Sexual Reproductive Health of Women with Spinal Cord Injury from the Aspect of Environmental Health: A Qualitative Study

This study aimed to assess the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of women with spinal cord injury (SCI) from the aspect of environmental health.

This qualitative study was part of a larger study with a sequential exploratory design. Sampling began in June 2016 and ended in October 2016 in Tehran. The participants included married women with SCI who lived in Tehran Province, Iran. They were selected by purposive sampling, and sampling was continued until data saturation. Individual semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 participants. The conventional content analysis was used for data classification using the Graneheim and Lundman method.

improvement of the performance of the municipality was a basic component of the need for environmental health in provision of SRH services for women with SCI that was explained in 2 categories and 6 subcategories. The categories included “improving the transportation system” and “developing appropriate physical infrastructure”.

Women with SCI were interested in caring for their SRH and receiving the respective services. However, there are problems against providing them with healthcare services that need to be identified and eliminated. They need social support and the municipality is the organization that can provide SRH services to such women. Therefore, providing environmental health can promote SRH of such women.