Breast self-examination (BSE) is one of many first-line screening practices aimed at early detection and prevention of fatal outcomes of breast cancer. The present study aimed to identify Palestinian women’s practices, awareness, and barriers to BSE. Using descriptive-analytical methods, a previously validated questionnaire was administered to a conveniently selected sample of women. The study was conducted among women who visited primary health clinics (PHCs) in Gaza City. A total of 390 participants who met the selection criteria answered the self-administered questionnaires. We used SPSS version 24.0 to analyze the data. The findings suggest that the practice of BSE among women in Gaza is low, with only 40% of the study participants reporting that they never practiced BSE before, even though 76.7% reported that they were aware of BSE. In general, the main barriers to BSE practices were that participants had wrong perceptions and lacked knowledge about BSE. Others also reported fear of detecting breast cancer as a barrier. The practice of BSE among Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip is low and marred with trivial issues as barriers that could be eliminated with dedicated and extensive educational campaigns in the area.

BACKGROUND: Since sexual function is an important element of human life, sexual dysfunction may negatively affect the quality of life for both males and females. It is a widespread public ...

Background: Violence against women is a widespread public health problem in the Palestinian community considered to be a traditional community. It is usually underreported due to cultural and religious issues. The present study was carried out in order to deepen the understanding of the feelings, thoughts, and perceptions of Palestinian women living in the Gaza Strip and suffering from intimate partner violence. Methods: Hermeneutic phenomenological study was conducted. The recruited 11 Palestinian women suffering from intimate partner violence were selected via purposive means. Semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted from May to Sept 2018 were used to understand their lived experience. Data was analyzed through the Van Manen method. Results: In the process of data analysis, living in a threatening world was the main theme that was extracted from the data. The theme refers to the condition that participants were committed to their marriage and are compelled to remain in a threatening situation. That was interpreted as a whole life of threats, which was labeled as the main theme emerging from three sub-themes. This main theme included 3 subthemes namely “live in a physically threatening environment”, “live in psychologically threatening environment”, and “live in sexual threatening environment”. Conclusion: As revealed in our study, the participant suffered extremely from intimate partner violence and its consequences, which negatively affected their lives. However, their concerns about their children and lack of support were barriers for them to get a divorce; therefore, abused women need help to deal with their current lives like access to social and psychological counseling.

Background. Mental disorders are expected for women suffering from infertility. Depression is a predictable consequence but requires more investigations and considerations. This study is aimed at determining the severity of depression symptoms and its predictors among infertile women in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted. Three hundred eighty-five infertile women participated and were selected by convenience sampling. The participated women were selected from three large and major in vitro fertilization treatment centers (Al Helo, Al Basma, and Hindawi). A validated Arabic version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II was used. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was applied to determine potential predictors for depression symptoms, and was statistically significant. Results. The mean age of participated women was years, and the mean duration of marriage and infertility was and years, respectively. Half of the women had some form of depression symptoms (22.3%, 8.6%, and 10.6% showed to have mild depression, moderate, and severe depression symptoms, respectively). Predictors of depression symptoms were as follows: duration of marriage (Wald test: 10.493; CI95%: 0.248-0.774), at least one abortion (Wald test: 21.233; CI95%: 1.863–4.528), primary infertility (Wald test: 6.666; CI95%: 1.148–2.742), and husband cause of infertility (Wald test: 10.878; CI95%: 0.800–0.982). Conclusion. Infertility affects the various aspect of women’s life. Psychological intervention including counselling, support, and therapy would be necessary to limit the consequences of infertility. Such interventions could be implemented in infertility treatment clinics.

Background and Aim: Intimate partner violence has become a growing concern all over the world and causes numerous consequences and provokes various reactions among women. The present study was aimed to understand the lived experience of Palestinian women who suffered domestic violence by an intimate partner. Methods: In this hermeneutic phenomenological study, van Manen's methodical steps were used to conduct the study. An in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interview was conducted to 11 survivors of intimate partner violence. Data were analyzed by thematic analysis method. Results: “learn to live with it” was the core theme, which extracted from four subthemes including “failure to change for better,” “failure to gain support,” “failure to enjoy sexual life,” and “failure to make decisions.” Learn to live with it refers to participants’ acceptance to their unpleasant situation because they could not change it. Conclusion: Palestinian women who suffer from violence fail to cope with appropriately due to traditional culture and lack of familial and economic dependence.