Educational Needs in Sexual-Reproductive Health among Women with Spinal Cord Injury: A Qualitative Study

Abstract                                                                                                                                                          Backgrounds and Aim: Sexual-reproductive health (SRH) is considered as a major part of general health, and education in this domain can have significant effects on it. Moreover, physically disabled individuals need special healthcare and education in this respect; however, there is insufficient information about SRH in women with this disability. The purpose of the present study was to explore educational needs in SRH among women with spinal cord injury (SCI).  Methods and Materials: In this qualitative research, content analysis method was applied. Participants included women between ۱۸ and ۵۵ suffering from SCI. They were clients of Social Welfare Organization and Association of Spinal Cord Disabilities and selected with purposive sampling method. In-depth semi-structured interviews were individually performed with ۱۵ women and ۸ key informants. Graneheim and Lundman’s method was used for data analysis. Furthermore, Lincoln and Guba’s evaluative criteria were applied for trustworthiness.    Results: Educational needs in SRH among women with SCI were divided into ۴ categories and ۱۰ subcategories. They included “providing education by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education”, “improving education”, “enhancing performance of healthcare staff”, and “reforming educational structure of SRH for physically disabled individuals.”      Conclusion: Women with SCI could improve their quality of life if they get information about SRH via educational books, CDs, and Internet resources. Moreover, modifying viewpoints of medical students and healthcare providers is assumed as an important factor for this aim.