Reproductive Health Needs of Women with Hepatitis B: A Qualitative Study

Hepatitis B is one of the most important diseases in the world that imposes substantial financial burdens upon patients and health systems. Women with hepatitis B, like any other woman, have the right to access reproductive and sexual health services tailored to their needs as well as those of their sexual partners and children. However, the reproductive health needs of this group of patients have been subject to negligence. This qualitative study was conducted using in-depth semi-structured interviews in randomly selected hospitals and health centers of Tehran, Iran in 2015. A total of 40 women with hepatitis B and 30 reproductive health care providers were individually interviewed. Interviews were conducted based on topic guides, including a series of broad questions used to explore and probe the experiences of the interviewees. All interviews were recorded and each interview lasted from 60 to 90 minutes. The collected data were analyzed using the content analysis method. Data analysis yielded 88 codes and 186 items. Two main themes were extracted from the analyzed data including the need for information and the need for health care. The first theme involved two categories (the patient’s need for information and the health provider’s need for information) and four subcategories. The second theme included three categories (supportive care, disease and reproductive health care, and capacity building) and thirteen subcategories. From the viewpoint of women with hepatitis B interviewed in this study, a successful program that meets the special reproductive health needs of these patients is required to respond to the need for information and the need for health care. Meeting treatment needs should include responding to the informational needs of both patients and service providers. Besides, satisfying the need for health services should focus on support services, disease care, reproductive health care, and capacity building.