Reproductive Health Needs Assessment in the View of Iranian Elderly Women and Elderly Men

Abstract

Objective: To assess reproductive health needs in men and women as the first and basic step in educational planning. Materials and methods: The study was qualitative. Participants were Postmenopausal women and men over 60 years. Data gathering was done by semi structured interviews. Analysis of the qualitative data was conducted during a multi-step process according to the assessment method of Altschuld et al needs analysis. Results: Two general themes were considered in categorizing codes extracted from interviews: 1) Problems, 2) Demands. Women's reproductive health problems were Problems associated with menopause, Related to family planning, sexual problems, and diseases and cancers. Reproductive health problems in men were in two main subthemes Urinary-reproductive problems and sexual dysfunction. Their main demand was for establishing a health center for geriatric reproductive health. Conclusion: Aging has severe effect on men's and women's reproductive health and elderly peoples need health services to cope with changes, therefore these needs should be considered in medical curriculums.