Empowerment of Adolescent Girls for Sexual and Reproductive Health Care: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Adolescent girls should be empowered to acquire the ability to take care of their sexual and reproductive health. The present study aimed to improve the understanding of the factors affecting the empowerment of Iranian adolescent girls in terms of taking care of their sexual and reproductive health (e.g. pubertal and menstrual health, preventing high risk sexual behaviors, treatment seeking for sexual and reproductive complaints such as dysmenorrhea, genitalia infection). The present qualitative study was performed using conventional content analysis method. Eight key informants were purposively selected and interviewed. Data collection was performed through unstructured and in-depth interviews. The qualitative content was analyzed simultaneously with data collection based on Graneheim and Lundman method using MAXQDA 2010 software. Data analysis led to the emergence of the main theme of empowerment for care with four classes of reinforcing the foundations of sexual and reproductive health, providing services in health system, reinforcing educational institutions, and consolidating the interaction between adolescent and family, as well as thirteen sub-classes. Results of the present study showed the need for inter-sectional interaction and collaboration among authorities of health systems, education systems, and policymaking institutions to achieve a model for empowering adolescent girls via a multi-level and comprehensive approach. RésuméLes adolescentes devraient être habilitées à prendre soin de leur santé sexuelle et de la reproduction, car elles connaissent des changements pubertaires et une participation possible à des comportements sexuels à haut risque et acquièrent des capacités de reproduction. La présente étude visait à améliorer la compréhension et la reconnaissance des facteurs affectant l'autonomisation des adolescentes iraniennes en termes de prise en charge de leur santé sexuelle et de la reproduction (p.ex. santé pubertaire et menstruelle, prévention des comportements sexuels à haut risque, traitement des plaintes sexuelles et de la reproduction) tels que la dysménorrhée, l'infection génitale). La présente étude qualitative a été réalisée en utilisant une méthode d'analyse de contenu conventionnelle. Huit informateurs clés ont été délibérément sélectionnés et interviewés. La collecte de données a été réalisée au moyen d'entrevues non structurées et approfondies. Le contenu qualitatif a été analysé simultanément avec la collecte de données basée sur la méthode de Graneheim et Lundman en utilisant le logiciel MAXQDA 2010. L'analyse des données a conduit à l'émergence du thème principal de l'autonomisation des soins avec quatre classes pour renforcer les fondements de la santé sexuelle et de la reproduction, fournir des services dans le système de santé, renforcer les institutions éducatives et consolider l'interaction entre l'adolescent et la famille ainsi que treize sous-classes. Les résultats de la présente étude ont montré la nécessité d'une interaction et d'une collaboration intersecto...

Living with Restrictions. The Perspective of Nursing Students with Primary Dysmenorrhea

“…The results of the present study point to the need for women to be given more information from competent health care professionals regarding dysmenorrhea and its management to enhance their wellbeing and empowerment [59]. A future line of research may be to analyse how nursing students deal with dysmenorrhea focusing on their pain management strategies.…”

Saúde sexual e reprodutiva dosadolescentes: percepções dos profissionais emenfermagem

“…Os adolescentes precisam se empoderar do cuidado com a sua saúde sexual e reprodutiva, para tanto é necessário o auxílio dos serviços de saúde, das instituições educacionais e da interação entre adolescente e família (32). Embora nos primeiros contatos dos adolescentes com os serviços de saúde eles possam encontrar-se envergonhados e preocupados, isso pode ser superado com o estabelecimento de vínculo, confiança e relações respeitosas e acolhedoras.…”

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“…[7] Oxidative stress following the formation of free radicals is thought to play a major role in the neuropathology of the disease. [8,[25][26][27][28][29] The intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) at a predetermined dosage in rats results in progressive and gradual loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra whose trend is similar to the neuropathology of the Parkinson's disease and is considered as a valid empirical model for showing the stages of the onset of the disease. [9,[30][31][32][33][34] The neurotoxin 6-OHDA through producing free radicals, which in turn have cytotoxic effect, disrupts calcium homeostasis by increasing the penetration or exacerbation of release from intracellular reserves, [10,35,36] affecting the genetic regulation and induction of apoptosis [11,[37][38][39][40] and causing neuronal death.…”