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Reproductive Health, Sexual Function and Satisfaction Levels in Women with Physical, Hearing, and Visual Disabilities

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Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the reproductive health, sexual function and sexual satisfaction levels of women with disabilities. The sample of the study was selected in cooperation with associations and foundations, whose members were individuals with disabilities. The study had a cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational design and was performed between September 2017 and September 2019. Data were collected by using an introduction form, the Female Sexual Function Index and the Sexual Satisfaction Scale. Analysis was performed on the data collected from 67 women with disabilities, who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Of 67 women, 32.6% did not use any family planning methods. In addition, 83.7% reported that they were satisfied with their sexual life, but 25.6% reported that having disabilities had a negative impact on their sexual life. The percentage of sexual dysfunction was 73% among the women. Sexual dysfunction was below the expected value in women with vision disability. However, it was above the expected value in women with hearing disability. In conclusion, reproductive health and sexual dysfunction are challenges that are frequently experienced by women with disabilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Women’s Health and Gynecologic Nursing, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Abide-i Hurriyet Street, Sisli, 34381, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ergül Aslan, Büşra Yılmaz & Zehra Acar

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  1. Ergül Aslan
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  2. Büşra Yılmaz
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  3. Zehra Acar
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Correspondence to Büşra Yılmaz.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

The approval of the ethics committee was obtained from the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty in Istanbul University. Permission was also obtained from the institutions where the research was carried out. The information in the informed consent form was explained to the participants, and their verbal consents were obtained. The participants with hearing disability were told about the informed consent form over the interactive video and it was started after obtaining their consent. Rules of courtesy were followed during face-to-face interviews and sufficient time was given to answer the questions. The study was performed in accordance with the “Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects” of the Helsinki Declaration. Upon their request, the women were referred to the related departments of Istanbul Medical Faculty in order to solve their problems regarding reproductive health, infertility and sexual heath.

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Aslan, E., Yılmaz, B. & Acar, Z. Reproductive Health, Sexual Function and Satisfaction Levels in Women with Physical, Hearing, and Visual Disabilities. Sex Disabil 39, 595–608 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-021-09690-3

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