Why Iranian married women use withdrawal instead of oral contraceptives? A qualitative study from Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Withdrawal as a method of birth control is still used in Iran. The aim of this study was to explore married women's perspectives and attitudes on withdrawal use instead of oral contraceptive (OC) in Tehran, Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a qualitative study. Participants were 50 married women, not currently pregnant, not desiring pregnancy and who had been using withdrawal for contraception. Face-to face interviews were conducted to collect data. Content analysis was performed to analyze the data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Four major themes were extracted from the interviews: advantages, disadvantages, barriers for OC use, and husband-related factors. Advantages of withdrawal use were identified as: easy to use, convenient, ease of access, natural. Even those participants who had experienced unwanted pregnancy while using withdrawal, relied on withdrawal as their contraceptive method. Disadvantages of OC included concerns about side effects. Barriers related to use of OC included the need for medical advice, vaginal examination and daily use. Husband-related factors included: the husband wanted to be the primary decision maker on the number of children and that he preferred withdrawal.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Health providers should address misunderstandings that exist about OC and highlight the non-contraceptive health benefits of OC to balance the information provided for women. We suggest that not only women but also their spouses be advised in family planning programs.</p

The training needs of Turkish emergency department personnel regarding intimate partner violence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Violence against females is a widespread public health problem in Turkey and the lifetime prevalence of IPV ranges between 34 and 58.7%. Health care workers (HCW) sometimes have the unique opportunity and obligation to identify, treat, and educate females who are abused. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of the emergency department (ED) staff regarding intimate partner violence (IPV) at a large university hospital in Turkey.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted in a large university hospital via questionnaire. The study population consisted of all the nurses and physicians who worked in the ED during a two month period (n = 215). The questionnaire response rate was 80.5% (41 nurses and 132 physicians). The main domains of the questionnaire were knowledge regarding the definition of IPV, clinical findings in victims of IPV, legal aspects of IPV, attitudes towards IPV, knowledge about the characteristics of IPV victims and abusers, and professional and personal experiences and training with respect to IPV.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One-half of the study group were females, 76.3% were physicians, and 89.8% had no training on IPV. The majority of the nurses (89.5%) and physicians (71.1%) declared that they were aware of the clinical appearance of IPV. The mean of the knowledge scores on clinical knowledge were 8.84 ± 1.73 (range, 0–10) for acute conditions, and 4.51 ± 3.32 for chronic conditions. The mean of the knowledge score on legal procedures and the legal rights of the victims was 4.33 ± 1.66 (range, 0–7). At least one reason to justify physical violence was accepted by 69.0% of females and 84.7% of males, but more males than females tended to justify violence (chi square = 5.96; p = 0.015). However, both genders accepted that females who experienced physical violence should seek professional medical help.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study participants' knowledge about IPV was rather low and a training program is thus necessary on this issue. Attention must be given to the legal aspects and clinical manifestations of IPV. The training program should also include a module on gender roles in order to improve the attitudes towards IPV.</p

JOURNAL OF CANCER EDUCATION

We aimed to identify knowledge about cervical cancer (CC) and Pap test (PT) and the barriers why women do not have Pap test done. The study was conducted with a sample of 1,036 women. Overall, 64.4 % had heard of CC, 43.1 % had heard about PT and 24.7 % had had a test at least once. It was determined that women had moderate knowledge of cervical cancer but poor knowledge of Pap test. Knowledge of CC and PT was significantly better among employed and single women, who had higher education, no prior delivery, a higher income level and regular gynaecological examination. Common barriers to PT were lack of awareness, being uncomfortable with the procedure and not knowing where to go for a PT. Utilization of the PT will not increase unless knowledge is improved and barriers are eliminated. Healthcare professionals are the key persons to provide both knowledge and facilities towards the goal of CC prevention

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING

Aims and objectives To determine awareness, use and attitudes of Turkish women towards prenatal screening tests (PST) for Down syndrome (DS). Background The technology of screening and diagnosing congenital diseases and abnormalities of foetuses has rapidly developed in the past few decades and prenatal screening for DS in early pregnancy is a valued component representing a cost-effective public health intervention in modern developed countries. Design Cross-sectional and descriptive study. Methods The study was carried out in 518 women in the early postpartum period at the Maternity and Children's Hospital between 1 September 2010 and 1 March 2011 using a questionnaire developed by the researchers. Results Awareness about the first- and second-trimester PST [nuchal translucency (NT), triple test] was 21 center dot 6 and 59 center dot 7%, whereas use of them was 13 center dot 7 and 44 center dot 8%, respectively. Women who had lower education, were unemployed, had a patriarchal family type, had a low income status, were unmarried, had consanguineous marriage and did not have a private doctor were less aware and had less use of NT and/or triple test. Women who did not have a genetic disease in their family, were multiparous, had an unplanned pregnancy and did not receive antenatal care were less aware and had less use of the triple test. In case, the foetus was diagnosed as DS, women made the following decisions: continuing the pregnancy, terminating the pregnancy, leaving the decision to the doctor and being not sure 34 center dot 9, 12 center dot 0, 29 center dot 9 and 23 center dot 2%, respectively. Conclusion Women's knowledge about and attitudes towards PST are important. This study shows that Turkish women have limited knowledge about and use of PST. Therefore, health professionals play a significant role in improving patients' information about PST. They should dedicate more time to discussions with women, provide appropriate and understandable information tailored to women's socio-economical level and should emphasise the indications, purposes and limitations of PST. Relevance to clinical practice Discovering women's opinions and knowledge about PST will help healthcare providers determine their information needs

JOURNAL OF THE PAKISTAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

Objective: To determine the frequency, associated factors and relationship with vulvovaginal symptoms and vaginal douching among Turkish women. Methods: The cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted at Merkez Efendi Hospital, Manisa, Turkey, from January to June 2014 using a questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 17. Results: Of the total 343 women in the study, 91(26.5%) had reported vaginal douching in the preceding year. Statistically significant relationship was determined between the vaginal douching behaviour and couples who had low educationand low income levels, having unplanned pregnancy and had someone in their neighbourhood who douched (p<0.05 each). The most common reason for using vaginal douching was reported to be cleanliness by 85(93.4%) women, prevention of genital infections 75(82.4%), cleaning after/before sexual intercourse 72(79%), duringmenstruation 49(54%), prevention of vaginal discharge 69(76%), decreasing of unpleasant odours 65(71.4%) and religious beliefs 46(50.5%). Self-reported history of vaginal infection was significantly more common for women who douched compared those who did not (p<0.05). Conclusion: Healthcare providers should determine the reason and risky groups of women and educate the women to stop the vaginal douching behaviour and harmful effects of vaginal douching

ASIAN PACIFIC JOURNAL OF CANCER PREVENTION

Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) occurs in women of all age groups, and causes cervical, anal, vaginal, vulvar, penile and oropharyngeal cancers. The aim of the study was to discover what nurses know about HPV infection, testing and vaccination and to determine vaccine practice of their daughters and perceived barriers. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and prospective study was carried out nurses who have worked in a hospital between January and June 2014. Pre-test and post-test were used to evaluate the nurses' knowledge about HPV infection, testing and vaccination. This study was performed with nurses who had girls between 9 and 26 years of age for evaluating the behavior of vaccination after three months of education. Results: The mean of pre-test and post-test scores about HPV infection, which included 22 items, were 8.2 +/- 5.6 and 19.2 +/- 1.5, respectively. Before education the HPV testing knowledge score was remarkably poor (1.9 +/- 1.7 over 5), after education it increased to 4.8 +/- 0.5. The mean HPV vaccine knowledge score were 3.7 +/- 2.7 (pre-test) 7.3 +/- 0.8 (post-test) on a 0-8 scale. The difference between mean total pre-test (13.9 +/- 9.1) and post-test (31.3 +/- 1.9) scores was statistically significant (p<0.001). After three months of education, only two of the nurses' daughters were vaccinated. The main reason was noted by nurses were not willing to be vaccinated was cost, doubts about safety and efficacy related to the vaccine. About one-third of nurses declared that they would receive the vaccine for their daughter later. Conclusions: Nurses have a crucial role in the prevention, treatment, increasing public awareness and care for population. The education of the nurses about HPV infection, test and vaccination will play an important part decreasing cancer mortality and morbidity