Zahra Ordoni Aval1, Soheila Rabieepoor2, Jamshid Ordoni Avval3, Atefeh Yas4. 1. Golestan Province Health Center, Gorgan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran. 2. Reproductive Health Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran. 3. Department of Anesthesiology, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran. 4. Nursing and Midwifery Faculty, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Abstract
Background and objectives:As blind women have usually been known as a group at risk, they should be necessarily considered to a larger extent in health consulting programs. Therefore, the present survey was aimed to investigate blind women empowerment toward sexual and reproductive health care. MaterialsA quasi-experimental study was conducted on all 26 blind women covered by the Blind Society in the Azerbaijan province. A researcher-made questionnaire was run to collect data using an interview that included knowledge, attitude and behavior items. Intervention was done in two days, and all participants were followed-up for two weeks after intervention. Results: Subjects had a mean age of 36.84±9.8 years. Overall, 42.3% of them were blind women and 57.7% had low vision. Women knowledge score about menstrual health, healthy fertility, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy was 2.7±1.03, 1.2±0.9, 2.4±0.81 and 3.6±1.2, respectively before intervention, and it has increased significantly to 3.7± 0.51, 2.±0.7, 3.7±0.45 and 4.8±0.32, respectively after intervention (p<0.0001). In brief, results revealed that, on average, subjects' attitude was also remarkably better, as the score rose from 21.07±3.17 before intervention to 25.26±3.24 after interventions (p<0.0001). Conclusion: It seems that participants were poorly aware of reproductive health, but providing education on reproductive and sexual health was likely to be useful for this group; moreover, it should be prioritized in joint programs of medical universities and welfare institutions.
Background and objectives:As blind women have usually been known as a group at risk, they should be necessarily considered to a larger extent in health consulting programs. Therefore, the present survey was aimed to investigate blind women empowerment toward sexual and reproductive health care. MaterialsA quasi-experimental study was conducted on all 26 blind women covered by the Blind Society in the Azerbaijan province. A researcher-made questionnaire was run to collect data using an interview that included knowledge, attitude and behavior items. Intervention was done in two days, and all participants were followed-up for two weeks after intervention. Results: Subjects had a mean age of 36.84±9.8 years. Overall, 42.3% of them were blind women and 57.7% had low vision. Women knowledge score about menstrual health, healthy fertility, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy was 2.7±1.03, 1.2±0.9, 2.4±0.81 and 3.6±1.2, respectively before intervention, and it has increased significantly to 3.7± 0.51, 2.±0.7, 3.7±0.45 and 4.8±0.32, respectively after intervention (p<0.0001). In brief, results revealed that, on average, subjects' attitude was also remarkably better, as the score rose from 21.07±3.17 before intervention to 25.26±3.24 after interventions (p<0.0001). Conclusion: It seems that participants were poorly aware of reproductive health, but providing education on reproductive and sexual health was likely to be useful for this group; moreover, it should be prioritized in joint programs of medical universities and welfare institutions.