Endometriosis Through the Lens of Iranian women

Background: Considering the wide impact of endometriosis onvarious aspects of health, this s tudy aimed to explore the impactof endometriosis on Iranian women's lives.Materials and Methods: The present s tudy used a qualitativeapproach and conventional content analysis. Twenty patientssuffering from endometriosis referring to Imam Khomeini Hospitalin Tehran took part in this s tudy. The sampling was donepurposefully until data saturation. After deep semi-s tructuredinterviews, the content analysis of the interviews was done accordingto the s teps proposed by Zhang and Wildemuth.Results: The mean age of the participants was ۳۴.۵۳ (SD: ۵.۸۱)years (range: ۲۳-۴۳) with duration of illness of ۶.۳۰ ± ۵.۸۶years. Their educational level varied from high school to university,and mos t of them were employed. Analysis of the datafrom participants' experiences led to the formation of ۵ categoriesunder the titles "Physical suffering, ins tability of maritallife, mental disorder, disruption in social life and self-care" and۱۱ subcategories.Conclusion: The findings of the present s tudy showed thatendometriosis can adversely affect women's lives includingphysical, sexual, psychological and social problems. Althoughin some cases patients adopt different s trategies for self-care,the need for more support is felt

کلیدواژه ها:

Endometriosis ، Health ، Iranian Women ، life Experience ، Qualitative S tudy