Exploring meanings and constructs of reproductive healthcare needs of Iranian adult men regarding sexual transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS:A qualitative study

Background: Adult men in Iran have so many unmet needs in reproductive and sexual health. Sexual Transmitted Diseases and HIV/AIDS issues and characteristics have not been studied enough in Iranian adult men. This mixed methods study aimed to explore meanings and constructs of reproductive healthcare needs of Iranian adult men regarding sexual transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS and to develop an appropriate instrument for reproductive health need assessment.Methods: This study was a sequential exploratory mixed methods research. The qualitative phase was a qualitative content analysis in which data were collected through individual in-depth semi-structured interviews with 40 participants who were purposefully selected in 2015 in Tehran and Mashhad, Iran. A content analysis approach was used to explore the concept of healthcare needs. Then a 80-item instrument was developed using literature review and qualitative analysis. In the quantitative phase, the psychometric properties, including content, face and construct validity (exploratory) methods were done. For reliability of the instrument, internal consistency and test-retest, were applied.Result: Qualitative findings revealed men s educational empowerment as core of men s reproductive healthcare needs. Other Constructs were: appropriate sociocultural background with advocacy , sexual ethics, religious doctrine and women’s empowerment , and meeting men’s preventive, caring and welfare needs . Using the face, content validity index and the content validity ratio, twenty-two questions were deleted and the items decreased to 58 ones. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess construct validity and identified five factors with five constructs explaining 42 percent of the variance. The reliability and consistency of the instrument were built up with the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.88) for the whole scale and test-retest reliability with a 2 week-interim Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC=0.98, p Conclusion: Since men’s reproductive health is intertwined with public health, data collected regarding men’s healthcare needs with the consideration of social and cultural factors can be used for designing strategies for reducing the incidence/prevalence rates of STDs and HIV/AIDS. The Reproductive Healthcare Need Assessment related to HIV/AIDS in Iranian Adult Men instrument with five dimensions and 43 items is a valid and reliable instrument for using in the adult men.

کلیدواژه ها:

AIDS ، Needs ، Reproductive healthcare needs ، Sexual transmitted diseases ، Men