community. Conclusion: Self-immolation is a multidimensional phenomenon that has not come to exist overnight and is rooted in various factors that join to encourage self-immolation attempts by women in critical situations. Comprehensive preventive strategies, such as cultural changes, along with education are required to help lower the rate of self-immolation