Background: Female sexual dysfunction is a common condition that extremely affects reproductive health and quality of life. To assess this health condition, a valid and reliable questionnaire is required. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Sexual Quality of Life-Female (SQOL-F) questionnaire in Iran. Method: Forward-backward procedure was applied to translate the questionnaire from English into Persian. After linguistic validation and pilot examination, a cross-sectional study was carried out and psychometric properties of the Iranian version of questionnaire were tested. One hundred reproductive aged, married, healthy and sexually active women completed the questionnaire. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha), and test-retest (intraclass correlation coefficient) analyses. In addition, content, and face validity were assessed and the factor structure of the questionnaire was extracted by performing exploratory factor analysis. Results: The mean age of participants was 33 (SD = 8.07) years, and the mean quality of sexual life score was 86.4 (SD = 1.78) ranging from 36 to 108. Most women were housewife (n = 92). Reliability evaluation revealed high internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.73 and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.88. The mean scores for the content validity index (CVI) and the content validity ratio (CVR) were 0.91 and 0.84, respectively. The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) indicated a four-factor solution for the questionnaire that jointly accounted for 60.8% of variance observed. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that the Iranian version of SQOL-F questionnaire has good psychometric properties and it will be useful to assess the female sexual quality of life in reproductive health care settings.

Background: Caesarean section might increase the incidence of surgical interventions and problems resulting from hospitalization and thus affecting quality of life in women after delivery. This study aimed to compare quality of life in women after normal delivery and caesarean section. Methods: This was a prospective study. A sample of women with normal delivery and caesarean section from 5 health care centers in Isfahan, Iran were entered into the study. Quality of life was measured using the SF-36 at two points in time (time 1: 6 to 8 weeks after delivery; time 2: 12 to 14 weeks after delivery). Data were analyzed to compare quality of life in the two study groups. Results: In all 100 women were interviewed (50 with normal delivery and 50 with caesarean section). Postnatal quality of life in both groups was improved from time1 to time 2. However, comparing the mean scores between the normal and caesarean delivery groups the results showed that in general the normal vaginal delivery group had a better quality of life for almost all subscales in both assessment times. The differences were significant for vitality (mean score 62.9 vs. 54.4 P = 0.03) and mental health (mean score 75.1 vs. 66.7, P = 0.03) at first assessment and for physical functioning (mean score 88.4 vs. 81.5, P = 0.03) at second evaluation. However, comparing the findings within each group the analysis showed that the normal vaginal delivery group improved more on physical health related quality of life while the caesarean section group improved more on mental health related quality of life. Conclusion: Although the study did not show a clear cut benefit in favor of either methods of delivery that are normal vaginal delivery or caesarean section, the findings suggest that normal vaginal delivery might lead to a better quality of life especially resulting in a superior physical health. Indeed in the absence of medical indications normal vaginal delivery might be better to be considered as the first priority in term pregnancy.

This study used qualitative methodology to understand Iranian women's views about barriers to and factors facilitating screening for early detection of breast cancer. Using grounded theory with in-depth interviews of 31 participants, themes emerged from the data in 2 main categories (internal and external) with 3 sub-categories: women's attitudes, feelings and beliefs; women's social network experiences; and accessibility. Facilitating factors for screening were self-care, fear, proactive coping, state of mind and advocacy. Barriers were negligence, cancer-related fear, low self-efficacy, fatalism, misinformation, ineffective health communication and competing priorities.

Background: Infertility has recently become a salient but neglected global issue. Policies to address the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are vital, especially in lower middle and middle-income countries (LMICs). Hence, the aim of this study was to compare the national infertility policies in the selected countries (LMICs comparing with high-income) to determine gaps or to confirm desirable policies in the given health systems. Methods: This study has executed a comparative policy analysis of infertility services using the universal health coverage framework (financial protection, population coverage, and service features) in three scopes (prevention, treatment, and supportive care). Seven countries that had infertility programs in their health sectors were selected. Results: The results showed that financial protection was good in high and middle-income countries, but in a lower middle income, and in one high-income country was poor. The findings also showed that health systems in the same countries had no infertility services for men. Preventive and supportive care services were neglected in LMICs by governments. Conclusion: The findings indicate that income is not the only factor that fulfills universal health coverage for infertility care services. Perhaps to achieve equity in infertility care services, it should be seen as a universal human right to accomplish the right to have a child and to have a life with physical and mental health for all men and women.